Net Zero Watch: Liz Truss advised King Charles to stay away from COP27 climate summit

 

In this newsletter:

1) Liz Truss advised King Charles to stay away from COP27 climate summit
The Sunday Times, 2 October 2022
  
2) Prince Charles's promise: "I won't speak out when I'm king - I'm not that stupid"
BBC News, 8 November 2018

3) Net Zero Europe: Cold weather warning adds to Europe’s gloom as it battles energy crisis
Financial Times, 2 October 2022
  
4) Eurozone inflation hits record 10% as energy prices continue to soar
Financial Times, 30 September 2022
  
5) Energy crisis: UK households turning to coal ahead of 'hard winter'
BBC News, 30 September 2022
 

6) Dutch stockpile coal and wood for winter
Reuters, 30 September 2022
 

7) Felicity Bradstock: While Europe banned fracking, the U.S. is transforming it
OilPrice.com, 1 October 2022
  
8) Britain launches urgent security review of North Sea energy pipelines after Russian 'sabotage'
The Daily Telegraph, 29 September 2022
 
9) Lights out: Europe's energy crisis begins to bite for sports clubs
Reuters, 30 September 2022
  

10) ‘Staggering’ wind farm switch-offs cost energy customers nearly £1bn
The Scottish Herald, 2 October 2022
 

11) And finally: Cold weather puts Scottish grouse breed in danger of extinction
The Daily Telegraph, 30 September 2022

Full details:

1) Liz Truss advised King Charles to stay away from COP27 climate summit
The Sunday Times, 2 October 2022

 

The King, a passionate environmental campaigner, has abandoned plans to attend next month’s Cop27 climate change summit after Liz Truss told him to stay away.

He had intended to deliver a speech at the meeting of world leaders in Egypt.

Truss, who is also unlikely to attend the Sharm el-Sheikh gathering, objected to the King’s plans during a personal audience at Buckingham Palace last month.

The decision is likely to fuel tensions between the new prime minister and the new monarch, although a Downing Street source claimed the audience had been cordial and there had “not been a row”.

The news comes amid suspicion that the government may water down, or abandon, its environmental target to achieve “net zero” by 2050.

A senior royal source said: “It is no mystery that the King was invited to go there. He had to think very carefully about what steps to take for his first overseas tour, and he is not going to be attending Cop.”

They said the decision was made on the government’s advice and was “entirely in the spirit of being ever-mindful as King that he acts on government advice”.

The 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as Cop27, will run from November 6 to 18.

Charles is still determined to make his presence felt there, and how he will do that is “under active discussion”. A senior royal source said: “Just because he is not in physical attendance, that doesn’t mean His Majesty won’t find other ways to support it.”

A source who knows Charles said he would be “personally disappointed” to miss it and was “all lined up to go”, with several engagements planned around his Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) which aims to persuade businesses to invest in environmentally friendly initiatives.

The source said: “The Queen gave an entirely non-political address at Cop last year . . . it sounds like he is not being given the choice. That is an error of judgment on the part of the government.

“The King could absolutely go and deliver the government’s message and give it credibility, given all the kudos he has in that space.

“It’s disappointing if people don’t believe he’d be able to do that, of course he could. He delivered the Queen’s speech at the state opening of parliament, rattling off lots of policies that went against his personal beliefs.

“He absolutely can put the government seatbelt on and drive at 30 miles per hour. He has already shown he is more than equal to that task.”

A government source said: “The palace and the government considered separately, and then agreed jointly, that there might be more suitable options for the King’s first state visit.”

The King is respected as a prominent voice on environmental issues and has been campaigning on them for more than 50 years.

He delivered the opening speech at Cop21 in Paris in 2015, calling for a “vast military-style campaign” to fight climate change and urging world leaders to commit “trillions, not billions, of dollars”. He also played a vital role in convening and encouraging world leaders to sign up to the landmark Paris Climate Agreement at the event.

He delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of Cop26 in Glasgow, calling on world leaders to adopt a “warlike footing” to deal with the threat of climate change. In a video address to the conference last year, his mother hailed his work. “It is a source of great pride to me that the leading role my husband played in encouraging people to protect our fragile planet lives on through the work of our eldest son Charles and his eldest son William,” she said. “I could not be more proud of them.”

During the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June, William delivered a speech after pictures of the planet were projected on to Buckingham Palace. “As I watch those extraordinary images, it does make me think of all the monumental and pioneering work of so many visionary environmentalists that have gone before,” he said. “I’m so proud that my grandfather and my father have been part of those efforts.”

The Prince of Wales was also at Cop26, but will not be in Egypt. He is keen to focus on his Earthshot prize for environmental innovations and will attend its award ceremony in Boston in December, along with the Princess of Wales.

