Eric Worrall writes: The European Union has just committed economic suicide, by agreement a landmark deal, to cut CO2 emissions by 40% by 2030.
Given that European emissions, by any rational measure, have been rising steadily, this would at first seem to be an impossible goal.
But anyone who is expecting a rational re-appraisal of European environment policy – don’t underestimate the blind determination of Europe’s green elite, to fulfill their dream of an emission free Europe. They will, in my opinion, happily bomb the European economy back into the stone age to achieve their ridiculous goal.
An an example of the people who run Europe, consider the most recently appointed European Commissioner, Violetta Bulc. According to Roger Helmer, a prominent UKIP Euroskeptic member of the European Parliament, Bulc is on record as claiming to be a practicing fire walker and a shaman. http://rogerhelmermep.wordpress.com/2014/10/22/fire-walking-a-key-skill-for-eu-commissioners/
On her blog, Bulc describes herself as an expert on balanced sustainable development strategies, organic growth and innovation ecosystems. She believes in the power of networks, holistic individual, and positive energy.
A recent post on Bulc’s blog is “The vibration of white lions in the new era”. http://www.violeta.si/2014/09/the-vibration-of-white-lions-in-new-era.html
Yet Bulc is now, or shortly will become, one of the most powerful people in Europe – one of 28 European commissioners, who have sole power to source new legislation, which is usually in my opinion rubber stamped by near powerless European parliament. The European commission is also the sole body responsible for ensuring the legislation they source is executed – the commission combines executive, oversight and legislative powers into a single polity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Commission
Bulc will never have to face a vote – only members of the European parliament have to bother with all that populist democracy nonsense. Commissioners are appointed.
Can anyone imagine someone like Bulc relaxing her iron determination to drive down European emissions, just because a few miserable capitalists claim that they are going bankrupt? After all, its for the sake of the planet. And Bulc is not alone – most of the commission share her zeal for all things green.
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
I don’t think Americans quite understand the whole EU thing. Their leaders always mistake and agreement to do something with them actually doing something. They never get around to the second part, the actually doing of something; and they won’t this time either.
Their economies are so totally f***ked they could not do this even if they wanted to.
I understand the demand for several billion more euros from the UK because their economy grew and increased its share size within the stagnant EU. Are you saying they never pay up?
David, this has to be seen as an opportunity. As the European economy decays we can move dollars to lower value euros, buy real estate property we can later sell to Chinese, Indians, and Russians.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/520672/Winter-weather-2014-UK-forecast-cold-snow-November
The Brits are in for a very hard time
David, please don’t be misled by this Express “report”. To say that it is utter bunk is being far too kind. This newspaper prints a science-free long-range winter weather “forecast” every year. It predicts incredible weather with extreme low temperatures, blizzards, blackouts… and it never comes out that way. Pure sensationalism.
It’s no worse than the MET office forecast … maybe a bit better …
MikeP, then reject both forms of speculation – the Express and the MET office. Nether are encumbered by accountability for their inaccuracy.
In short, two wrongs don’t make a right.
(But two Wrights do make an aeroplane, of course).
The EU desperately needs to wean itself from Russian coal,oil and gas for reasons that have nothing to do with climate change.
Sayng it’s policies have something to do with climate change is just a way to placate the watermelons.
But it gas plenty of coal, and possibly gas. There is absolutely no need to go green to wean itself off Russia..
Not really…Germany is burning lots of ‘brown coal(lignite)’ and also importing lots ‘black coal’ from Russia.
UK Coal has trouble being profitable with steam coal prices below $100/tonne.(for comparison mine mouth coal prices in Gillette,Wyoming are $10/ton.(Yes..Wyoming coal is 10 times cheaper)
Fracking might hold some hope for the EU getting off of Russian gas but it doesn’t take much encouragement for the usual suspects to find a reason to ‘not frack’.
Even as a US citizen in favor of fracking I question whether fracking is appropriate in densely populated areas. Most of Europe is densely populated.
the Kyoto treaty always was a treaty among ‘energy importing countries’.
