Newsbytes from The GWPF via Dr. Benny Peiser
Britain’s carbon emissions grew faster than the economy last year for the first time since 1996, as a cash-strapped population relegated the environment down its league of concerns and spent more money keeping warm, according to a new report. The rise in Britain’s so-called carbon intensity increases the danger that the country will miss legally binding targets on reducing emissions, warns PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the consultancy behind the report. –Tom Bowden, The Independent, 7 November 2011
A RADICAL shift in policy on climate change is to be outlined by the Irish Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan today, when he announces that a climate change Bill is not a priority. It signals a major change from the policy of his predecessor John Gormley, who rushed to publish legislation setting binding statutory targets for emissions reductions in the weeks before the previous government collapsed last January. In another departure that will be seen as controversial, he said he would not set sectoral targets for emissions reductions as he did not subscribe to them. This is likely to attract criticism from environmental organisations and opposition parties. –Harry McGee, Irish Times, 3 November 2011
The government could save each member of the population almost £550 by 2020 if it scraps expensive wind energy plans in favour of cheaper nuclear and gas-fired power plants. A controversial report by KPMG, the accountants and adviser on government energy policy, will this week say that Britain can reach the 2020 target on reducing pollution imposed by the European Union for a third less than predicted, a potential saving of £34 billion. To do so, says the report, entitled Thinking About the Affordable, the proportion of wind power envisaged in the current plan would need to be slashed and the energy shortfall made up by new gas-powered stations and nuclear reactors. Danny Fortson, The Sunday Times, 6 November 2011
A FIRST licence for the controversial gas drilling technique known as fracking has been granted in Scotland – with more likely to follow. — Jennifer Fyall, Scotland on Sunday, 6 November 2011
Many of the Western democracies are likely to become major oil and gas producers, helping to glut the world and collapse energy prices. And today’s energy-rich countries, most having undiversified economies, will then lose the lion’s share of their revenues and become neutered politically. –Lawrence Solomon, Financial Post, 5 November 2011
Climate Change Minister Greg Barker this morning told an audience of local councillors that it was “morally wrong” that the feed-in tariff scheme was offering such large returns when it is funded by a levy on everyone’s energy bills. –James Murray, BusinessGreen, 2 November 2011
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Ishtar Babilu Dingir:
Thanks for the update on the Curry/BEST discombobulation. In boxing, it is referred to, as the “good old – one-two”. Welcome btw. GK
“Many of the Western democracies are likely to become major oil and gas producers, helping to glut the world and collapse energy prices. And today’s energy-rich countries, most having undiversified economies, will then lose the lion’s share of their revenues and become neutered politically. ” WUWT? I thought we were sliding down the backslope of the oil and gas peak.
The British are an interesting lot. They have on the one hand the thickest-skulled, ideologue, anti-science institutions (UEA, BBC, The Guardian and the Royal Society are only four of scores and scores of academic and journalistic ‘consensus-nonsensus’ bodies ) and on the other hand, the most erudite champions of science, honesty, freedom and common sense (Viscount Monckton of Brenchley , Matt Ridley, noted bloggers (Bishop Hill) and others). In a few months they have gone from being the world’s leading climate crazies bent on self destruction to planning fossil fuel and nuclear energy as a way back to sanity. This bipolar shift will within a few months also hit Australia, which has been jealously trying to out Brit the British in this economic suicide pact. The rest of Europe, being more deeply mired in the socialist muck, will take longer to see any light but they will have to follow suit if they want to prevent revolution as the ordinary folk surpass their threshold of economic pain.
It was obvious a year ago that if the UK put its green taxes/subsidies on hold this would save abouy £18 billion per and if the country was to temporarily suspend foreign aid (which mainly lines the pockets of dictators and promotes fraud and corruption) that would save a further £12billion a year. The tital savings of £30 billion per year would largely fund the required austerity measures and any politician with an ounce of economic sense would have appreciated that temporarily holding back on those measures until the economy back on its feet would be one of the most sensible ways of tackling the economic problems. Not a total cure for the economic woes but the savings would go a long way to redressing matters. Tax cuts and a cut back in the size of the state and its medling would then promote some growth.
Given that it is obvious that for whatever reason global warming has temporarily stalled such that on any case there is additional time to address climate matters should it require addressing, it is crazy (perhapos incompetent) that the politicians have not sooner taken advantage of this hiatus and scaled back wasting needless finds on the green agenda.
Ishtar Babilu Dingir,
How refreshingly well mannered and polite you are Sir. I look forward to more of your well informed posts.
Regards.
Its so much like a replay of the King Knut (Canute) story.
For so long, fawning advisers (climate scientists) have played to their leaders (elected politicos) The politicians have been told that they have it in their power to control the tide (sea level), the temperature (keep it below 2’C rise), the number of bad storms there’ll be, the droughts etc etc etc.
Then, wWe all know the the climate scientists (are they still one of the Top Ten best paid professions in the US?) get lots of lovely (research) funding, endless new computer toys to play with and a continuous stream of new, far-flung and exotic places to go to for either ‘research’ or ‘conferences’ in return for their constant ego-stroking.
Is someone finally standing up in the role of Canute and call these people’s bluffs, is it the accountants who will call BS on the whole charade?
I could almost feel sorry for Mr Gore – he’s put absolutely everything (even his marriage) into his ‘crusade’ and it appears he actually does have the balls to call BS when he thinks he sees it.
Just a shame he picked the wrong ‘team’ at the start of the game.
Ho hum…
Gary Pearse says:
November 7, 2011 at 11:09 am
Gary,
I think the change of heart occurred when the good old British public, who tend towards indifference as a default setting, realised they were being asked to fund this nonsense through their energy bills. That led to a closer examination of the issue of CAGW and all of the inconsistencies we on this blog are all too aware of. Politicians now see green policies as an overall vote loser hence the drift away from eco-Huhnacy.
