Bishop Hill Paterson and the dash for gas
Sep 5, 2012 Benny Peiser, writing at City AM, reckons the appointment of Paterson clears the way for shale gas exploitation to begin in earnest:
...the appointment of Owen Paterson as the UK’s new environment secretary is fuelling concerns among environmental campaigners. They fear that the government’s green agenda is being scaled back in order to refocus on economic recovery.
Yesterday, environmental journalists warned that the reshuffle has effectively terminated “the greenest government ever.” Some have argued that Paterson’s appointment marks a sharp turn from the green policies that had previously found a home in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
In the past, Paterson has proposed an end to all energy subsidies and a speedy development of domestic shale gas reserves. His endorsement of shale exploration is particularly pertinent, since DEFRA is responsible for the Environment Agency, which is in charge of regulating and policing shale gas ventures.
Most crucially, the government intends to publish a new Economy Bill in the next few days, detailing a major deregulation of the planning system. Paterson will be responsible for the deregulation of environmental assessments, allowing fast-tracked developments.
Paterson may well be able to ensure that regulation does not stand in the way of the shale revolution. But whether that is sufficient for the revolution to go ahead remains unclear. There are still the deep greens at DECC to contend with.
Reader Comments (38)
"They fear that the government’s green agenda is being scaled back in order to refocus on economic recovery."
They're concerned that the government's doing the job it was elected to do?
Hard to believe. The UK gov understanding that "energy is life, cheap energy is prosperity". Freezing to death and starving to death while being abjectly miserable are consistent with a Green agenda. Astounding insight by gov.
Sounds like a step in the right direction to me. I hope the world is paying attention. When a few more countries follow these steps, I'll believe a turn around is happening for real. Can't wait.
it suggests the Tories are scared that if they don't get at least a small amount of growth over the next 2 1/2 years they wil be unelectable. But not nearly scared enough.
A small and hopeful glimmer of sanity.
We will have to wait and see.
Peiser ends:
Right on all three points. I'm coming to think this is the defining issue for this government. Neil Craig has got it right. How fast can these guy come to their senses and make themselves electable? It's only rational to try.
James Delingpole has also put his thoughts on Paterson into writing, under the cool headline Owen Paterson: Minister of Sound. But why does he have to say this?
What Dellers writes here is probably crap, based on his bad feelings about how Dave has treated him since Oxford. Note how I used the same form. This stuff is completely speculative and so unnecessary.
I also note that the big complainant about the reshuffle on the front pages is Boris. I have to say I'm absolutely delighted by that.
I'm not sure about what makes Cameron tick but he and George Osborne have just given a big signal that they've been listening. Now is not the time to assume the worst. As Benny writes:
Maximum points to the GWPF and a retest for the other two men. Let's wait and see.
Let us hope that we do not swing from one pole to another. I've been a kind of 'environmentalist' since my earliest days. I value nature enormously. So I do not want to see it ruined by the opposite of eco-mentalist scaremongering.
Let;s hope we see balance and sanity prevail.
Until it becomes The Department of Energy" nothing will change. Drop Climate Change and get rid of all the green catastrophiliacs!
Mailman
>"energy is life, cheap energy is prosperity"
Nearly right. cheap energy is a way of boosting productivity, but if people are organised by bureaucrats, rather than their own demands (mediated by cost) then there will not be anything but prosperous bureaucrats.
"Paterson will be responsible for the deregulation of environmental assessments, allowing fast-tracked developments."
This is very interesting, given so called representatives of the shale gas industry reportedly told Cameron and co at a meeting in Downing Street (FOI internal review for meeting details still pending) that the industry requires 'strong regulation'.
This is the single biggest boost to our economy since this government took office. Gixxerboy the environmental footprint of a shale well is tiny and the new "Hiway" technology highlighted by his grace last week will shrink it even further.
UK shale deposits are huge and many companies who know they have shale deposits but have been unable to quantify them can now get cracking...er I mean fracking.
There are premium oil shale deposits in the UK including a 700 foot thick seam running under North Lancashire and out under the Irish sea.
If Paterson takes the lid off shale we will see an energy revolution in the UK.
@ AC1,
The "prosperous bureaucrats" are prosperous ONLY at Taxpayers expense. Under 13 years of Socialism they have forgotten who they are employed by & who they are supposed to serve, the people, not themselves! The sooner we have a written constitution the better me thinks! Let's hope gas gets the go ahead asap as winter is coming & people will not want to pay yet higher bills to heat their homes!
