By Paul Homewood
h/t Philip Bratby
Harrabin gives the latest advice from the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) the usual uncritical coverage. Note the wording under the photo:
The government faces a post-lockdown choice between green growth or propping up polluting industries
If that is deliberately disingenuous, I don’t know what is!
The UK must avoid lurching from the coronavirus crisis into a deeper climate crisis, the government’s advisers have warned.
They recommend that ministers ensure funds earmarked for a post-Covid-19 economic recovery go to firms that will reduce carbon emissions.
They say the public should work from home if possible; and to walk or cycle.
And investment should prioritise broadband over road-building, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) says.
People should also be encouraged to save emissions by continuing to consult GPs online.
The government will reply later, although the Energy Secretary Alok Sharma has already spoken in favour of a green recovery to the recession.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, the committee says jobless people should be re-trained for work in geographically-spread labour-intensive “green” industries such as home insulation; tree-planting; and peatland restoration.
It makes a veiled reference to the current discussions over a potential government bailout to save jobs in aviation, which is struggling in the crisis.
The letter says: “Many sectors of the UK economy do not currently bear the full costs of emitting greenhouse gases. Revenue could be raised by setting or raising carbon prices for these sectors.”
Green groups say any bailout should include a condition that the industry shrinks until it finds a technological solution to its carbon emissions.
The letter also tackles broader social themes of fairness and risk.
It says the Covid-19 crisis has highlighted inequalities, with poorer people more in danger.
The committee notes: “The response to the pandemic has disproportionately affected the same lower-income groups and younger people – who face the largest long-term impacts of climate change.
“The benefits of acting on climate change must be shared widely, and the costs must not burden those who are least able to pay or whose livelihoods are most at risk as the economy changes.
“It is important that the lost or threatened jobs of today should be replaced by those created by the new, resilient economy.”
The committee says the government must produce policies that allow the UK to reduce emissions to Net Zero in an orderly way – unlike the chaos of the Covid-19 crisis.
The CCC Chairman, Lord Deben, said: “The Covid-19 crisis has shown the importance of planning well for the risks the country faces.
“Recovery means investing in new jobs, cleaner air and improved health. The actions needed to tackle climate change are central to rebuilding our economy.
“The government must prioritise actions that reduce climate risks and avoid measures that lock-in higher emissions.”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52547885
The reason, of course, is to save the planet, as Deben explains:
“The government must prioritise actions that reduce climate risks “
But Britain only accounts for 1% of the world’s emissions of carbon dioxide, so whatever we do will have no effect on the world’s weather whatsoever.
There is a lot of twaddle in the report, but the core proposal is to pour whatever bail out money there is into “green” industries, and leave the rest of the economy to fend for itself.
This logic, however, is fundamentally flawed.
The CCC talk about home insulation, tree planting and peatland restoration as examples. But these have little or no economic value. If families are struggling to put food on the table, it won’t be much consolation to know that peatlands have been restored!
Home insulation may, in theory, save a tiny amount on energy bills, but studies regularly show that the cost of installing serious insulation is far greater than any benefits accruing.
And all of these jobs have to be paid for by somebody, making the country poorer as a result. The CCC even have the nerve to suggest that jobless workers should be retrained to work in these “labour intensive green industries”. Try telling a skilled, well paid employee in, say, an oil refinery or car factory that he has got to relocate to the Highlands to plant trees!
As a country, we have to import much of what we need, including food. How can we pay for that if we have no exporting industry left?
Harrabin makes a particular reference to aviation, suggesting that any bailout should include a condition that the industry shrinks. But this would simply mean that overseas airlines took up the slack, along with thousands of jobs.
Other proposals include working from home, or walking and cycling to work. It may well be that the coronavirus encourages more homeworking, as employers find their fears assuaged. But governments cannot order this. Besides, the vast majority of jobs cannot be carried out at home.
And very few people live within walking or cycling distance of their work.
The CCC also want to prioritise broadband over road building. But universal roll out of full fibre broadband is already happening. That should not be allowed to prevent investment in the road network, which is vital for the nation’s productivity.
For some reason, the CCC’s letter also tackles “broader social themes of fairness and risk”. Quite what this has to do with the CCC is beyond me. Nevertheless what poorer people need are well paid jobs and lower household bills.
They will be the ones who suffer most from higher energy bills, brought about by expensive renewable energy, which is already subsidised to the tune of £12bn a year. And they will also be the ones who suffer most when they find their jobs have disappeared.
The stark reality is that there are few sectors of the economy which are not struggling financially as a result of the coronavirus. Whatever bailout money is available must be used to keep these otherwise perfectly viable companies on the road, thus protecting jobs and the contribution they make to the overall economy.
To let them go to the wall and instead throw money at worthless green hogwash would be sheer madness.
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May 7, 2020 at 01:15PM
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