As energy prices continue to surge — and with the winter months just around the corner — we can no longer simply think about prices; we must understand how we will act in this crisis situation. To get a sense of what might be expected from the newly elected 14th Saeima and the government it will form in October, we reviewed party programmes, searching for concrete, reassuring keywords.
We selected those parties that received more than 5% in sociological surveys conducted over the summer. We reviewed the publicly available programmes of these parties and chose a dozen keywords that can be used to describe the broad global concept of “energy independence.”
Accordingly, we examined party programmes by following both the currently hot keywords — “local energy resources,” “energy independence,” “energy efficiency” — as well as longer-term strategic signals such as “Green Deal,” “zero-emission transport,” “climate goals, climate neutrality.” We also included more general and familiar promises containing concepts like “sustainability,” “environment-friendly, organic agriculture,” “renewable energy resources,” “local businesses,” and “local production.”
Energy independence can be described with many other keywords, and I encourage every voter to carry out such an “exercise” themselves. The concept of energy independence also has another side — namely, at what cost? While examining how many parties use terms related to energy independence, we also looked at whether their programmes include the phrase competitive price (and, to some extent, its synonyms — fair or just price) and competitiveness (in energy or in the economy). Again, it is clear that different words can be chosen, and the presence or absence of individual terms does not allow for any definitive conclusions.
The purpose of this article is to encourage voters to delve into the material themselves and draw their own conclusions. It is certainly not intended to evaluate party programmes, nor is it meant to provide an “analysis” of them. Referring to the old saying that one should not look at my deeds but listen to my words — at this moment, we only have the “words,” and it is worth listening to them right now, when parties are presenting their promises. The deeds will come after the elections.
CANDIDATES FOR PARLIAMENT WILL DISCUSS ENERGY INDEPENDENCE AND ITS COST
Relatively new concepts have entered party pre-election programmes — the Green Deal, energy independence, sustainability. These terms are themselves so broad and “global” that, in essence, one could avoid using any others that are more explanatory. Each party has decided which additional concepts to include.
The term energy independence was used by six of the parties reviewed. The words Green Deal, sustainability, and renewable energy resources were also mentioned quite frequently. This suggests that these concepts enjoy strong political support. That sounds logical, as the terms are closely interconnected.
The expressions climate goals and climate neutrality appeared less often, indicating that these concepts will likely require long-term explanation in the future. What is somewhat surprising, however, is how rarely the words local resources, local production, and local businesses were used. It seems that “local” has not yet won the hearts and approval of party candidates — although, of course, this meaning can be “encoded” within other concepts.
What actions politicians will take if elected — and how these will align with the positions, plans, and calculations of industry representatives — will be discussed on Wednesday, August 24, when parliamentary candidates from several parties meet with representatives of the Farmers’ Cooperation Council (LOSP), the Latvian Renewable Energy Federation (LAEF), the Latvian Biofuel and Bioenergy Association, the Latvian Biogas Association, the Latvian Building Materials Manufacturers Association (BRA), the Latvian District Heating Companies Association, the Latvian Climate Neutrality Cluster 2050, the Latvian Chemical and Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurs Association, the Latvian Bioenergy Association, and representatives of the companies “Gren Latvija” and “EKO OSTA”.
In the discussion “Energy Independence – But at What Cost?”, moderated by journalist Ansis Bogustovs, candidates and the above-mentioned sector representatives will talk about how Latvia can achieve greater energy independence and whether the price of this energy will be competitive. At present, geopolitics dictates the need for independence and for maximally using local energy resources — wood, hydropower, biogas, biofuel, solar, wind, geothermal energy, and perhaps even the more controversially viewed peat resources.
Increasing climate and emission-reduction targets also leave their mark, “pressing” us to become more sustainable and to further promote the production and use of local resources.