Gixxerboy, you may be pleasantly surprised by Paterson, based on Tim Montgomerie this morning
Montgomerie doesn't mention shale but the right balance has to be struck there too - we need active competition between different suppliers, not phony regulations that benefit a few. Striking the right balance won't be easy, with the entrenched interests already at DEFRA and DECC. Let's hope he's as good as they say.
The mental fog on this subject has not lifted. Only two things will dissipate the delusion that has suborned all of our institutions, worldwide: Either a blanket repudiation of the current climate consensus by the wider scientific community, or a blanket repudiation of any and all governmental "climate policies", based upon the inane and insane idea of "controlling a runaway climate", by the general public.
If the so-called environmentalists really were truly concerned about CO2 emissions then they'd be all over shale gas because it is probably the only viable, industrial-strength technology available that could replace coal and cut CO2 per BTU by 50%.
If an environmentalist wants to stop shale gas then they either have their heads in the sky about alternative energy or reducing CO2 emissions is not their real agenda.
If the price ratio between shale gas and coal remains the same, then the iron and steel industry will move from its present locations to where there is iron ore and shale gas.
Methane derived direct reduced iron is a great way to make iron and steel.
http://www.kobelco.co.jp/p108/dri/e/dri04.htm
we could see the UK and North America become steel giants again.
If shale gas is fast tracked and the benefits of cheap energy filter through prior to 2015 then Cameron will be presented with his second term with a thumping majority, to satisfy his intense burning desire to do better than Blair. A more sceptical person than myself might think that the current unwavering stance from austerity, whilst in coalition, is a pre-requisite to the 2014/15 golden years where the 'true party of prosperity' will shine above their mediocre partners and opposition parties.
CO2 was a gift from God as far as as the eco-warriors are concerned. They are anti-globalisation, anti-industrialisation, anti-development, anti-crop research (which makes me wonder which direction Nurse's head is actually pointing), anti-chemicals, anti-science (except when it happens to coincide with their religion), anti-human in some cases.
They hanker for the simple pre-industrial pastoral life when man was "at one" with nature or if you have to have industry then the template is Saltaire or New Lanark or the toothless crones sitting outside their humble wee cottages spinning and carding.
Conveniently forgetting that this would lead, in very short order, to no modern medicines, no mechanised transport, no artificial fertilisers, no electricity, a life-expectancy of about 35, subsistence farming, rampant infant mortality, and several other things that will conspire to make everybody's lives — theirs included — several hundred times worse than it is today.
One of these days we will succeed in convincing the 'man in the street' that these are not nice people and that they are at best misguided and at worst evil and that if they have their way death will suddenly become an attractive career move.
... and here's me thinking that the deregulation of planning was to allow fast forward for wind farms...
"At one with Nature"
Is code for "at the mercy of XXXX".
Fill in with virtually every nasty you can think of.
Beaverbrook:
Nicely put. But I think your 'more sceptical person' in fact needs to be more sceptical of the foresight of politicians and their ability to manipulate circumstances of this size. Shale is both a remarkable surprise and a great opportunity for Cameron, along the lines you say.
When the premier wrote this in the Mail on Sunday:
I take this one phrase as absolute truth, because it's what every western democratic leader feels. That's why I'm such a strong sceptic about Deliingpole's "Cameron is probably hoping is that Paterson will be neutered by the grotesquely Europhile civil servants in his new department". Of course he isn't, the guy actually wants to get something done. If Paterson manages to deliver a shale revolution, despite the greens bleating, the senior guys will be absolutely delighted. But it's surely not in the bag. We all know that.
Richard Drake
I too have no doubts about the hurdles that have to be overcome to get to this gleaming future, but do not underestimate the wheels of politiks when they are in motion.
The prospect of a second term now and a whiter than white future heir to Cameron will be like a 19th Century vintage port under the nostrils of the Tory grandee's. Heaven and Earth will be leveraged to attain this achievement even if it means, snigger, backing away from a disintegrating Europe and providing a home for its heavy industry to settle as there is a dire need to replace the now shackled financial services contribution to GDP.
GROWTH will be the new cry, austerity is just so European!
Don
Precisely. I only listed the few that came immediately to mind. I'm absolutely convinced (based on my dealing with idiots like this over a long period) that they really do not have a clue just what the disastrous consequences of their ambitions would be. Either that or they are simply in denial.
Perhaps the only consolation (and it's not much of one) is that they are mainly useful idiots and pawns in a bigger game being played by people who will make sure that they at least will not end up going down this road.
As long as the commissars and the politburo get their creature comforts there would still be a smidgin of hope for the rest of us. Eventually. But it would be a very long haul and a lot of blood would be shed en route.
