Bishop Hill What's in the papers?
Sep 30, 2013 Climate: Parliament Energy: grid A couple of excellent pieces in the morning papers. Both fall into the category of "not news to BH readers", but they are great none the less.
In the Mail, Peter Atherton sets out his despair at the energy policies of the government and opposition
Labour’s price freeze idea is bad for investment, bad for security of supply, and bad for consumers. But if it forces the political class in this country to wake up and tackle the reasons why costs are actually rising then some good may come of it.
Meanwhile, in City AM, Peter Lilley examines what the IPCC and the political class didn't say about the global climate last week:
...Miliband, who was environment secretary when the Climate Change Act committed future governments to replace fossil fuels by renewables costing two or three times as much, promises to freeze energy prices. The fact that even he didn't mention his Act, which is incompatible with his pledge, shows it is politically indefensible.
Reader Comments (23)
Boris Johnson also chips in at the Torygraph.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10343099/Ed-Miliband-in-power-like-a-turbine-on-a-windless-day.html
I don't think that Peter Lilley should draw that conclusion. I understood it to be a re-interpretation of the policy whereas previously the costs fell on consumers to pay for the act's provisions, now it will come out of general taxation.
That Labour have hit political oil with their price freeze (and energy sector restructuring) policy shows that the general public aren't happy to tolerate ever-increasing prices. This moves the Labour party from their previous position, much to the angst of the greenies no doubt, of controlling demand by price. Whilst the prices have been affected by the 2008 Climate Change Act, its worth noting that the big energy companies have used the demands from it to increase shareholder dividends.
Hopefully a real debate on the dysfunctional nature of the energy market and all the various rent-seekers will be had.
Pierre Gosselin drew attention to this article in Die Welt.
Headline is "IPCC has become untrustworthy" followed by "Ever shriller warnings about warming put people off rather than activising them". It goes on to claim that the number of Germans concerned about climate climate change has almost halved since 2007, and makes fun of the idea of increased confidence after 15 years with no warming.
Letter from Eamonn Molloy in the Guardian (H/T Richard North). The letter from John Green on the same page is also worth a look.
LiT on Sep 30, 2013 at 8:33 AM
"previously the costs fell on consumers to pay for the act's provisions, now it will come out of general taxation."
So we will still pay for it! Just remove the green taxes.
Robert,
which is why Lilley isn't right to associate Miliband's announcement with incompatibility. The methodology will change but not the objectives under a Miliband premiership.
Peter Lilley has written an excellent article; and I hope many MPs will read it. He was one of only five MPs (allTories) who voted against the ridiculous Climate Change Act. I think there are many more now who wish they had joined those five in the NO lobby.
Don't worry all will be corrected on the 8th October at Eton College where "Fiona Fox, experienced science writer and director of the Science Media Centre, discussing her 25 years working in media relations for high profile national organisations and her work restoring public trust in science."
With Fiona Fox helping to restore public trust in science what can go wrong with the warmist meme?
Lit
I can't say I follow your logic; it's just moving an unnecessary subsidy from one very visible tax to another not so visible tax. Dishonest slight of hand is what I'd call it.
Either that or Milliband is so stupid that he doesn't connect the CCA with high energy costs.
Sep 30, 2013 at 10:44 AM | Unregistered CommenterSandyS
The latter !!
@SandyS: the game by Miliband is to avoid the blame for high energy costs by placing the onus on the suppliers.
Cameron's greenest ever government has placed a hostage to fortune by having Crazey Davey who tried to pull a fast one with STOR. If pursued to the 15 GW limit, this will emit 13% more CO2 emissions than the present coal fired power stations.
Basically, these elite PPE graduates have arrogantly failed and are trying to throw the blame on others.
And I have yet to hear the BBC mention it.
The newspapers... Watts has Tisdale pointing at the Daily Mail online where I notice a "panel" in the newspaper item mentioning one Bob Ward.
Question is are there two?
"Prompted by an inquiry from ‘green’ blogger Bob Ward, the NSIDC’s spokeswoman Natasha Vizcarra said the mistake was a ‘typographical error’, telling him: ‘There are no plans to make a statement on the change because it was not an error in the data.’"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2436710/Met-office-proof-global-warming-pause-climate-summit-confirms-global-temperature-stopped-rising.htm
The letter from a John Martin in Leicester is also "interesting". That the ice ages have had a significant effect on human evolution and progress is certainly plausible. What should not be forgotten is that the use of fire and, later, the internal combustion engine, played a pivotal role.
At our current technological level of development, plans to "decarbonise" the economy is tantamount to advocating that we throw out not just the baby and the bath water, but the bath and most of the plumbing too.
SandyS - its not my logic...
There is both a gas and an electricity interconnector between the UK and the European mainland, is there not?
Surely the utility companies will simply sell their gas and power, delivering via those conduits, to the highest bidder? Who, if Miliband gets his way, will not be the UK domestic consumer.
I would think the blackouts would start almost immediately.
J4R,
No doubt he has a spider lined up to swallow to catch that particular fly and there's probably a bird somewhere on the scene he has plans for.
`replace fossil fuels by renewables costing two or three times as much'
A slight error? It's six times as much.
.
Chavez basically tried to freeze the price of toilette paper and the result was Venezuela ran out of toilette paper....
The English Greens want to freeze the price of energy and the British people are going to find out the only the thing that's going to get frozen is their bums when they run out of energy.
.
michael hart - you might have (just) heard (because he said it very quickly) Ed Miliband state in his tv interview that he intended to 'take carbon out of electricity generation by 2030'...
Fortunately I won't be around that long - but this comes under the same heading (i.e.: Hilarious if They Weren't Serious) as Alec Salmond's: 'All Electricity in Scotland will be generated by renewabes by 2020'.
Two asides:
1). My local tech college (or whatever they call themselves these days) has installed two electric car charging bays outside the hairdressing school where my wife goes to get her hair done. Needless to say they are just used for normal parking..
2). Anyone know if the 'fracking' protesters have been removed yet..? Nothing in the media (surprise, surprise...)
Sherlock1,
2 - Given the veracity of this particular source, no.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/sep/30/anti-fracking-protesters-balcombe-camp
Oct 1, 2013 at 12:36 PM | Unregistered CommenterSherlock1
Fortunately I won't be around that long - but this comes under the same heading (i.e.: Hilarious if They Weren't Serious) as Alec Salmond's: 'All Electricity in Scotland will be generated by renewabes by 2020'.
Err..., no. See, "equivalent" and get back to us. Keep it real ;-)
Prompted by an inquiry from ‘green’ blogger Bob Ward, the NSIDC’s spokeswoman Natasha Vizcarra said the mistake was a ‘typographical error’, telling him: ‘There are no plans to make a statement on the change because it was not an error in the data