Whilst the influence of George Osborne on energy and environment policies has long been of concern, the progress made on the international stage by Blair and Prescott, and on the domestic front by Miliband’s Climate Change Act, plus the restraining influence of the Lib Dems during the coalition, have meant that that the UK’s progress on climate issues has been substantial enough to take time and effort to undo.
However, Osborne has the time, and appears to be putting in the effort.
You really do need to speak to your father-in-law, George.
Coal and nuclear are dying, and the future of energy lies
in solar. This isn’t a Guardian reader’s fantasy, this is the established trend
in energy markets. This isn’t a declaration of victory over carbon dioxide
either – the trend isn’t fast enough to stop catastrophic climate change, at
least not yet – but it’s useful information for policy makers. Unless you’re
George Osborne, in which case it’s time to plough the nation’s remaining
finances into life support for nuclear and coal whilst standing athwart history
yelling ‘STOP!’
In response to the first Contracts for Difference auctions for renewables,
Greenpeace Chief Scientist Dr Doug Parr said -
“Today’s announcements show renewables’ costs are plummeting, and will mount
a growing challenge to conventional sources of power in delivering energy
security for the UK. Those who say we should tackle climate change but are
opposed to wind and solar farms need to explain how they plan to cut carbon
emissions whilst keeping consumer bills as low as possible. We’ve known onshore
wind is much cheaper than nuclear for a while, but now we learn that solar
power is already cheaper than new gas generation in some cases.
MPs are deciding whether a clean power target should be included in the Energy Bill. Will they back clean renewable power, or a costly, dirty dash for gas?
For once, we all agree. 82% of people want to see more renewable energy. Yet George Osborne is still trying to keep us hooked on fossil fuels. On Tuesday, MPs must pick a side.
Posted by Richardg — 5 December 2012 at 3:34pm
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This morning, the Chancellor George Osborne gave his Autumn Statement. People on Twitter say he's launched a dash for gas that would wreck our climate targets and make us the Dirty Man of Europe all over again.
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