Seems to me that this will place Britain at the forefront of economic disadvantage.
You know, back in the day we had a similar problem like this where politicians ignored the people, and I think we rather pushed back against that sometime around 1776. Perhaps after a few years, we’ll see a repeat of that, but this time in Britain, rather than a colony.
I think some of the goals are impossible to achieve given Britain’s current direction and results, such as the folly of the wind power program.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/04/06/whoa-windfarms-in-uk-operate-well-below-advertised-efficiency/
In the Guardian article, I cringed over this, even though I have an electric car of my own.
The committee’s report says the new carbon deal will require that heat pumps will have had to be installed in 2.6m homes by 2025. It also says that by the same date 31% of new cars, and 14% of those on the road overall, will be electric. Experts say a total of £16bn of investment will be needed every year to meet the commitment. Some of this money will be raised through increases in electricity prices.
God help you all, at least until you throw the bums out. Full story here
h/t to WUWT readers PhilW, M White, Steve C, and Harry Trent
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a jones says:
May 15, 2011 at 12:55 pm
[It seems the Guardian announcement may be a little premature————–But the Sunday Times, —reports today that the matter is to be discussed this coming week and that the Gov’t has been warned by by several major UK business, not specified, that if it does this they will pull out of the UK. ——More spin than substance it would appear at this stage: now where have we heard that before?
——————————————————————————
A jones. I sincerely hope that you are right. It is high time that Westminster used what common sense it has left and dumped this croc. Better still to dump Europe as well and set a sensible course for the future. BTW see any pigs overhead?
Douglas
gnomish says:
May 15, 2011 at 3:46 pm
funny.
margaret thatcher hatched the scheme to demonize carbon (though monckton doesn’t like to talk about that part of the climate wars.
see how them chickens roost.
darwin smiles.
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Gnomish. Crap. She used this as a method to defeat Arthur Scargill who was a very vocal opponent of Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government, and determined to use the union to oppose its policies, just as he had done with the Edward Heath government. He frequently appeared on television attacking the government and eventually led the union into the 1984–1985 miners’ strike. This ended in a shattering defeat for the miners and saw a split in the union (see Union of Democratic Mineworkers).
There is a very long journey and many turnes in the road from the 1984 defeat of the stand-over tactics of Scargill to the daftness of AGW policies of 2011.
Douglas
The UK is a debt basketcase. This is basically economic suicide.
It was ony a few weeks ago that I felt so proud to be British. watching the wonderful pageantry of the Royal wedding with the huge sense of history and presence that it generated. Truly, Britain was and still is a great nation.
And then something like this ….. such idiocy, blindness, incompetence, ineptitude and intellectual mediocrity. Such overwhelming and utter stupidity. It makes me weep. Two billion people wathced the Royal wedding. How many will follow us down this path of disaster ? My only hope is that the goals are so stuipid and so unattainable that it all becomes irrelevant.
The Lib Democrats got crushed in the recent local elections which puts them (Huhne and Clegg) in an odd position of not wanting to end the Cameron Government since the Tories would likely sweep Parliament. Even the casual reader of stories in The Guardian and similar left publications of the UK should read the comments. Although the Brits do seem to be indoctrinated, thoroughly, into the neo-Marxism of Welfare Europe, they do now when they’re freezing more and eating less. The local elections are a bell weather of voter discontent. In the US, it would be as if Sarah Palin were elected mayor of San Francisco prior to the 2012 Presidential elections.
However, Parliament systems are great fun for intrigue and scheming and things. All it takes is a Gillard to take down a Rudd and off you go. The Telegraph’s Delingpole is likely right about it being a “flyer” since Huhne and the Lib Dems need to somehow resonate with their base. Likewise, if Cameron is not careful, he will find himself cast into the Rudd role, so to speak.
Sadly, imho, it won’t make much difference. The UK has a great number of suicidal acts underway from Sharia to immigration to NHS to energy generation collapsing to their following the disaster of Obama-economics. The only way out for any sane Brit that can is to migrate out of the British Isles. Oh, and go to a warmer climate where you don’t need those blimey umbrellas.
son of mulder wrote on May 15, 2011 at 1:06 pm.
