Apart from making everything much more expensive and further jeopardising the stability of the electricity grid, what possible benefits arise from this? Misplaced ‘carbon’ obsession already has a lot to answer for.
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The Government has been urged to go “further and faster” on cutting carbon emissions with the publication of a review of the UK’s net zero plans, says Yahoo News.

The review, carried out by Tory MP Chris Skidmore and published on Friday, described net zero as “the economic opportunity of the 21st century” and said the UK was “well placed” to take advantage of the opportunities presented by decarbonisation.

But it also warned that the UK would have to move “quickly” and “decisively”, and opportunities were already being missed thanks to a lack of skills and “inconsistent policy commitment”.

Setting out plans for a “pro-growth, pro-business transition”, the review said: “We must grab this opportunity, there is no future economy but a green economy.”

Mr Skidmore was commissioned by Liz Truss’s government in September to consider how the country could deliver “maximum economic growth and investment” alongside the Government’s climate change ambitions, while also considering the need for energy security and the costs for the public.

His 340-page review follows extensive engagement across the country including more than 1,800 responses and 50 roundtable meetings with businesses, local government, organisations and other individuals.

It found that a key demand from across the country had been for greater certainty and stability, and said: “Overwhelmingly, the common message has been the need for clarity, certainty, consistency, and continuity from government.”

As well as setting out long-term goals, the review details 25 actions that the Government should take in the next two years.

These include:

– Legislating to phase out gas boilers by 2033, rather than 2035;

– Providing longer-term funding certainty for major net zero projects, including new nuclear power plants;

– Implementing plans this year to increase solar and onshore wind generation, including a target of increasing solar generation fivefold by 2035;

– Ending routine oil and gas flaring by 2025, rather than 2030.

Full article here.

via Tallbloke’s Talkshop

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January 13, 2023 at 07:12AM

Each year, we invite Net Zero Watch readers to enter our annual Global Temperature Prediction Competition, in which we try to outdo the Met Office for the accuracy of our soothsaying.

For 2022, the Met Office predicted an average of between 0.97 and 1.21°C (midpoint 1.09°C) above pre-industrial temperatures for the HadCRUT5 index. However, Net Zero Watch readers, as is their wont, went slightly lower, with the median prediction coming in at 1.00°C, and the mode at 1.03°C. This is all shown in the graph below, alongside the correct value, just announced by the Met Office, of 1.16°C.

As you can see, none of our competition entrants got the right answer. There were three people just above, and three more just below. We’ll put all six names into a hat to pick a winner. We’ll be in contact shortly.

If you’d like to enter the 2023 competition, now is your chance!

As always, the prize is a bottle of hooch of your choice, and a book from the GWPF or Net Zero Watch publication lists.

The Met Office reckons on a relatively sharp warming, suggesting HadCRUT5 will come in at between 1.08 and 1.32°C above pre-industrial (with a central estimate of 1.20°C). That’s 0.04°C above last year’s outturn, which doesn’t seem unreasonable, assuming we come out of the La Nina conditions that prevailed in 2022.

To enter, click here (opens a new site). Good luck!

via Net Zero Watch

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January 13, 2023 at 05:21AM

via Watts Up With That?

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January 13, 2023 at 04:48AM

By Paul Homewood

h/t Ian Magness

The ban on gas boilers comes one step closer:

New gas boilers should be banned within a decade, a review of net zero policy urges.

The report also calls for an “onshore wind revolution” and a five-fold increase in solar panels, amid efforts to boost the UK’s energy independence in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

The review, originally commissioned under Liz Truss, the former prime minister, and conducted by the MP Chris Skidmore, says net zero represents “a new era of opportunity” that risks being undermined by a lack of government ambition.

But it acknowledges that the net zero transition, including replacing boilers and buying electric cars, will cost households £4,000 to £6,000 each by 2040, with savings possible only after that.

The review also warns that nearly 500,000 households would not make any savings even in the long run, unless the Government provides more support. 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/environment/2023/01/12/new-gas-boilers-could-banned-within-decade/

Heaven knows why Liz Truss put the climate zealot Chris Skidmore in charge of this review. It was obvious what his conclusions would be.

It is also worth noting the comments on Prof Dieter Helm:

Dieter Helm, a professor of economic policy at Oxford University and a government adviser, said the review’s estimates of costs were “highly speculative”, with the costs and savings of heat pumps “incredibly optimistic”.

“My own view is that the costs are likely to be much higher,” he said.

“Net zero is incredibly important and I think it critical to tell the public that this is likely to mean they must pay for the pollution they cause and save to fund and finance the investment.”

.

Meanwhile the deluded Skidmore still believes the rest of the world is going to follow us over the edge of the cliff:

via NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

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January 13, 2023 at 04:45AM