Most EU Member States Will Miss Paris Targets
In this newsletter:
1) Europe’s Green Deal Likely To Fail: Most EU States Will Miss Paris Targets
reNews, 9 September 2020
2) Green Deal: Germany Industry Rejects More Stringent EU Climate Targets
Handelsblatt, 8 September 2020
3) British Public Turned Off By Climate Extremists
Gaia Fawkes, 9 September 2020
Gaia Fawkes, 9 September 2020
4) Nearly Half Of British Public Say They Will Never Buy An Electric Car
The Daily Telegraph, 8 September 2020
5) The Price Of Bias: BBC Licence Fee On The Way Out, Says Senior MP
The Times, 10 September 2020
The Times, 10 September 2020
6) Ann Widdecombe: Heresy, Modern Inquisition And The BBC
Daily Express, 9 September 2020
7) UK Blackout Warnings As Row Over Energy Costs Escalates
iNews, 7 September 2020
Daily Express, 9 September 2020
7) UK Blackout Warnings As Row Over Energy Costs Escalates
iNews, 7 September 2020
8) Global CO2 Emissions Are Already Heading Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels
Bloomberg, 9 September 2020
Bloomberg, 9 September 2020
9) And Finally: Northern Europe Deforestation Up 49% Due To Effort To Meet “CO2 Targets”
No Tricks Zone, 6 September 2020
No Tricks Zone, 6 September 2020
Full details:
1) Europe’s Green Deal Likely To Fail: Most EU States Will Miss Paris Targets
reNews, 9 September 2020
A new report from Ember and Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe also found seven countries do not plan to phase-out coal by 2030.
Total installed coal capacity across Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Romania & Slovenia is set to fall by just 42% in the next decade.
Around 52GW of coal is expected to be operational after 2030, nearly all of which is in the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland.
Four countries, Greece, Hungary, Ireland & Italy, plan to phase-out coal by 2030 but will also significantly increase fossil gas.
Seven countries are on track to phase-out coal by 2030, without a significant increase in fossil gas: Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia & Spain.
As part of its European Green Deal, the European Commission has proposed a Just Transition Fund, worth up to €40bn, to support the EU regions most affected by the transition to a low carbon economy.
Full story
2) Green Deal: Germany Industry Rejects More Stringent EU Climate Targets
Handelsblatt, 8 September 2020
The EU Commission President will probably present her proposal for a stricter climate target next week. Resistance is forming.
Brussels, Berlin, Düsseldorf: The plan was already foreseeable, it should become concrete next week: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants to propose a further tightening of the EU climate targets for 2030. According to the plan, EU member states should reduce their CO2 emissions by 55% compared to 1990. So far this goal has achieved a reduction of 40%.
As part of the Green Deal, the roadmap for a climate-neutral economy by 2050, von der Leyen had already announced that she wants to increase the target to at least 50 percent, if not 55 percent.
Although there has already been criticism from Germany’s industry about a proposed 50% target, the EU Commission apparently wants to set the target at 55%.
Accordingly, this higher target has been meet with rejection in industrial circles: “Europe is advancing alone in the world. For the time being there will be no fact-based debate, but the political decisions will be struck anyway, ”said a German business representative in Brussels on Tuesday.
“Some people in the EU obviously doesn’t care that the automotive industry will hit the wall.”
For example, a study by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), which examined the effects of an increased interim target of 50 to 55 percent and was presented in Brussels on Tuesday concludes: “In the European emissions trading system, significant price increases are to be expected.” The trade association warns that rising carbon prices would have an impact on industrial plants that are subject to emissions trading. As long as the burdens on companies were exclusively incurred in the EU, there would be a risk that industries would migrate abroad and cause higher CO2 emissions worldwide.
European politician Markus Pieper (CDU) also warned: “A CO2 reduction target of over 55% for 2030 is unrealistic and demands too much from the European economy, which is still badly shaken by the Covid-19 crisis.”
Germany, of all places, whose industries are campaigning against the Green Deal, plays a key role in EU climate policy: not only because it is the largest economy in the EU – and therefore also the largest emitter of CO2 – but because it currently chairs the EU Council Presidency and therefore has to come to an amicable solution to the proposed law with all European member states.
