Britain’s exit dashes the European Union’s leadership ambitions on efforts to slow climate change, leaving the bloc on the sidelines while others endorse the global pact it championed to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Britain’s vote to leave the union has disrupted everyday affairs and probably displaced climate concerns as a political priority. It also removes one of the EU’s strongest voices in favour of emissions-cutting policies. —Reuters, 1 July 2016
Six months after the U.N. Climate Change Conference – or COP21 – in Paris, the German government is becoming less and less ambitious about implementing the results. It is caving in, especially in the dispute over the future of coal. –-Handelsblatt, 30 June 2016
Germany has abandoned plans to set out a timetable to exit coal-fired power production and scrapped C02 emissions reduction goals for individual sectors, according to the latest draft of an environment ministry document seen by Reuters on Wednesday. The new version, which was revised following consultation with the economy and energy ministry, has also deleted specific concrete C02 emissions savings targets for the energy, industry, transport and agriculture sectors. —Reuters, 29 June 2016
By reducing the role of renewables in its energy mix, Poland could go beyond 80% dependence on coal for electricity production. The new bill adopted on Tuesday overhauls a system of green certificates that polluters must buy, while moving to create regulatory barriers for wind farms. In the short run, the new bill is a boon for a struggling coal mining industry. Poland is one of the biggest producers and consumers of coal in the EU 28, generating 80% of its electricity from the black staff. Being the world’s eighth largest producer of coal, Warsaw also has to consider the 100,000 jobs at stake. Brussels and Warsaw are heading for an inevitable standoff on energy policy. —New Europe, 30 June 2016
The UK agreed on Thursday to set a legally binding goal committing the country to steep cuts in carbon dioxide emissions designed to help ward off climate change. But in a sign of the uncertainties triggered by Britain’s vote to leave the EU, the move was dismissed as potentially “unlawful” by the think-tank founded by Nigel Lawson, the former Tory Chancellor and a member of the Leave campaign’s strategy committee. Lord Lawson’s Global Warming Policy [Forum] said it was wrong for the government to set in law a fifth “carbon budget” committing the UK to cut emissions 57 per cent by 2032 from the levels of 1990. The goal was “based on the now incorrect assumption that the UK will still be in the EU by 2030”, the [Forum] said. –Pilita Clark, Financial Times, 1 July 2016
Climate scientists and advocates are worried that Britain’s exit from the Eurpean Union will complicate the process of ratifying the Paris Agreement and may install a government that will roll back crucial environmental policies and regulations. –Aidan Quigley, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 June 2016
Economics editor Daniel Wetzel at Germany’s center-right national daily Die Welt here writes that the Brexit may be the end of the Paris climate treaty and that it is a climate-political nightmare for the EU. –P Gosselin, No Tricks Zone, 30 June 2016
h/t to Dr. Benny Peiser, The GWPF
Even before Brexit Germany was facing problems with meeting its ambition to reduce CO2 by 40% (from 1990 levels) by 2020 according to the article in Notalot:
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2016/03/27/german-co2-emissions-rise-in-2015/
Apparently emissions rose in 2015 as a result partly of phasing out nuclear fuels and increased use of lignite. An 18% cut is required in the next 4-5 years to meet the schedule and given the flattening of the rate of drop in emissions (as illustrated in the article) this may be implausible .
It is already impossible unless Germany cuts down all its industries! The Allies bombed Germany like crazy during WWII to stop production and still, didn’t do it as totally as what will happen now if Germany tries to go ‘super expensive energy’.
The germans aren’t stupid. They are moving the car manufacturing to the poorer regions of Europe and the cheaper energy regions of the world. That’s why Merkel’s stupidity of saying come one come all has been so damaging.
I have to laugh because all European big wigs are putting on a brave face but must be filling their pants right at this moment.
Ruinous Run-ins With Reality. Blended floods of tears of laughter and sorrow!
Six months after the UN Climate Change COP 21, the German Guvuhmint’s
becoming less ambitious about implementing the results. Reality bites – Less
willing to cop the insanities of lemming- leap energy policies.
