Like any sane person, I agree that we should all seek out ways to reduce energy consumption, but this guy is so logically inconsistent. For one, he talks numerous times about the most vulnerable people being hurt by climate change, without realizing that almost all economic damage hits the most vulnerable the hardest. And energy inconsistency is guaranteed to cause some economic damage. He even admits that this kind of change would likely have the biggest impact on people who work non-standard hours. Those people certainly don’t fall in the privileged category, for the most part.

I will say this, it might be worth reimagining how to best utilize intermittent power sources during the times that they are at their peak, but I think that’s likely to happen naturally if, as is already happening, utilities price their power differently based on time of day and available power from renewable sources.

You’re also correct that there is scant evidence (the plural of anecdote is not evidence) about how this kind of power rationing affects people. And lastly, I guarantee 9000% that China or other would-be global imperial superpowers don’t give a single fuck whether privileged westerners are upset about their pollution and will take advantage of the economic damage such policies will cause in western countries.