@harrywr2
One of the practices becoming popular in North Dakota and other shale plays is to build a 20-40 acre drilling and frack pad upon which to drill all wells to drain two to four sections (1280-2560 acres). “Two miles down, Two mile horizontal, repeat every 20 days. 10-20 wells per pad. That is about 2% of the land being devoted to the drilling, fracking equipment, tanks, materials, and maintenance.
Wiki has a good entry on fracking in Germany & other EU member countries:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_fracturing_by_country#Germany
Fracking in NY & PA occurs in built-up areas, too, such as all around Pittsburgh & near Wilkes-Barre:
http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/drilling/
harrywr2
October 24, 2014 at 5:25 am
Unfortunately, Oregon won’t let clean, high BTU coal from Wyoming be exported to China via “death trains” to the Port of Morrow on the Columbia River.
Stephen Rasey if the oil companies drilling in North Dakota got things done properly those 20-well pads should be less than 10 acres. That’s with room to spare. I’ve seen 32-well pads take up less than 12 acres.
Another take on this.
Europe’s New Climate Targets: Myth & Reality:
http://youtu.be/GVZecOM424o
A hall full of nodding heads, 1984 anyone? The stupidity is astounding. I feel for the Brits this coming winter, how are the wood pellets from Carolina etc working for you? And cannot believe the ruling in Oregon re the “Death Trains”, that one takes the cake! (But hey send it to Vancouver, we’ll gladly move it on Wyoming).
That’s probably what will happen. Canada should thank our ecoloons, first for Keystone traffic & now for Wyoming & Montana coal trains.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/08/19/too-late-for-oregons-coal-terminal-exporting-us-coal-to-asia-could-drop-emissions-21-percent/
No-no-no. They did exactly not.
Americans do not understand how EU works.
The key in this “agreement” was that each and every EU land can veto any practical decision to reach this “voluntary” goal.
And so it is meaningless, as I suspected and as the post fails to make clear.
It’s all about Abrupt Climate Change:
To quote the messenger Guy McPherson of Arizona University “…the heat has gone into the deep oceans …” and in such quantity “to lock warming in for the next 40 years … ” and the “tipping point” will create “abrupt climate change” …. “creating a human extinction event …” He claims ” the trigger on the clathrate gun has been pulled …”
He repeatedly claimed a 3 degree celsius rise hasn’t occured during human occupation — no humans around with a 3 degrees C rise “from baseline. Given we evolved during the current Quaternary Ice Age and have survived at least a couple of glaciations.
I didn’t realise humanity was such a fragile species. We don’t have fangs, nor claws and now it seems the low surface-area profile we present to the sun from our vertical posture, our relatively hairless skin and our copious sweat glands just won’t be able to cope with a mere smear 3 degree C rise “from baseline,” whatever that is. Diurnal and seasonal variations are an order of magnitude greater each year and we survive those just fine.
Mind you, in true propaganda mode, the baseline was never defined.
In summary: We’re all going to die!!!
His objective, openly stated, is to completely collapse industrial civilisation.
It very much looks as though Europe has been convinced, and is lining up to be the first lemming over the cliff.
McPherson is, to put it kindly, crazy like a fox. There is no hidden heat. There is no locked in warming. There is no calthrate gun. He is indulging in selling magical thinking to gullible people and profiting off the fear that leads to nice grants, speaking fees and book deals.
I do seem to remember reading about french peasants in 1789.
Just because you are appointed by chums doesn’t mean some bellicose oiks can’t chop your head off……
One does also wonder what will happen if National Governments simply refuse to wire the money to Brussels?
Wouldn’t last long then, the EU commission, would it??
Germany is phasing out nuclear power. It will be interesting when the winters turn bitterly cold and Germans start freezing to death and the French can’t supply them power. This will be when the green dream ends. You don’t get much energy from your green sources in the middle of a cold, still winter’s night.
Next to no German heats electrically. Also, we don’t die from cold.
may they rest in peace
The outcome will either be:
1. countries simply exiting the EU via referendum
2. they will strive for but measure how far behind they are
3. the goals will be ignored or
4. some scheme will be approved to keep the EU but allow nations to opt out
since the actual implemenation will be sub-species (Western European) extinction. I’m still guessing most will simply not vote to die. But …
And this right on top of the UK, and others in the EU facing what might be a Winter Die Off directly due to their energy policies as folks freeze, burn down their houses, etc., all the while Germany is ernestly building more coal fired power plants.