Berlin is aware that the current climate target must be increased. But there are also disputes in this country about the extent.
Resistance from the CDU economic council
The Social Democratic (SPD) parliamentary group vice-president Matthias Miersch stated that he expressly supports the goal of reducing European CO2 emissions by 55 percent by 2030. “Only in this way can Europe succeed in becoming climate-neutral by 2050,” Miersch told the Handelsblatt. It is good that Europe is playing a pioneering role. “If we act wisely, there is also an opportunity here to increase the competitiveness of European companies in the area of climate-friendly business.”
In contrast, the CDU Economic Council rejects an increase in EU climate protection to 55 percent by 2030. “Wanting to excessively increase an already ambitious goals in times like these is a lack of political instinct,” said Wolfgang Steiger, Secretary General of the Economic Council.
“Additional burdens would be poison for the economy in view of the Corona recession,” said Steiger. The priority must be to reliably comply with the European climate protection goals and to consistently pursue Europe’s climate neutrality by 2050.
If the target review by the EU this autumn were to result in an excessive target increase, the CDU Economic Council fears high additional burdens for companies that have already been badly hit by the corona crisis.
Translation GWPF
Full story
4) Nearly Half Of British Public Say They Will Never Buy An Electric Car
The Daily Telegraph, 8 September 2020
Nearly half of the UK public say they will never buy an electric car because of a lack of charging points, according to a new survey.
reNews, 9 September 2020
A new report from Ember and Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe also found seven countries do not plan to phase-out coal by 2030.
Total installed coal capacity across Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Romania & Slovenia is set to fall by just 42% in the next decade.
Around 52GW of coal is expected to be operational after 2030, nearly all of which is in the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland.
Four countries, Greece, Hungary, Ireland & Italy, plan to phase-out coal by 2030 but will also significantly increase fossil gas.
Seven countries are on track to phase-out coal by 2030, without a significant increase in fossil gas: Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia & Spain.
As part of its European Green Deal, the European Commission has proposed a Just Transition Fund, worth up to €40bn, to support the EU regions most affected by the transition to a low carbon economy.
Full story
2) Green Deal: Germany Industry Rejects More Stringent EU Climate Targets
Handelsblatt, 8 September 2020
The EU Commission President will probably present her proposal for a stricter climate target next week. Resistance is forming.
Brussels, Berlin, Düsseldorf: The plan was already foreseeable, it should become concrete next week: EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants to propose a further tightening of the EU climate targets for 2030. According to the plan, EU member states should reduce their CO2 emissions by 55% compared to 1990. So far this goal has achieved a reduction of 40%.
As part of the Green Deal, the roadmap for a climate-neutral economy by 2050, von der Leyen had already announced that she wants to increase the target to at least 50 percent, if not 55 percent.
Although there has already been criticism from Germany’s industry about a proposed 50% target, the EU Commission apparently wants to set the target at 55%.
Accordingly, this higher target has been meet with rejection in industrial circles: “Europe is advancing alone in the world. For the time being there will be no fact-based debate, but the political decisions will be struck anyway, ”said a German business representative in Brussels on Tuesday.
“Some people in the EU obviously doesn’t care that the automotive industry will hit the wall.”
For example, a study by the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), which examined the effects of an increased interim target of 50 to 55 percent and was presented in Brussels on Tuesday concludes: “In the European emissions trading system, significant price increases are to be expected.” The trade association warns that rising carbon prices would have an impact on industrial plants that are subject to emissions trading. As long as the burdens on companies were exclusively incurred in the EU, there would be a risk that industries would migrate abroad and cause higher CO2 emissions worldwide.
European politician Markus Pieper (CDU) also warned: “A CO2 reduction target of over 55% for 2030 is unrealistic and demands too much from the European economy, which is still badly shaken by the Covid-19 crisis.”