LB, you paint a picture of a future that I sincerely hope I and my children will enjoy. My doubt is how much any of this could have been foreseen. The prophets of doom, including on the sceptic side, may indeed become as quaint as a threepenny piece before we're done. And this should teach us how little we ever know about anything. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof, as the man said.
confused:
... and here's me thinking that the deregulation of planning was to allow fast forward for wind farms...
Indeed it is - one must be careful what one wishes for. That shale gas might or might not be encouraged by a new minister has little to do with the wind-power feeding frenzy. There are few, if any, signs that government has any intention of attempting to curb that in England and Wales; it does not have the power to do so in Scotland as renewable energy policy is a devolved matter. Scotland is one asylum where the lunatics remain firmly in post.
If shale gas is allowed, there is less incentive for windmills because the subsidy will be reduced.
AlecM:
If shale gas is allowed, there is less incentive for windmills because the subsidy will be reduced.
Alas, not true. The Renewables Obligations stipulate that a fixed proportion of the total electricity sold by suppliers has to be generated using recognised "renewables". The general value of the levy is fixed by the current buyback price though its actual value is affected by the arcane trading rules of the RO/ROS schemes.
See e.g.: http://www.viewsofscotland.org/library/docs/VoSB_The_ROC_Scam.pdf which is a little dated but generally accurate.
The Govt has noticed that the general public has started to pay more attention to the facts behind cAGW since it is now paying through the nose for it. Funny old thing, when people start to look a bit closer they realise that all is not how it should be.
About time that the climate pseudo-scientists claim to be able to model the Earth's atmosphere is exposed for the lie that it is along with politicians' claims to be able to solve a non-existent problem through taxation.
Thanks DaveB. The Renewables Obligation and the Carbon Floor Price are, I presume, the two main things that need to be neutered, in Delingpole's phrase, for this country to enjoy the full blessing of shale. There's a lot to do but I'm inclined to agree with Beaverbrook that the self-interest of the Tory party will see it through. That's a remarkable turn of events - but eternal vigilence sounds a good backup plan too.
I like this thread since it is an example of what I like best about Bishop Hill. You get a chance to see people's thought processes (and how they change when new information arrives) instead of the MSM where you see what people think shows them up in a good light or gets them a promotion. No money for posting on a blog = honesty hehe.
Just maybe we are seeing a thought process in the reshuffle? Its the economy stupid.
On the Carbon Floor Price here are some fine words from David Davis to the Centre for Policy Studies on Monday:
Davis had some other good things to say too, mostly drowned out, even on ConservativeHome, by the reshuffle kerfuffle. But the debate within the Conservatives, at all levels, is at the most healthy that I can remember. What we need now, as Tim Montgomerie says, is ministers with the skill to deliver. Paterson's promotion sure makes politics a lot more interesting in that regard.
Autonomous Mind said:
Strong regulation and deregulation are not mutually exclusive. At best you can have regulation that isn't nannying but has hefty penalties. At worst strong regulation can be used to favour incumbent businesses by preventing new entrants to a sector whilst inside the regulatory bubble the regulation can be light and/or ineffective, as the banking industry has demonstrated.
Gareth:
Exactly. These are the mistakes, under great, frequently deceptive pressure from vested interests with giant amounts of money at stake, that we are trusting Mr Paterson to avoid. And that's why prayer for leaders has never seemed irrational to me, from an early age.
Norman Tebbitt on the shuffle
'The best of Cameron's moves was to bring Owen Paterson back from Northern Ireland to be Secretary of Sate for the Environment. He is a man full of common sense and although he will be held back by Brussels and Mr Cameron himself from doing all that needs to be done, he should cut through a lot of green nonsense on energy for a start'.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/normantebbit/100179495/thanks-to-the-reshuffle-we-have-a-slightly-better-government-than-we-did-last-week/
Dung and Richard Drake
Thank you both for the reassurance. Let's hope that the shale deposits are all they're fracked up to be!
Paterson does indeed look like my kind of environmentalist: focused on real issues like protecting fisheries rather than hippynomics.
New Matt Damon anti Fracking film Promised Land
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118058215
If George Monbiot gets an invite to a Preview Screening then fair play so should Dellingpole
Due out 28th December.
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The UK does not have any monopoly on idiocy about natural gas and 'fracking' -- Bill McKibben tweeted his approval of feeble minded fanatics protesting 'fracking' by chaining themselves to a gate, illegally blocking access to private property of a company whose enterprise they oppose:
'Fracking' protestors in NY state
Enviro-whackos who believe that violating the law is just great when it's for "the cause"....