The UK economy is doing well, as is the Dutch, France, under a stupid socialist president, is doing very badly, Germany, after years of solid growth is also suffering a little. How are the UK, and Holland rewarded? We have to pay £1.8 Bn and little Holland over 700 million: Germany and France are rewarded with a rebate! Rather like the inland revenue department giving grants to people whose pay goes down. This is why I am not surprised at the EU’s idiotic emissions policy. The whole union is run by left wing bureaucratic loons.
Ah, but those clever Germans have invented the Grid Storage Battery, very very expensive but it works. Take a 2GW lignite power plant and switch it to generate on demand. No blackouts but no reduction in fuel use.
“…to fulfill their dream of an emission free Europe.”
Was that emission free, or population free?
Is there a difference?
don’t believe the positive spin….it’s a toothless outcome…and the CAGW activists are furious:
24 Oct: UK Telegraph: Emily Gosden: End to wind farm quotas as EU agrees 2030 climate deal
EU leaders vow to slash carbon emissions by 40 per cent by 2030 but do not impose national renewable energy targets
Britain will no longer be forced to build wind and solar farms from 2020, under a new EU climate change deal that leaves countries free to choose how to cut their carbon emissions…
Following UK lobbying, the deal does not impose binding national targets for renewable energy or energy efficiency…
In the end the EU set a binding target for 27 per cent renewable energy and an indicative target for 27 per cent energy efficiency improvements, but crucially both only at EU level.
“These targets will be achieved while fully respecting the member states’ freedom to determine their energy mix. Targets will not be translated into nationally binding targets,” the agreement said…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/11185057/End-to-wind-farm-quotas-as-EU-agrees-2030-climate-deal.html
lots more in the link below:
24 Oct: OneWorld.org: EU climate deal ‘puts polluters before people’
Brook Riley, climate justice and energy campaigner for Friends of the Earth Europe,commented: “To describe 40% emissions cuts as adequate or ambitious, as EU leaders are doing, is dangerously irresponsible. 40% is off the radar of climate science. This deal does nothing to end Europe’s dependency on fossil fuels or to speed up our transition to a clean energy future. It’s a deal that puts dirty industry interests ahead of citizens and the planet.”
Only the 40% emissions reduction target will be broken down into 28 nationally binding targets. The renewables target will be binding at EU level, and there is no clarity how it will be implemented. The energy savings target is only indicative…
Molly Walsh, climate justice and energy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe said:”The renewable energy target represents barely more than business-as-usual and will send a dangerous signal to national governments that EU renewables policy is being abandoned…
Friends of the Earth Europe, Oxfam, Climate Action Network Europe, and the European Environmental Bureau were outside the summit today to protest about the lack of action being proposed to move Europe away from fossil fuels.
Dressed as corporate lobbyists, they constructed a huge blockade of leaky oil barrels and bags of coal, to symbolise the dirty energy companies blocking action on climate change. Photos available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/foeeurope/sets/72157648519429630/ …
Europe’s new climate and energy targets for the period 2020–2030 show a leadership out of touch with climate reality, said WWF’s Global Climate and Energy initiative leader Samantha Smith…
http://oneworld.org/2014/10/24/eu-climate-deal-puts-polluters-before-people/
Reblogged this on Centinel2012 and commented:
Germany’s problems with closing their nuke plants and relying more and more on wind and solar PV while than having to turn back on their coal powered generators shows how foolish this will be.
EU is on suicide watch on another matter:
24 Oct: SF Chronicle: AP: Raf Casert: Britain protests EU demand for more funding
Britain is protesting a European Union request for an additional 2.1 billion euro ($2.65 billion) contribution to the EU coffers at a time of increasing pressure at home for the country to leave the bloc…
The Netherlands too has been asked for a big top-up, of 642 million euros, which Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem called “extremely surprising, unpleasantly surprising.”…
Whatever the cause, Cameron and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte already discussed a common protest at the EU summit which ends Friday. The Netherlands too is facing an increasingly vocal anti-EU camp…
Dijsselbloem said “we are not going to take this lying down.”…
A longtime reluctant member of the EU, Britain has seen a surge in the popularity of the UKIP party, which wants to get Britain out of the EU, claiming its bureaucracy is profligate.