Germany, of all places, whose industries are campaigning against the Green Deal, plays a key role in EU climate policy: not only because it is the largest economy in the EU – and therefore also the largest emitter of CO2 – but because it currently chairs the EU Council Presidency and therefore has to come to an amicable solution to the proposed law with all European member states.
Berlin is aware that the current climate target must be increased. But there are also disputes in this country about the extent.
Resistance from the CDU economic council
The Social Democratic (SPD) parliamentary group vice-president Matthias Miersch stated that he expressly supports the goal of reducing European CO2 emissions by 55 percent by 2030. “Only in this way can Europe succeed in becoming climate-neutral by 2050,” Miersch told the Handelsblatt. It is good that Europe is playing a pioneering role. “If we act wisely, there is also an opportunity here to increase the competitiveness of European companies in the area of climate-friendly business.”
In contrast, the CDU Economic Council rejects an increase in EU climate protection to 55 percent by 2030. “Wanting to excessively increase an already ambitious goals in times like these is a lack of political instinct,” said Wolfgang Steiger, Secretary General of the Economic Council.
“Additional burdens would be poison for the economy in view of the Corona recession,” said Steiger. The priority must be to reliably comply with the European climate protection goals and to consistently pursue Europe’s climate neutrality by 2050.
If the target review by the EU this autumn were to result in an excessive target increase, the CDU Economic Council fears high additional burdens for companies that have already been badly hit by the corona crisis.
Translation GWPF
Full story
3) British Public Turned Off By Climate Extremists
Gaia Fawkes, 9 September 2020
The public, it appears, are not buying Extinction Rebellion’s nonsense a second time around.
Gaia Fawkes, 9 September 2020
The public, it appears, are not buying Extinction Rebellion’s nonsense a second time around.
While there was a slight rise in the environmental concerns after the groups mass protests last year, after the previous week-and-a-half of well-publicised Extinction Rebellion activity there is a very different story.
YouGov polling reveals the issue is a full 13 points lower than it was in January. The polling, fieldwork for which concluded on Monday, asks Brits to list their top three issues facing the country. The results were…
* Economy 55%
* Health 52%
* Brexit 46%
* Immigration and Asylum 30%
* Environment 21%
Full post & comments
YouGov polling reveals the issue is a full 13 points lower than it was in January. The polling, fieldwork for which concluded on Monday, asks Brits to list their top three issues facing the country. The results were…
* Economy 55%
* Health 52%
* Brexit 46%
* Immigration and Asylum 30%
* Environment 21%
Full post & comments
4) Nearly Half Of British Public Say They Will Never Buy An Electric Car
The Daily Telegraph, 8 September 2020
Nearly half of the UK public say they will never buy an electric car because of a lack of charging points, according to a new survey.
The cost of EVs is the other major reason why 46 per cent of people say they would not buy one in the future, the survey by Ford Motors has found.
The findings highlight the challenge the Government faces as it prepares to bring forward the deadline to phase out new petrol and diesel vehicles, including plug-in hybrid models.
Transport Minister Grant Shapps has suggested the date will be brought forward to 2032, but it is under pressure to make it as early as 2030.
EVs currently account for just 5 per cent of new cars, but sales doubled in August even as the overall market fell.
More than half of respondents to the Ford survey said they were put off buying an EV because of the price. Most EVs are significantly more expensive than similar petrol or diesel models, even with Government subsidies, with the cheapest starting from around £17,000.
Full story
The findings highlight the challenge the Government faces as it prepares to bring forward the deadline to phase out new petrol and diesel vehicles, including plug-in hybrid models.
Transport Minister Grant Shapps has suggested the date will be brought forward to 2032, but it is under pressure to make it as early as 2030.
EVs currently account for just 5 per cent of new cars, but sales doubled in August even as the overall market fell.
More than half of respondents to the Ford survey said they were put off buying an EV because of the price. Most EVs are significantly more expensive than similar petrol or diesel models, even with Government subsidies, with the cheapest starting from around £17,000.
Full story
5) The Price Of Bias: BBC Licence Fee On The Way Out, Says Senior MP
The Times, 10 September 2020
The licence fee is “morally on the way out” and the BBC should be required to make much of its money through optional subscriptions, the chairman of the culture select committee said.