I wonder what effect this find had on their thinking-
“Back in August 2011, the experts at the The British Geological Survey team thought the country only had 150bn cubic meters of shale gas. Then on Sept 22 a group called Cuadrilla announced that they’d found the odd 5,660 bn cubic metres under Lancashire.”
That comes from Joanne Nova’s post on 22 Oct..
http://joannenova.com.au/2011/10/british-energy-landscape-shifted-a-month-ago-old-media-waking-up-now/
Alan the Brit says:
November 7, 2011 at 8:46 am
I’ll count my chickens later, common sense from a politician these days is rearer than hens teeth!!!
Count your chicken’s teeth first; These thieving politicos will take any thing they can.
One real test will be if the government throw Huhne to the sharks on the driving charges. Nice easy way to get rid of him from government and replace him with one of us. And long overdue too!
I am not a great believer in conspiracy theories.
In times of plenty I am perfectly happy to put my hand in my pocket and pay for an idle luxury.
When times are not so good, forget it.
I think it’s the same now in the UK, it’s not an anti-CAGW sentiment that has caused the rethink on green policy, its a pure lack of spare money.
It would be fantastic if it were otherwise, and the idiots actually realised the stupidity of what they have been pushing for the last x years.
Best news I’ve heard all day, and Ireland gets a mention – yessss!!!!
Is there an election due in UK soon?
LOL! Steve Jones, that’s the third time this week that my posts have been mistaken for those of a man! What is it I wonder… is it something about my delivery style? Or is that climate scientists are not so hot on ancient history? Ishtar was a Babylonian goddess at a time when global warming was a real problem for ancient Mesopotamia LOL!
G. Karst, thank you for your welcome and about the old one-two. What impresses me about Judith Curry is that she manages to deliver the old one-two with such aplomb and scholarly discretion that you’d never know that she was in an old one-two unless you understood the issues.
Its another sign that what ever the science the political will has gone out of AGW’s sails , and that from its proponents view is a far bigger threat for a great deal of their goals were political not science in nature and without view any drive from this direction they will be left drifting and heading to the rocks .
stanj says:
November 7, 2011 at 10:06 am
I’ll really believe that sanity is prevailing if the BBC Panorama programme tonight lives up to its billing:
“What’s Fuelling Your Energy Bill?”
For the BBC it was very balanced – certainly not a “greenwash”
Duncan says:
November 7, 2011 at 12:44 pm
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
It is very strange that the crown prosecution service are taking so long to make up their mind on whether a prosecution should or should not take place.
As your next post shows, Oz has an insane urge to follow the UK wherever it goes, even into oblivion. They have agreed to the Carbon Tax in our deeply misled government. I can only hope that the UK’s actions will urge ministers here to at least reconsider….
The fate of green is inexorably bound up with the agonisingly slow yet inevitable demise of that other European folly, the single currency or Euro.
It was fascinating to watch the strutting popinjays from Brussells meet with their peers from the rest of the world at the G20 in Cannes only to be sent away with their begging bowls unfilled.
Now that they must try to save what they can of the preposterous Euro using their own resources, there will be nothing left over for Gaia.
To hell with green and to hell with the Euro, but who will save democracy from the ensuing chaos?
Now is the winter of our discontent and a glorious summer is but a distant dream.
Ishtar,
To quote Jack Nicholson (forget which film), “Don’t I feel like the ******* @sshole”.
Regards.
Memo to our American Friends: Republic of Ireland is not in the UK.
There was a program on the BBC tonight. An edition of Panorama, which used to be a sort of highbrow news analysis program back when the BBC was somehat independent. Called ‘The Great Energy Gamble’. Amazingly, it spelled out that current policies will lead to ever-increasing prices for (natural) gas and electricity.
An amazing admission from that organization. I expect to see much comment about it in the MSM and blogosphere tomorrow (Tue).
In that edition of Panorama, George Monbiot actually talked sense.
I wonder if he is ill?
The Irish Government is full of shit!
60 % of the cost of every tank of petrol or diesel goes straight to the government, then they landed a carbon tax on top of that, carbon tax on electricity to subsidise wind energy, giving money to big companies and nothing to ordinary people to install wind or solar p.v, disgraceful.
Even if they abandon climate change policy, will they eliminate the carbon tax + the duty on fuel? I seriously doubt it!
And then the cost of new small cars in Europe is gone crazy because of all the efforts to reduce Co2, and they wonder why car sales are low, and Nissan think we will pay 30,000 for a poxy 70-100 mile range car? The ones who could benifit the most from E.V’s are the ones who can’t afford them. They could run their cars for very little!
Europe has thousands of years worth of Thorium, l.f.t.r reactors are the way to go, electricity for cars, heating, and would save our land from turbines everywhere!
It was “A Few Good Men.”
Here, listen up.
http://www.wavlist.com/movies/084/afgm-feel.wav
The BBC programme actually pinned back Huhne (climate change minister) with some very direct questions challenging his assertion that energy bills would reduce because of his eco-policies. It went on to quote sources that showed that they might in fact triple. The sequence investigating offshore windfarms was on a calm day, showing them lazily turning over or stopped. Normally, wind turbine news reports depict them spinning round at high speed.
This was a departure from BBC norms on matters related to AGW. A year ago nothing like this would have happened, when a hatchet job on sceptics was all that we typically got.
Monday night on BBC had a one hour programme on whether we can expect snow this winter. It was fairly neutral regarding the influence of AGW and even criticised the Met Office at one point for its rash predictions of ‘barbecue’ summers.
Could this herald a sea change at BBC?