So, the stubborn little British bulldog bit this in the leg and lamed it!
+2016
Here is another mega-shock for greens:
The Austrian court ruling overturns the knife-edge win on May 22 by Alexander Van der Bellen, an old green politician who beat Norbert Hofer of the anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPO) by some 30,000 votes after postal ballots were included.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/01/austrias-presidential-election-re-run-could-not-come-at-a-worse/
germany potentially has other problems to deal with. Deutshe has a derivatives book of 75 trillion dollars, 20 x German GDP, hope that one does not blow like Lehmans who had a derivatives book half of Deutshe Banks.
englandrichard, I believe that people are starting to realize that the Green agenda has finally been bitten in the a$$. And the the realization that it is not “sustainable” is doubly ironic! .
As far as the worlds economic debt is concerned? It is going to make the 1929 crash look like a Christmas party, I doubt people even realize the coming nightmare when they wake up.( someone mentioned they rather be paid in cans of beans rather than cash, great point I think it was Delingpole?)
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Will accept beer for programming or wine for management duties…
E.M. , I think the hangover from the beer (or wine) might cover the financial hangover just right , although it’s going to take a lot of both!
Now that Britain has Ausfahrted, maybe Germany can do likewise.
Ausfahrted ! Love it just about “Ausfarthed” all over my key board!
Studiously ignored by the MSM everywhere, the Paris COP agreement was in fact killed off not by Brexit and its possible fallout, but by none other than India, which earlier this week officially announced that it has no intention of ratifying the agreement any time soon.
Since the Paris agreement legally hinges on having the US, China, India, Russia and the EU signed up, it’s toast, no matter what happens around Brexit.
And so climate crusader Obama got himself another black eye on his way out, on top of having his executive orders on immigration and banning fracking on public lands whacked in high level court rulings this week as well.
Obama will not get a black eye.
When Bush did not get the Senate to ratify the Kyoto treaty, the greens blamed Bush. The greens blamed Bush for the 2000/2001 California energy crisis even though he was governor of Texas at the time.
My favorite was when Senator Clinton blamed POTUS Bush for making decisions her husband failed to make.
Retired Kit P
You’re missing the point – lost in petty US issues.
The black eye is international. A major chunk of Obama’s 8 year green crusade, the Paris COP agreement, went up in smoke [so to speak] because a developing country, India, said NO.
Many years ago I tried to figure out why some places used more nuclear than others. The answer is a vulnerable supply chain. It takes a huge amount of fossil fuel to make power. That is also a huge amount of money going someplace else.
For example, a few miles down the Columbia River is the coal plant at Boardman, Oregon. Coal comes by a daily mile long train from the other side of the Rocky Mountains. The Powder River Basin is over a 1000 miles away.
In my youth nuclear power was cool in the abstract. Many places got on the bandwagon. No coal, no gas, no oil, no choice. There were plans for more than 20 reactors in the PNW. So many places built a lot of nuke plants.
Think about this in the context of wind and solar which is cool to some in the abstract. When you have a fleet of nuke plants, you have to deal with the real problems which are far from abstract. I worked a lot of overtime fixing problems. There were some clowns who had no business running nuke plants.
There are two kinds of people. Those who make electricity and those who do not. There is a serious responsibility associated with providing power.
When there is a problems with nuclear power of coal, politician announce that they will close the plants taking credit for plants that were retiring already or plants that are in mothballs.
I am no longer surprised to see power plants closed by press release still making lots of power 20 years later.
Here is the deal. Most folks do not care where their electricity comes from. They care when it stops coming and they will get themselves some new politicians.
When rolling blackouts are no longer an abstraction, nuclear looks real good.
Robert Rapier to the courtesy phone!
Robert Rapier to the courtesy phone!
That’s funny!
The US has had better economic performance than the EU since the financial crisis. The difference has been the fracking revolution in the US versus the EU’s catastrophic energy policy. If Britain reverses its energy policy as a result of the Brexit vote, then Britain may well gain economically from withdrawing from the EU.