The Times, 10 September 2020
The licence fee is “morally on the way out” and the BBC should be required to make much of its money through optional subscriptions, the chairman of the culture select committee said.
Julian Knight, the Conservative MP, said the corporation’s sprawling size had done lasting damage to the media industry, arguing that commercial publishers could not compete with the “behemoth” BBC website.
Mr Knight suggested that a reduced form of public funding would continue to be required to sustain a “basic BBC”, including its flagship TV and radio stations. He argued that the corporation should charge viewers for access to premium services, such as iPlayer, meaning people who do not wish to use them would not have to pay.
Tim Davie, the BBC’s new director-general, is preparing to open negotiations with ministers on its future funding. The TV licence system is guaranteed until 2027 but the level at which the levy is set will be determined in a mid-term review of the BBC’s royal charter due to start next year.
Mr Knight warned that technical difficulties would make it politically dangerous for the government to replace the licence fee with a Netflix-style pure subscription model. Channels such as BBC One and BBC Two cannot be “switched off” on Freeview, which is how tens of millions of Britons, especially older people, receive their TV. This would mean the channels would have to be taken off free-to-air services and put behind a paywall.
“We’re going to end up with lots of elderly constituents’ TVs being turned off as a result. I can guarantee that’s one way to ensure that we are not forming a government next time,” Mr Knight told a webinar on the future of the BBC organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs, a free-market think tank. But he added: “There needs to be some form of subscription.
We need to see a reduction in the money that is paid out in the licence fee, reduced over time, and other income streams brought forwards.”
Full story (£)
Mr Knight suggested that a reduced form of public funding would continue to be required to sustain a “basic BBC”, including its flagship TV and radio stations. He argued that the corporation should charge viewers for access to premium services, such as iPlayer, meaning people who do not wish to use them would not have to pay.
Tim Davie, the BBC’s new director-general, is preparing to open negotiations with ministers on its future funding. The TV licence system is guaranteed until 2027 but the level at which the levy is set will be determined in a mid-term review of the BBC’s royal charter due to start next year.
Mr Knight warned that technical difficulties would make it politically dangerous for the government to replace the licence fee with a Netflix-style pure subscription model. Channels such as BBC One and BBC Two cannot be “switched off” on Freeview, which is how tens of millions of Britons, especially older people, receive their TV. This would mean the channels would have to be taken off free-to-air services and put behind a paywall.
“We’re going to end up with lots of elderly constituents’ TVs being turned off as a result. I can guarantee that’s one way to ensure that we are not forming a government next time,” Mr Knight told a webinar on the future of the BBC organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs, a free-market think tank. But he added: “There needs to be some form of subscription.
We need to see a reduction in the money that is paid out in the licence fee, reduced over time, and other income streams brought forwards.”
Full story (£)
6) Ann Widdecombe: Heresy, Modern Inquisition And The BBC
Daily Express, 9 September 2020
The only difference between the modern day cancel culture and the Spanish Inquisition is the absence of physical torture.
Nobody is going to be put on the rack, burnt at the stake or chained up and starved in prison. We are more refined these days: we merely make it impossible for people to function in normal society, working and earning, speaking freely, bringing up their children according to their moral code.
Heresy is ruthlessly exposed, witch-hunts deafening, civic authority cowering, public censure brutal. To believe in the traditional definition of marriage is heresy, as is any suggestion that replacing fossil fuels with windfarms is impractical or that the British Empire might have done some good or that people living some centuries ago should not have been expected to think as we do.
It is heresy to suggest that Britain is not profoundly racist or to sing a patriotic song. Dash it, it is even now heresy to state that women menstruate.
Such is the power of the modern Inquisition that it is the state rather than parents which decides when and how children still in kindergarten should be introduced to what we once coyly called “the facts of life”.
One of the biggest promoters of the modern Inquisition has been the BBC. Supposedly impartial, it simply ignores what it does not like and jumps on any passing bandwagon that suits its own metropolitan-elite driven notions, as is evidenced by the enthusiasm with which it has recently embraced the agenda of portraying Britain and her historic figures as rabidly racist.
