From Benny Peiser and The GWPF – [Conservative MEP] Miguel Arias Canete, Spain’s former agriculture and environment minister, was nominated as the European Union’s next commissioner for climate and energy, becoming the first single supervisor of those two policy areas. The new commission will take office as energy policy is moving up the EU agenda amid a crisis in Ukraine, the transit country for around half of Russian natural gas to Europe, and the unrest in Middle East. –Ewa Krukowska, Bloomberg 10 September 2014
Jean-Claude Juncker’s decision to group EU commissioners into teams serving under a vice-president has been welcomed by some interest groups, and derided by others. Rumours of the intention to combine the climate and energy portfolios have been sparking alarm among environmentalists for weeks. But the elimination of a dedicated environment portfolio came as a genuine shock to green groups. The ‘Green 10’ – an alliance of European environmental NGOs – sent a letter to Juncker saying that his restructuring decisions suggest a “de-facto shutdown of EU environmental policymaking”. –Dave Keating, European Voice, 11 September 2014
The Green10, the alliance of leading environmental NGOs at EU level, supported by over 20 million EU citizens and active in all 28 Member States, wrote today an open letter to President Jean-Claude Juncker to express grave concerns over the direction the EU seems to be taking with the announcement of his new team. The coalition highlights that the structure of the new Commission, the mission letters, and the choice of Commissioners all reveal a serious downgrading of environment and a roll back of EU commitments to sustainable development, resource efficiency, air quality, biodiversity protection and climate action. —WWF Europe, 11 September 2014
“The biggest change is the structural blocks put on any new legislative activity,” said Tony Long, director of campaign group WWF. “Every avenue is blocked because it all has to go through a vice-president and then a first vice-president.” Mark Fodor, executive director of campaign group Central and Eastern Europe Bankwatch, said the letter suggests that Juncker is back-tracking from previous commitments. “By missing out the crucial role of EU funding for addressing the climate challenge, the president-elect is showing complete disregard for the future of our planet,” he said. –Dave Keating, European Voice, 11 September 2014
Just two days after being appointed by Jean-Claude Junker, the EU’s new climate and energy commissioner is under pressure to drop his shares in two oil companies which members of European parliament say represent a conflict of interest. The MEPs say EU’s proposed new climate and energy commissioner, Miguel Arias Cañete, must dispose of any oil company shareholdings before they consider giving his nomination a green light at European parliament hearings later this month. One environment committee member, the German social-democrat Jo Leinen, told the Guardian there was “no guarantee” that Miguel Arias Cañete would be confirmed at European Parliament hearings, which have powers to send back proposed commissioner lists to Juncker. –Arthur Neslen, The Guardian, 12 September 2014
Skepticism of global warming may be more widespread than it is portrayed in the media, with nearly half of British lawmakers being labelled as climate “skeptics” and India’s prime minister casting doubt on claims of man-made global warming. A special report by PR Week shows that a vast majority of conservative members of UK Parliament are [doubtful] that mankind is the main driver behind global temperature rises. While a slight majority (51 percent) of members of parliament (MPs) say that global warming “is largely man made” and an established fact, nearly three quarters of conservative MPs disagree. –Michael Bastasch, The Daily Caller, 10 September 2014
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Someone has to explain to these alarmed Green fellows that it’s all only temporary.
That is, until the measured temperatures, now going down,
catch up with the climate models, now going exponentially fast up.
That could take as little as a few decades, or as long as a few centuries.
Or maybe for ever, should a glaciation come first.
The Guardian makes a big deal over shares in oil companies. You would need over 1% ownership to have any real influence, I doubt any politician does.
Being a member of one the Green churches is far more corrupting, even subscribing to the Guardian should disqualify you from political office. Participating in IPCC is out of the question!
@Robert of Ottawa,
Can’t help responding to your comment about Canada: “we already have plenty of nuclear, coal and hydroelectric power. So much that Canadians call electricity “hydro”. When I first started having to pay household bills after moving to Ontario, I always thought that “hydro” meant the water bill, and would be perplexed upon opening the envelope and seeing an electricity bill inside. “Hydro” is an Ontario thing, thanks to Niagara Falls historically being the major source for the original power grid. In New Brunswick one pays “NB Power” bills and refers to “electric power”, not “hydro”.
Here it is called BC Hydro ( there seems to be a reason for that, I wonder why).
Short for the original term, Hydroelectric.
The proposed commissioner should surely have to sell any shares in any company which might represent a conflict of interest, or at the very least have his investment portfolio managed for him in a blind trust. He shouldn’t be holding green energy shares either.
The green armwaving is possibly premature. It could turn out that rather than reducing their power, it just go extended to energy policy by lumping environment and power together.
Politico’s everywhere have understood for sometime that CAGW is a monstrous lie that they can no longer peddle to their electorates.
Wriggling out of what is an untenable situation is what they do best.
Wriggle, wriggle, wriggle little worm.
Simply telling the truth and admitting you have been duped is waay to much to ask.
Yawn…
Brussels (Belgium) good for; beer, chocolates, tarts and chips with mayo.
I think you are all seriously overestimating a tiny victory. the green movement is as powerful as ever with politicians at the very top getting huge amounts of cash from wind farms and solar parks where top grade arable land is underneath the maintenance roads and the solar panels.