The International Monetary Fund has estimated that Russia will outgrow all advanced economies in 2024.
This is in spite of all the sanctions the West has imposed on Russia, in spite of its removal of the Swift banking system, in spite of the fact that Germany has almost entirely weaned itself off Russian gas, and in spite of the 50,000 soldiers who have died in the endless resources it has poured into the Ukraine war.
So what are we missing here? Why is Russia going to grow more than the rest of us?
Well, about a month ago, when discussing the proposed grid decarbonisation, I went through the following energy costs per kilowatt hour by country.
Jacob Rees-Mogg discusses Scotland's decision to u-turn on climate targets
GB News
In the United Kingdom, $0.44. In the United States, $0.17. China and India, $0.08 per kilowatt hour each.
But I didn't mention Russia.
Russia's cost of energy per kilowatt hour is even lower than India and China at just $0.06. And why is this?
Well, it's simple, Russia is willing to make use of its own energy resources to provide abundant supply to its citizens, increased supply means lower prices, and cheap energy is inextricably linked to economic growth.
Take the comparison GDP per capita growth between the UK and the US. Both are mature economies with high standards of living. But since 2008, the United States has grown at twice the rate of the United Kingdom.
The big difference is that America has much lower energy prices, while the UK insists on masochistic green policies.
But it's no surprise that the green fanatics in the Scottish Government, where they know how to be fanatics, have had to backtrack on their flagship greenhouse gas reduction target.
The SNP has committed to reducing Scotland's CO2 emissions by 75 per cent by 2030, yet Scotland has missed eight of its past 12 carbon emission targets.
Now, the Climate Change Committee has reviewed its policy and advised that the absurd reduction target is out of reach. So this afternoon, the SNP's energy Secretary announced the Scottish Government would scrap its annual and interim targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
In this challenging context of cuts UK backtracking, we accept the CW's recent rearticulation that this Parliament's interim 2030 target is out of reach. We must now act to chart a course to 2045 at a pace and a scale that is feasible, fair and just.
However, instead of taking this assessment from the Climate Change Committee as grounds for reassessing its costly and hasty plans, they've doubled down with more commitments, such as a route map to a 20 per cent car reduction, but also blamed their shortcomings on His Majesty's Government.
It is time to recognise the truth that net zero by 2050 is unrealistic and unaffordable. It's time we rid ourselves of this foolish and costly idea that will simply make people cold and poor.
We need to prioritise cheap energy for Britain's consumers and for companies, for industry, enabling economic growth that will benefit us all.