Nor is it only the news and current affairs programmes which do this.
Drama is similarly censured for anything not “edgy”, peppered with swear words and sex-ridden. Those who want something different can pay their licence and go to Hades. Tim Davie, the new Director General at the BBC, has a big part to play in making this country once more a land of liberty and free speech. I wish him well but am not holding my breath.
Full post & comments
7) Blackout Warnings As Row Over Energy Costs Escalates
iNews, 7 September 2020
New rules to restrict spending by network operators risk plunging the UK grid into blackout chaos, National Grid has warned.
Daily Express, 9 September 2020
The only difference between the modern day cancel culture and the Spanish Inquisition is the absence of physical torture.
Nobody is going to be put on the rack, burnt at the stake or chained up and starved in prison. We are more refined these days: we merely make it impossible for people to function in normal society, working and earning, speaking freely, bringing up their children according to their moral code.
Heresy is ruthlessly exposed, witch-hunts deafening, civic authority cowering, public censure brutal. To believe in the traditional definition of marriage is heresy, as is any suggestion that replacing fossil fuels with windfarms is impractical or that the British Empire might have done some good or that people living some centuries ago should not have been expected to think as we do.
It is heresy to suggest that Britain is not profoundly racist or to sing a patriotic song. Dash it, it is even now heresy to state that women menstruate.
Such is the power of the modern Inquisition that it is the state rather than parents which decides when and how children still in kindergarten should be introduced to what we once coyly called “the facts of life”.
One of the biggest promoters of the modern Inquisition has been the BBC. Supposedly impartial, it simply ignores what it does not like and jumps on any passing bandwagon that suits its own metropolitan-elite driven notions, as is evidenced by the enthusiasm with which it has recently embraced the agenda of portraying Britain and her historic figures as rabidly racist.
Nor is it only the news and current affairs programmes which do this.
Drama is similarly censured for anything not “edgy”, peppered with swear words and sex-ridden. Those who want something different can pay their licence and go to Hades. Tim Davie, the new Director General at the BBC, has a big part to play in making this country once more a land of liberty and free speech. I wish him well but am not holding my breath.
Full post & comments
7) Blackout Warnings As Row Over Energy Costs Escalates
iNews, 7 September 2020
New rules to restrict spending by network operators risk plunging the UK grid into blackout chaos, National Grid has warned.
Tensions between energy regulator Ofgem and the public companies that run the UK’s electricity grid have reached fever pitch in recent weeks, following the release in July of Ofgem proposals to slash returns energy firms like National Grid can make on investments.
Network operators maintain the pipes and wires that supply heat and power across the country. Ofgem wants to cut the baseline rate of return these companies can make from 7-8 per cent to 3.95 per cent from April 2021. Some £8bn of proposed spending on infrastructure projects would also be cut under the plans, after Ofgem concluded energy firms had not done enough to prove the schemes represented value for money.
Blackout threat
Network operators have responded furiously to the proposals, claiming the restrictions threaten the stability of the UK energy system and the transition to green power.
National Grid said it had “serious concerns”, arguing the plans are not in the best interests of its customers.
In a consultation response published on Monday, National Grid warned the rules would leave it struggling to make the network investments needed to avoid future blackouts. The new rules would also choke off investment in net zero grid technologies, it warned.
Full story
Network operators maintain the pipes and wires that supply heat and power across the country. Ofgem wants to cut the baseline rate of return these companies can make from 7-8 per cent to 3.95 per cent from April 2021. Some £8bn of proposed spending on infrastructure projects would also be cut under the plans, after Ofgem concluded energy firms had not done enough to prove the schemes represented value for money.
Blackout threat
Network operators have responded furiously to the proposals, claiming the restrictions threaten the stability of the UK energy system and the transition to green power.
National Grid said it had “serious concerns”, arguing the plans are not in the best interests of its customers.
In a consultation response published on Monday, National Grid warned the rules would leave it struggling to make the network investments needed to avoid future blackouts. The new rules would also choke off investment in net zero grid technologies, it warned.
