Tuesday
Dec102013
by 
Bishop Hill
Bishop Hill Davey's heroic denial
Dec 10, 2013 Climate: Parliament 
Ed Davey was up in front of the Energy and Climate Change Committee today, to discuss the aftermath of the Warsaw climate summit. It was mainly dull stuff, but there was a moment of hilarity (around 11:44) when Davey appeared to accept that since the advent of the Climate Change Act the UK's total carbon footprint had gone up, and almost in the next breath said that he didn't view this as meaning the approach taken by the government was wrong.
Update on Dec 10, 2013 by
Bishop Hill
Bishop Hill
Look out also for Ed Davey's exposition on the science of global warming. He doesn't mention feedbacks.
Not once.
This is very funny.
Reader Comments (33)
We should be "proud" of "leading the world" rather like the first lemming over the cliff is proud. When our remaining 10% of economic activity made up from industry disappears abroad and jobs are lost don't forget that Davey is proud.
11.40.55 - Davey
"What we want in 2015 is the world to commit to a set of reduction pledges that would keep us on trajectory to meet the 2 degree limit. That's what we would like to see and we'd like the scientific evidence to back up the pledges to show that the world is actually taking this seriously . That would be the ideal outcome in 2015."
It's never been about the science.
Sorry, I just can't bring myself to watch Ed Davey talking about anything.
12.41.40 - Lilley
"So is it the view of this alliance between the chairman and the secretary of state which has been a feature of this committee that we should ignore the antarctic and only consider the arctic"
Showing Yeo up for what he is.
I know this is puerile, but is Mr Ed related to Sir Spudface Nipper?
"we'd like the scientific evidence to back up the pledges to show that the world is actually taking this seriously"
Policy-based evidence-making ... in a nut shell and straight out of the horses mouth.
I simply couldn't watch Davey for too long. This mans ignorance is breath-taking.
Poor fellow. He means well, you know. Of course, so did Neville Chamberlain.
I don't think we should be too hard on him.
I am in the fortunate position of being able to vote for Mr Lilly as he is my MP. One of the few MPs who have taken the trouble to understand not only the scientific and economic disaster of the governments energy policy but also to point out the stupidity of thinking that the rest of the world gives a toss what we do.
Our place in the world was amply demonstrated by the lukewarm reception given to our beloved leader when he "led" a trade delegation to China recently. I wonder if he asked about the collapse of the Chinese renewables industry (see GWPF website) while he was there. One assumes he gets to know about these things before the rest of us.
Colin F
Perhaps he has a hidden agenda of reducing the state pension deficit by killing off all the pensioners who can't afford to keep warm.
Potato Ed has been a busy little B. And not just in Westminster.
He even ventured out to North Yorkshire:-
http://www.powerengineeringint.com/articles/2013/12/funding-secured-for-3bn-ccs-project-in-england.html
not to mention
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/10866844.Energy_Secretary_opens_new_biomass__units_at_Drax/
Just how ridiculous do you have to be these days and how much taxpayers' money do you have to waste before you get impeached?
Off topic but of interest.
Is there something wrong with the UAH satellite temperatures see these 2 posts at Warwick Hughes blog Errors in IPCC climate science.
http://www.warwickhughes.com/blog/?p=2501
and
http://www.warwickhughes.com/blog/?p=2496
Just a quirky
So exactly how much extra CO2 did Obama ,Cameron, Prince Charles and the rest of the world leaders generate all jetting into South Africa for Mandela,s funeral.
Of course, before Davey rubber stamped the "Biomass" proposal (promising a Billion subsidy pounds per year for Drax and the ability to generate 24/7), the power station was rated at around 4 GW, the biggest in Europe.
Now, as the Biomass bit will generate half as much electricity, presumably that's down to 3 GW. And now:-
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-stories/yorkshire-poised-to-lead-way-with-clean-coal-power-1-6306092
How agreeable, then that our golden boy has given the thumbs up to an enormous boost to coal (not) and also to affordable, reliable energy (also not) by agreeing to this cunning 426 MW wheeze!
If it works it will lead the world (all the other schemes having failed).
Of course, obviously not in generating electricity but in 'proving' that ruinable energy is now cheaper than coal!
If Josh ever does a climate version of Viz (the classic Newcastle adult comic magazine) the Ed Davey the (clueless) Climate Kid would make a good character.
The guy's an idiot who believes in the vague promises of others. Do you think he's a sucker for every tall tale or just ones about CO2?
'That's what we would like to see and we'd like the scientific evidence to back up the pledges to show that the world is actually taking this seriously'
Umm
I'm not often (ever) one to defend Davey, but I think that he's saying that he wants to see evidence that the pledges are being followed, not just pledged. Reagan and Gorbachev called it 'Trust but Verify'
There are many sticks to beat DopeyDavey with, but relying on this quoted statement for some nefarious intent is not one.
jamspid
According to BFMTV (French rolling news channel) Hollande,Sarkozy and Laurent Fabius went to the Mandela funeral/memorial in separate aircraft. I'm sure that went down well with the bonnet rouge protesting about the ecotax on fuel.