“Take a deep breath: oxygen is declining. A dramatic decline in oxygen levels on Earth has a direct link with CO2 from burning of fossil fuels, according to a 20-year study”
High five SoM! We first addressed this problem a few years ago on the old (defunct) channel 4 forum. It may be a ’cause for concern’ (unknown outcome of human practise), but ‘catalysis’ (the photosynthesis of O2 from CO2) demands a ‘change in proportion’ (plant life/CO2 fertiliser) before a natural ‘remedial action’ (accelerated catalysis) can take place. However, this strongly suggests that the proposed human sequestration of CO2 should not be adopted For every atom of carbon sequestrated, two atoms of oxygen are also sequestrated! It’s best left in the atmosphere for the plants to deal with as the ocean sequestrates enough CO2 as it is. 🙂
jae wrote on May 15, 2011 at 2:06 pm.
“We in the USA were getting close to this neurotic behavior, until the TeaParty activities put a brake on it.”
Not even close jae!
The UK’s problem is one of ‘parliamentary national representation/parliamentary regional representation’. In the USA you only employ two political parties that vie for election in a first past the post style election. This is a good way to achieve ‘national and regional’ representation and ‘was also employed in the UK’ (Whigs [Liberal] and Tories [Conservative]) until the establishment of the Labour Party here. With the establishment of more than two political parties that vie for power in the UK we’ve introduced a disparity between national and regional representation. UK parliamentary elections are now undemocratic.
The reasons for this disparity should be obvious, but if you’re scratching your head I’ll explain (for old time’s sake). 🙂
Best regards, Ray Dart.
cedarhill says:
May 15, 2011 at 5:31 pm
The only way out for any sane Brit that can is to migrate out of the British Isles. Oh, and go to a warmer climate where you don’t need those blimey umbrellas.
—————————————————————–
……. like California, yeah !!!!!!
Oh, hold on a sec ………….
Max_B says:
May 15, 2011 at 12:56 pm
They are about to push the button on – I think – 12 new Nuclear Powerstations in the UK, I think this is just a bit of spin for the benefit of the UK public.
Having spent a few years employed by a English ‘Sir’ (the queen gives knighthoods to some of the strangest people) I agree with your reading.
The problem with a 20% reduction in CO2 emission is that you can get their with windmills and natural gas plants. To get beyond 20% you need nuclear plants, nuclear plants and more nuclear plants.
So to get out from under windmills, windmills everywhere the target needs to be higher then 20%. Of course they’ll have to toss in a few token windmills to keep the greens happy.
Anthony – “Pray for Britain“?????
I reckon you’re laying the groundwork for the next science vs religion debate on WUWT, after CAGW finally collapses.
To Brits wanting to leave the UK : I left the UK 30+ years ago, thus disproving the basic law of science that effect cannot precede cause. Back then, the Oz govt paid me to come. Now, unless you are prepared to destroy all documents that can identify you and refuse to tell anyone what your name is or where you come from, you will be hard pressed to get in. This at a time when Oz is desperately short of skilled people, in spite of the Teachers’ union’s valiant attempts to improve our education system by insisting that pupils’ skill levels must never be tested. However, there is one skill which would get you in – if you are an expert in political spin, good enough to get a government out of a deep hole, then Oz is your oyster.
There are two powerful lobbies for AGW outside of the governments, who want the additional revenue stream, the trading companies who see a new market and the nuclear power industry. To build new nukes, they need a price for carbon to justify economic models of their construction financing – esp. the work-in-progress funding from regulated utility customers. The greenies (at least in the US) are a distant third.
quote: “If we have to pay more in future that will slow economic growth, so we need to act now,” said Kennedy.
The logic is stunning.
The following clip used to be funny, very funny:
Now it has happened in the UK and it isn’t funny at all.
philincalifornia says:
May 15, 2011 at 5:43 pm
Or: “California Dreamin’ … on such a winter’s day!”