Fracking is not revolutionary, it has been the common well completion practice for over 60 years. Correctly stated horizontal drilling is revolutionary in the US as well as the world. Just saying.
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“Speaking of famine …”
What famine? American farmers and US Navy/Marines are happy to keep anyone from starving. I am sure that sentiment is shared by many other countries with food surpluses.
What we have is a surplus of corrupt government officials who find easier to control with food than bullets.
Thank you American Farmers.
America often gets disparaged for consuming more energy per capita than most other countries. I like to put this in perspective of American Farmers.
if America has about 5% of the world’s population, and if you accept that fewer than 1 in 5 Americans is a farmer then American Farmers make up less than 1% of the world population. American Farmers produce more than 75% of the world’s grain exports.
Wheat dust on the motorhome and boat. What about ‘dirty’ wheat?
Mountains of wheat at the grain elevators, barges of wheat going down the Columbia River. What about a beautiful sight.
Why? Why the sudden exit from saving the world?
Because the fraud is not saving the world, it is making it more difficult to survive, period.
From the article: “Climate scientists and advocates are worried that Britain’s exit from the Eurpean Union will complicate the process of ratifying the Paris Agreement ”
The agreement won’t be ratified by the U.S., and if Trump is elected, there won’t be any more money going to fund any of it.
The low density “green” energy converters were poorly suited for general use and were large-scale disruptors of the environment throughout their operational life time. Although, perhaps between the maintenance and repairs, flora and fauna did manage to reclaim some green pastures.
…More trouble for Musk and his “Green” Tesla’s..
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2016/07/01/tesla-driver-using-autopilot-feature-killed-by-tractor-trailer/?intcmp=hplnws
The first man to be killed by a Californian robot, since Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.
So the Germans want everyone else to follow the script while they will go their own way.That about sums it up, and of course it will aid their economy while hurting any economy that falls for this rubbish of AGW and follows the diktats.
Recently country by country there has been the start of the political epiphany/awakening concerning the climate issue/non issue.
There is no CAGW problem to solve and regardless, the green scams do not work. Part of the reason for the epiphany is all of the developed countries have run out of borrowed money to spent. The developed countries are and will be forced to separate the idiotic waste of money items in their budgets from the real issues such as health care, national defense, infrastructure construction and repair, and so on.
There was a very recent paper from a Cambridge professor that concluded that it was impossible for economic (there is insufficient free GDP to purchase the green scams and the increase cost of energy if there was a massive ‘investment’ in green scams would cause a worldwide economic depression) and engineering reasons (energy input to construct the construct the green scams needs to be included in the calculations) significantly reduce total CO2 total emissions with the green scams. The greens scams fail as they are intermittent power sources so twice as much power generation equipment is required and due to the significant energy input that is required to construct the green scams.
The Cambridge professor noted that it was strange that no one had done the basic calculation which shows it is impossible to reduce total world anthropogenic CO2 emissions by more than around 20% using the green scams.
If anthropogenic CO2 emissions where truly an issue, the only solution would be Stalin like policies, such as forced population reduction (reduce the world population to around 500 million), banning of tourist air travel, banning single family homes, banning private auto ownership and so on.
The cult of CAGW created the Bern model of CO2 sources and sinks times to create the CO2 issue.
The Bern model assumes 25% of the anthropogenic CO2 remains in the atmosphere for ever and assumes a half life for the remaining CO2 of 200 years to create the CAGW issue. The actual half life of CO2 emissions based on decay of C14 from nuclear testing, is around 7 years.
The majority of the recent CO2 increase is due to the release of deep earth CH4 which explains why C13 variance in the atmosphere does not track anthropogenic CO2 emissions and why the increase in atmospheric CO2 does not track anthropogenic CO2 emissions.
http://www.livescience.com/images/i/000/081/601/i02/Kaya-Identity.jpg?1456510807?interpolation=lanczos-none&downsize=640:*
Re: methane; it oxidizes in open atmosphere into CO2 and H2O. Gone in a few years, max.