The BBC sent a plane load of reporters and backup staff as well.
The image of Ed Davey at the head of your article appears to have been fashioned in cross-stitch. Or possibly broderie anglaise. How many employees of the DECC are assigned to this task? I think we ought to know.
Completely O/T but quite funny.
Galatasary v Juventus abandoned because of SNOW in Istanbul.
You couldn't make it up.
geoffchambers
Made him look like a mouse mat.
Looks like Wayne Rooney is screwing up energy policy the same way that Ed Davey is screwing up Man Utd this season. Or have I misunderstood something?
That's harsh on Rooney. He's been the best of a very bad bunch, which is a lot more than you can say for Ed Da Vey.
The person I have just watched does not, by his own words, have the well being of his citizens as his major priority. His main aim is to "Show Global Leadership".
In order to demonstrate his ability in "Global Leadership" he is prepared, proactively, to reduce the living standards of his own citizens and subsequently drastically restrict the opportunities available to their children and grandchildren.
If he had any inclination to the responsibilities towards his own citizens he would at least be instigating due diligence on IPCC reports along the lines of "Red Team" as advocated by our host.
But there is no such inclination because that could be detrimental to his ability to show "Global Leadership"!
Listening to, believing, whilst unable to understand "the scientists" seems to be a fulfilling task for our Secretary of State.
He comes from the "I work very hard, please don't ask me to think as well!" breed of ambitious supplicants.
Dec 10, 2013 at 5:56 PM | martin brumby
Imagine you were a businessman in an engineering company and someone came to you with £1B which he wanted to spend on some pointless endeavour. Would you be able to help?
Of course, 'on the nod' and 'by the by' and 'if you scratch my back - know what I mean squire? Perchance, it may well be that Mr. Davey has options after he moves on.
a. Inveigled no less, ah ahem, procured for himself some very lucrative sinecure and with guaranteed contributions to a large well funded private pension scheme in; Brussels, a connected green 'industry' or, hedge fund, charity even? Soon, and dear Zeus - hopefully in the not too distant future when the electorate compel him to consider alternative employment, he can then 'flit orf' inanely giggling and into the sunset.
Indeed, to the Brussels maybe - to make more plans to fillet the taxpayers, hollow out the British for all they're worth or what remains of the leftovers, pt II.
b. Or, he is the dogsbody doing the work of the EU proxies - Nick [Clegg] and Chris [Huhne - no he's not going away], as a fallguy and or comedian but still batting for green all the same.
c. Nope surely not! Davey, he actually does believe in the green
cr*pagenda?!d. All of the above.
And then again, after all he is a politician, what can we expect of him and the answer must be - not a lot, for he is only a foil.
I admire the rendering of your top picture, but really, Mr Davey is not, physically or intellectually, an oil painting.
The zeitgeist of the times is such that a politician can say he is "proud" that the UK is leading the way on climate change, but would be most unlikely to say he was "proud" of the country's industrial heritage.
And who knows what would happen to UB40 if they got up again to sing: "I'm a British subject and I'm proud of it.."
Charged with racism, probably....
'We stand at this moment on the edge of a high precipice. In the future, We intend to take a great leap forward!'
Geoff chambers
While Davey definitely embroiders what he has to say, and, like broderie anglaise, his arguments have holes in , I think the stitching in the picture is actually petit point- which also seems appropriate.
Sandy S didnt see any world leaders jetting in for the funerals of 34 black striking platinum miners shot down by the sercuity police in Marikana last year.
Modern Rainbow nation South Africa and the rest of the world soon swept that little massacre under the carpet.
Poor old Mandela did 27 years in jail get rid of Apartied just so that the ANC and the White nationalists can carve up South Africas riches for themselfs.Mean while the rich live in gated communities now without Eva and Oscar with heavily armed surcurity and millions of poor blacks still live in voilent shanty towns still being exploited.
Mandela was a great man but at the end he was just a mascot awkwardly trying to party with Bono , Naomi Campbell and the Spice Girls.
"Modern Rainbow nation South Africa and the rest of the world soon swept that little massacre under the carpet."
Compare and contrast with Sharpville - which the BBC and the UK liberal cognoscenti shall never allow us to forget.
The SA Police haven't changed much in 50 years, corrupt and still killing their own countrymen - whosoever is the ruling party.
There is ample generating capacity available for when the likes of Davey are toppled from power. It's the mothballed CCGTs which would use far less fossil fuel for the windmill tranche than the windmills plus STOR.
Davey has known since last year that the STOR programme cannot save fossil fuel use but is a prisoner of the windmill doctrine, the purpose of which is to kill millions in the UK to enrich the renewables' and carbon trading Mafia who, via the Climate Change Act control the Grid despite CO2-AGW having been shown experimentally to be near zero.
There is a technological and political solution to the problem but because it would give back control of the Grid to the People will be resisted to the last by the Corporatist Fascism embodied in the Committee on Climate Change.
With all the emphasis on South Africa at the moment, in the context of our dear Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, I offer the following useful Afrikaans phrase...
'Moer-my gesig...'
It means: 'a face you want to punch'...