Politics and economics
Rupert Darwall rejects the calls of UK Deputy PM Dominic Raab for a renewable energy led recovery noting that because of renewable raising electricity costs “the last decade saw Britain rack up its worst productivity performance since the Industrial Revolution. We cut (emissions) by exporting our industrial base”. This is a view shared by Australia's Senator Canavan, who maintains that Australia cannot have renewables and a vibrant manufacturing sector and advocates leaving the Paris Accord.
A contrary view is offered by a IEA sponsored report, which claims that renewable investments are highly profitable, but then adds that new funding is lagging due to uncertainties about the continuation of the subsidies they need. In a similar vein, the “Energy Transitions Commission" business group calls for government “to build a healthier, more resilient, net-zero-emissions economy, that drives sustainable economic prosperity”. Signatories include Shell, BP, Rio, Alliance and HSBC.
Euro NGOs are also calling for more green measures and new tariffs to prevent imports of carbon rich products. This would be welcomed by the EU Commission, which proposes €44 billion in spending to wean member states off fossil fuels - more than five times bigger than the €7.5 billion ‘just transition fund’ proposed in January. Its proposal needs approval from member states and EU lawmakers. One Government likely to support is Spain’s: its proposed climate legislation would ban all new coal, oil and gas extraction projects, seek a 35 per cent reduction in energy consumption through building renovation and “introduce climate change to the school curriculum”.
Bucking the “consensus” is Mexico. The president called wind turbines "fans", saying they didn't produce much energy and is ceasing support for them including grid connections where their intermittency brings risks.
Every cloud ….. California is being forced to abandon its $12 billion green climate budget as a result of coronavirus revenue losses. The State has seen its regulatory induced market for greenhouse gas permits collapsing with a 96 per cent fall in permit sales in the latest month. But twenty-three states and Washington, D.C. have sued the Trump administration over rules that weaken Obama-era fuel efficiency standards, which now require 1.5 percent annual efficiency increases through 2026 rather than the 5 percent previously mandated.
Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the world’s biggest, has sold its 0.5 per cent stake in Australian gas and electricity supplier, AGL, and put BHP "on watch" over its exposure to thermal coal. The fund owes its entire existence to oil production and continues to benefit from this.
Chris Kenny addresses ABC alarmism blaming climate change for bushfires and interviewed biased former bureaucrats without scrutinising the science. Noting the claim that this year will be a climate “tipping point”, he sardonically asks, “How many of them have we had now?”
In Planet of the Humans Michael Moore’s apostasy to the green left movement in demonstrating the high cost and unworkability of renewables has, predictably, led the green left to having the documentary removed from Youtube.
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