Full story
8) Global CO2 Emissions Are Already Heading Back to Pre-Pandemic Levels
Bloomberg, 9 September 2020
Carbon dioxide emissions are on the rise again after a short blip when the pandemic brought entire industries and international travel to a halt.
Emissions from burning fossil fuel dropped by an unprecedented 17% from the previous year during the peak of the lockdown in April, but by early June they had mainly returned to about 5% below 2019 levels, according to United in Science 2020, a report published on Wednesday coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization.
While overall emissions will fall more than ever this year , the drop won’t slow climate change and the five years through 2020 is set to be the warmest five-year period on record, according to the report.
The concentration of carbon emissions shows no signs of peaking because humans continue to pump out carbon dioxide, although at a slightly lower rate than last year. Emissions of methane, which has much more heating potential, have also risen in the past decade.
Full story
Bloomberg, 9 September 2020
Carbon dioxide emissions are on the rise again after a short blip when the pandemic brought entire industries and international travel to a halt.
Emissions from burning fossil fuel dropped by an unprecedented 17% from the previous year during the peak of the lockdown in April, but by early June they had mainly returned to about 5% below 2019 levels, according to United in Science 2020, a report published on Wednesday coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization.
While overall emissions will fall more than ever this year , the drop won’t slow climate change and the five years through 2020 is set to be the warmest five-year period on record, according to the report.
The concentration of carbon emissions shows no signs of peaking because humans continue to pump out carbon dioxide, although at a slightly lower rate than last year. Emissions of methane, which has much more heating potential, have also risen in the past decade.
Full story
9) And Finally: Northern Europe Deforestation Up 49% Due To Effort To Meet “CO2 Targets”
No Tricks Zone, 6 September 2020
Swiss meteorologist Jörg Kachelmann calls it “the dumbest energy and environmental policy ever”. Now, finally, after years of being warned, Germany’s mainstream media are finally showing signs of waking up to it.
Germany’s flagship ARD public broadcasting recently presented a report earlier today about how “CO2 neutral” wood burning is leading to widespread deforestation across northern Europe – a rather embarrassing development for the Europeans, who recently expressed their condemnation over Brazilian forest policy.
Deforestation up 49%
The ARD’s “Das Erste” reports how satellite images show deforestation has risen 49% since 2016 in Sweden, Finland and the Baltic countries. The reason: “Because of the CO2 targets. That sounds totally crazy but precisely because of the trend to renewable energies is in part responsible for deforestation in Estonia,” says the Das Erste moderator.
Having spent some time working for the EU, Liiana Steinberg explains in the report how she recently returned to her native Estonia and was shocked to see how much deforestation had taken place over the recent years (2:25). “I discovered how the forests no longer exists here left and right.”
Full story
No Tricks Zone, 6 September 2020
Swiss meteorologist Jörg Kachelmann calls it “the dumbest energy and environmental policy ever”. Now, finally, after years of being warned, Germany’s mainstream media are finally showing signs of waking up to it.
Germany’s flagship ARD public broadcasting recently presented a report earlier today about how “CO2 neutral” wood burning is leading to widespread deforestation across northern Europe – a rather embarrassing development for the Europeans, who recently expressed their condemnation over Brazilian forest policy.
Deforestation up 49%
The ARD’s “Das Erste” reports how satellite images show deforestation has risen 49% since 2016 in Sweden, Finland and the Baltic countries. The reason: “Because of the CO2 targets. That sounds totally crazy but precisely because of the trend to renewable energies is in part responsible for deforestation in Estonia,” says the Das Erste moderator.
Having spent some time working for the EU, Liiana Steinberg explains in the report how she recently returned to her native Estonia and was shocked to see how much deforestation had taken place over the recent years (2:25). “I discovered how the forests no longer exists here left and right.”
Full story
The London-based Global Warming Policy Forum is a world leading think tank on global warming policy issues. The GWPF newsletter is prepared by Director Dr Benny Peiser - for more information, please visit the website at www.thegwpf.com.
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