“The EU is like a thirsty vampire feasting on U.K. taxpayers’ blood. We need to protect the innocent victims, who are us,” said UKIP leader Nigel Farage…
http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/world/article/Britain-says-EU-is-asking-for-bigger-contribution-5844420.php
Perhaps the UK and the Dutch can exit together as a Confederation…. Invite some Swedish and Norwegians along… maybe some folk in Iceland too… and Denmark. Would likely make a nice package together…. Heck, extend the invite to the Former Eastern Block too. Leave Germany, France, and Italy to support the Rump-EU on windmills and solar panels during a dark December snow….
It looks like you are not quite up to scratch on e.g. Norwegian politics, as regards both EU and “climate”. The Norwegian people voted in 2 referendums (1972 and 1994) to stay out of EU, but Gro Harlem Brundtland managed to get it in through the back door anyway (https://www.gov.uk/eu-eea) . Regarding “climate” politics, the climate opposition in Norway has been completely eradicated now that the seemingly skeptic progressive party (or so they want us to believe) is in government. There is only one voice in Norway nowadays: AGW all the way.
Hasn’t stopped Norway from cashing in on its North Sea fossil fuel bonanza.
Norway has a way to go before becoming fully transformed into Muriburiland:
Though this might have been introduced on the back of climate change – the evidence for, or impact of, we can dispute – there is merit in doing everything possible to minimise the EU’s reliance on Russia for fossil fuels, and making the EU more self-sufficient.
Of course there will be a price to pay by consumers in doing so. But I for one am more concerned about geopolitics and Russia holding the EU to ransom over fuel supplies than climate change. So on balance it may be a price worth paying.
Was there a Russian agenda to hold the EU ‘to ransom’ before the sanctions imposed on it by the US/EU? IMHO the sabre rattling started with them and has now forced Russia into a tit-for-tat.
I don’t think the US or EU invited Russia to interfere in the Ukraine did it? Was the US/EU already imposing sanctions before that then?
Putin and his fellow thugs in the Kremlin will be throwing a huge party to celebrate the European policy to become even MORE dependent on Russian oil and gas.
Putin never in a million years thought that any group of leaders could be more stupid than Obama, but he now realizes he was wrong.
China – and all of Asia – is celebrating because the cost of all European export goods will be going up, providing an even greater advantage to Asian produced products for export.
And lots of folks thought that only the voters in Venezuela and Argentina would vote for economic suicide; which of course MUST be followed by political suicide.
As for the ruling elites of Europe, they are wealthy enough to afford ever more expensive cost of living and if things really get hot, they are near enough to Switzerland to save their ass from the discontented and really ANGRY masses.
If the European economy collapses, China’s collapses with it, simply because they are almost entirely dependent on exports. There are no winners in this game, and China – already in economic difficulty – will certainly not be celebrating.
After the brutal winter ahead, this should be interesting.
No democraticaly elected legislature will be given the chance to vote on this directive from the European Commission. Europe is now ruled by unaccountable green/left bureaucrats, with the permission of the European countries’ heads of state. Gramski has won.
There seems to be a lack of understanding of how the EU works. There is the European Commission with its commissioners such as this nutter. There is the European Parliament made up of the MEPs that less the half of the population of Europe think are worth bothering voting for – around 25% in the UK. Finally there is the European Council. Just because the Commission agree something its does not mean that the other parts of the system will agree to it. The most direct national government involvement is via the Council. The parliament which is often seen as a token offering to democracy has recently gained more power so can block daft ideas like this. They are aware of growing problems with energy costs and jobs being exported elsewhere so the net result is no reduction in emissions – not that they are a problem anyway as we wiser ones know.
The timing of the EU tax on the economic success of the UK could not have come at a better time for UKIP as they have been shown as ahead in one poll for the by-election next month. And there is nothing Call Me Dave (UK PM) can do about it.