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/05/15/late-low-may-snow-in-california/
I pray for Europe, and I’m not even religious.
It takes to long for the eurocrats to come to a decision, that’s why they’re still discussing new and approved high speed rail system fifteen years later without any spade having sniffed the soil yet. Heh, but sad really, for EU doesn’t even have the same railway standards in all EU countries yet. Although the eurocrats have already formulated policies for that europeans have to travel by train instead of flight under certain distances. Go figure.
Dean Morrison says:
“This is very good news indeed, as it will drive investment in the technologies of the future…”
Dean, pray tell what are those wonderful new technologies in which Britain should be investing? I would be particularly interested in hearing about those new technologies that have actually been shown to produce affordable, reliable energy.
Charles Dickens could write for every if this past into law.
3.7 jobs lost for every subsidised green job created? It’s worse than we thought!
Do politicians even bother take note of failed economic policies? I don’t think Cameron, Clegg, Ed Reallybland or Buffhuhne even know where Spain is on the map, which is slightly ironic seeing as it’s right next to Portugal and we are spending billions to keep their economy afloat. I guess they are oblivious to more than just observable science. At least with the high unemployment rates, high energy costs and high poverty levels the government can claim were are the leaders in something again.
Of course in typical political style, in 20 years time they’ll claim that any reduction in average global temps over the same period is a result of their policies working and being worthwhile despite rendering us an economic joke (and with no co2 level drop). And when they inevitably rise again with their natural cycle as they have for four billion years, they’ll blame it on whatever party is in office with claims of undoing successful policies.
Do you think the MSM will ask any hard questions,like “who is going to pay for heat pumps and electric cars”?”How will you enforce this”?”Do you think you have the constitutional right to tell your citizens what they can drive,and what heating they should have”How far will you enroach on people’s liberties,in the name of CO2″
Australia is on this road.We will come to a halt in a couple of years Labor will be history(hopefully before).Looks like the only hope for the UK is the UKIP,that is a drastic step for a voter,but the present day government is pushing people into their arms.
In case I get asked,the main thing I dislike about UKIP policy is forcing people to leave the country.For a lot of them,their only home is England.
Place Britain at the forefront of the global battle against climate change. It must be very painful for them to admit there is still a Britain.
Why does this declaration remind me of:
“Peace in our time”
It often irks me when I head a reporter ask someone “What do you think about…” and the person responds “I hope that …”; the reporter never replies, “No, I was asking what you think..”.
The targets will not be met and they will not be in any position to recover quickly when stark reality makes ashes of the hoped for plan. They are not thinking, they are hopeing.
“peter-dtm
Anyone got a green card to spare for an Automation/Process Control engineer the wrong side of 55?”
Well put. I’m about your age, and I got out about 8 years ago. Now I live in northern Japan. Nice country, nice people. The beaches are good, the rivers are clear and clean, I can ski within 20 minutes drive from home. Beer is cheap.
Toyota, Sony etc. aren’t having a bar of eco-lunacy. Japan (inc) intends to still be in business when the lights go out in Europe and North America. Come to Japan, where [b]making things[/b] is regarded as an honourable way of life.
Conceivably, this is what Cameron is scheming at. Let’s hope so.
If not, the defection of a few key Tories like Mrs. Thatcher to the UKIP could unblock the current stalemate in a hurry, and utterly rejigger the landscape.
Hey, Exxon (or some Daddy Warbucks), pony up!
If not, maybe WUWT will allow Lucy (in conjunction with Pam & other high-quality posters) to create a WUWT sister-site consisting of topic-sorted extracts of the best (in their opinion) posts and comments made on WUWT, plus links.
“Do you think the MSM will ask any hard questions”
They never do…
The stupidity of most political leaders in the Uk and elsewhere is mind boggling. Ideology and political correctness consistently trump rational thought and reasoning. The greens are literally leading us back into the Dark Ages.