Here is an interesting turn of events. That close election in Austria earlier this year is being negated, and there will be anew vote taken…http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/austria-court-rule-rerun-presidential-elections-40271393
“It ain’t over till it’s over …” (Yogi Berra), someone has to govern Britain, the political class are not going to give up so easily paraphrasing Brecht (about the East German uprising in 1953): “Would it not be easier in that case for the government to dissolve the people and elect another?”.
I’ll bet that’s exactly what they will try to do.
They’ve been doing that for decades. The point of open-door immigration is swing the vote.
Except that what they didn’t appreciate – was that for every one left-supporting immigrant they created two new supporters of right wing extremism.
(My shoddy statistics are based on anecdotal evidence!!! And serve only a rhetorical purpose.)
Anyone know where and how strongly Theresa May stands on “climate”?
I have the impression that she has no strong thoughts on anything , the possible reason for her survival in Govt despite a conspicuous lack of success in responding to the commonly perceived immigration crisis .
By contrast one of the possible opponents , Andrea Leadsom , a Brexiter , has this entry in Wiki:
-“On 11 May 2015, Leadsom was appointed as Minister of State at the Department for Energy and Climate Change,[17] despite her previous opposition to wind farms and European Renewable energy targets.[18]”-
Hope that she wins. The men in the race are pathetic, either wimps or clowns.
“…Poland is one of the biggest producers and consumers of coal in the EU 28, generating 80% of its electricity from the black staff. …”
It should be “black STUFF” , no?
Well they have had a lot of immigration from across the Med and there are a lot of dumb whitefellas that don’t want us to touch the stuff.
Brexit isn’t just the end of the EU’s fixation with climate, but probably the EU itself.
https://thepointman.wordpress.com/2016/07/01/brexit-an-analysis-in-the-aftermath/
Pointman
What was all the hooha about again?
http://www.express.co.uk/finance/city/685216/FTSE-100-leaps-to-HIGHEST-level-since-2015-just-a-week-after-Brexit
Just a tip Euroweenies. It’s like the weather.
Yep. This was a great buy opportunity if you invest in stocks. I was just listening to NPR , who were lamenting the loss of trillions in the market last week (“We told you so!”). Now they “can’t believe how foolish people are with their money” by putting it into GBP’s and stocks when it’s obvious that the world economy is going to crash at any second because of Brexit. I am so tired of these idiots. They are going to be the reason Trump wins and that will be fun to watch. Save some cash for November, because stocks will be a bargain for a few days after the next “end of the world!”
“The loss of trillions” which was promptly gained back in a weeks’ time.
UK FTSE100 trading now at its highest since last August.
Brexit is good for your wealth!
And that despite the best efforts of; HMG, BoE, IMF, EU, BBC, POTUS, Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all!
Some earlier propaganda is pretty startling too
http://blogs.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/timblair/index.php/dailytelegraph/comments/remain_10/
I’ve always thought that the green totally twaddle was really just reflective of European politicians’ desire to completely avoid many, real, pressing problems of both Europe, and the World. The alarms are going off, but I’m not sure they’ve woken up yet.
Mixing my metaphors, there will be tears before bedtime.
I agree; I think this is an aspect that isn’t emphasized enough. It’s an exercise in evasion for our modern cossetted elite.
Has anyone else picked up the undertone in that. Germany is concerned the UK, via Nigel Lawson has signed Germany into a tough policy while the UK exits and doesn’t have to meet it.
https://www.google.at/search?client=ms-android-samsung&source=android-browser&ei=O2V3V_2YNML2UPyureAN&q=the+gods+are+laughing+&oq=the+gods+are+laughing+&gs_l=mobile-gws-serp.3..0j0i22i30l4.2941.29506.0.31932.33.25.1.8.8.0.1024.6633.0j15j4j5-1j2j1.23.0….0…1c.1.64.mobile-gws-serp..13.20.3905.3..35i39j0i3j0i67j0i22i10i30.Z-maxkBaMKY
If this really does bring to end the green obsession with ‘climate change’ as well as UK’s involvement with the failing EU political experiment, then I will be doubly proud of having organised and led the the brilliant team of Brexit campaigners in my town.
Win Win!