Knock knock, Who’s there?…. it’s me Dave…..?, Dave?.., Dave snot here….hey come on It’s me Dave.. …Dave?… Dave snot here…..
Hey man, you didn’t stop at that red light. That’s OK man, I’ll stop twice at the next one.
Maybe they’ll ignore Dave twice next time.
There’s still chance for a miracle, a cheap and reliable source of power with no CO2 production being discovered or invented and implemented on large scale. However skeptical I was about Rossi’s e-cat since the very beginning, its recent more or less independent tests are starting to look very convincing.
If no such source is found and implemented, Europe will simply write off or move the target. It will harm itself somewhat but fortunately there are still smart and intelligent people at lower levels of execution and in technology who will not do what’s told to them and rather teach the parliament how much of a nonsense those decisions are.
As far as I know, EU did not meet any of its CO2 reduction targets so far. It did not break because of it.
I don’t have any faith in this Rossi thing. If it was working like he says, why don’t they remove the electric input and let it power itself from electricity it generates as part of it’s operation?
For this reaction to work, mass must be converted to energy. They claim that chemical reactions – known and unknown – can’t account for the amount of energy being produced. That leaves only one explanation – mass must be lost through nuclear combinations. Eg, protons combining to form helium. However, no elemental transformations have ever been detected, which is why they say it involves a new kind of physics. Yeah, right.
For what I know about it, the device is only producing heat. And you still need certain level of effectivity turning this heat back into electricity. That would be unnecessarily complex for testing device of such size and would increase the size of the device, allowing for more mass to be suspect of being used to generate the heat.
From the last report I remember elemental changes were detected. Isotopic composition of both Lithium and Nickel contents has changed between start and end of the experiment.
I was 100% skeptical about e-cat since day one. Theory says no cold fusion is possible, Rossi was proven cheater in the past and there were many ways how to cheat in first few demonstrations. I’m still not a believer. But I’m cautiously optimistic. I would still not put my money on it but I’m watching. If it works in real world without cheating then I don’t care what Rossi’s history is or what theory says about it. We can figure out later what was wrong on our understanding.
It still may be a scam. But latest experiments look very convincing to me.
most of the commission share her zeal for all things green
Which by ‘lucky chance ‘ also mean lots more money going into the hands of people like her who combine corruption with incompetency on an industrial scale . Life as EU commissioner is very rich and tax free and it’s often the case that actual ability has little to with getting the job in the first place.
The idiot climate “expert” has just stated on prime BBC television that there is no doubt at all CO2 has caused “climate change”. Is it possible to make a legal challenge to this fool?
Latest Cameron at EU:
I AM NOT PAYING THE 2 BILLION EURO BILL !!!
He will.
Remember when he wielded the Veto?
He folded in a week. Folded like Edward II.
His clan motto worked in the Scottish referendum, but what about Europe?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/Clan_member_crest_badge_-_Clan_Cameron.svg/472px-Clan_member_crest_badge_-_Clan_Cameron.svg.png
LET US UNITE !
Like he said he was going to renegotiate to stop free movement of migrants. He will have to pay up because it is a clear case of the UK having understated its economy since 2006. There is nothing he can do about it.
Well, no. He’s not going to pay it, British taxpayers will.
Then they’ll go and vote UKIP. And, since the Tories won’t stop contesting seats UKIP are likely to win, that means Britain will have another Labour government. Which will be the end of Britain as anything resembling a viable nation.
Maybe it would have been better for Scotland’s secession movement to have succeeded. That alone would have made the prospect of another Labour regime distant.
Perhaps better yet would be for not just Scotland, N. Ireland & Wales to go their separate ways, but the socialist North of England as well, leaving a conservative South England (except for parts of London). Let local people be as Commie as they wanna be, & see how that works out for them. It seems that once in every generation citizens need to be reinoculated against the siren call of socialism.
But first, all of the United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland should leave the EU, to become once again proud masters of their own fates.
For centuries the North didn’t like rule by London any better than did the disparate peoples of Scotland. Now could be their chance to embrace their Celtic & Norse heritages & unique cultures & dialects.