In his address to the nation and the Commonwealth following the Queen’s death, the King pledged to “uphold the Constitutional principles at the heart of our nation” and to “hold in the greatest respect the precious traditions … and responsibilities of our ... system of parliamentary government”. He added that “my life will of course change as I take up my new responsibilities”, acknowledging that “it will no longer be possible for me to give so much of my time and energies to the ... issues for which I care so deeply”.

When heir to the throne, Charles had a history for interfering in government business. Earlier this year he privately criticised the government’s policy of deporting migrants to Rwanda, calling the practice “appalling”.

Last month Truss appointed the Conservative MP Chris Skidmore to lead a review of the government’s net-zero policy. The former energy and climate minister has been given until the end of the year to present his findings to the prime minister.

His appointment comes amid concerns that Truss may row back on emission cuts. She has promoted.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, who has expressed concerns about “climate alarmism”, to business secretary.

Other ministers, including Suella Braverman, the home secretary, questioned the wisdom of the net-zero goal during the Tory leadership contest.

Last month, ministers set out plans to lift the moratorium on fracking, ease planning laws, scrap long-standing environmental regulations on water and chemical pollution and lower the bar for new offshore oil and gas projects. The RSPB described the flurry of announcements as a “full-on attack on the laws that protect nature”.

However, Skidmore told The Times last week that he could “100 per cent” rule out the prospect of his report recommending that the target of 2050 for reaching net zero be delayed or abandoned.
 
See also: Vested interests & windfall profits: King Charles to profit from his green energy campaign

 

 
 

2) Prince Charles's promise: "I won't speak out when I'm king - I'm not that stupid"
BBC News, 8 November 2018

 

Prince Charles says it would be "nonsense" to think he could campaign publicly as king

The Prince of Wales says he will stop speaking out on topics he feels strongly about when he becomes king, as he is "not that stupid".

He has campaigned on issues such as the environment for decades but says he would not do the same as monarch.

Speaking in a BBC documentary to mark his 70th birthday, Prince Charles said the idea that he would continue making interventions was "nonsense".

He said he would have to operate within "constitutional parameters".

Full story
 

3) Net Zero Europe: Cold weather warning adds to Europe’s gloom as it battles energy crisis
Financial Times, 2 October 2022

 

Less wind and rain could hit renewable power as continent seeks to wean itself off Russian gas
 
Europe could suffer a colder winter with less wind and rain than usual, according to the European weather forecasting agency, adding to the challenges for governments trying to solve the continent’s energy crisis.

Florence Rabier, director-general of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), said early indications for November and December were for a period of high pressure over western Europe, which was likely to bring with it colder spells and less wind and rainfall, reducing the generation of renewable power.

The forecast, which is based on data from the ECMWF and several other weather prediction systems including those in the UK, US, France and Japan, is a potential problem for policymakers as they try to battle soaring energy costs for businesses and households owing to huge cuts in gas imports from Russia.

“If we have this pattern then for the energy it is quite demanding because not only is it a bit colder but also you have less wind for wind power and less precipitation for hydro power,” she told the Financial Times.

The EU has vowed to wean itself off Russian gas by 2027 by diversifying into more renewable power and pursuing gas deals with other countries. Gas exports from Russia to the EU have already dropped from around two-fifths of total supply to 9 per cent since it launched its invasion of Ukraine in February.

Rabier said recent hurricanes across the Atlantic could cause milder, wetter and windier weather in the short term. But cooler weather later in the year would be consistent with the atmospheric conditions known as La Niña, a weather pattern derived from the cooling of the Pacific Ocean’s surface, which drives changes in wind and rainfall patterns in different regions.

Full story
 
4) Eurozone inflation hits record 10% as energy prices continue to soar
Financial Times, 30 September 2022

 

Inflation in the euro area hit a new high for the 11th consecutive month as energy prices continued to rise, bolstering calls for the European Central Bank to continue aggressive interest rate rises when it meets next month.

Consumer prices in the eurozone rose 10 per cent in the year to September, accelerating from 9.1 per cent in August, which was already the highest level in the euro’s 23-year history. The price rises also outstripped the 9.7 per cent expected by economists polled by Reuters.

Russia’s squeezing of gas supplies to Europe after its invasion of Ukraine has sent energy prices surging and forced governments to intervene by spending hundreds of billions of euros to shield consumers and businesses from the fallout. Energy prices rose 40.8 per cent in September, up from 38.6 per cent the previous month, according to a flash estimate by Eurostat, the European Commission’s statistics arm.

EU energy ministers on Friday agreed measures including a 5 per cent mandatory reduction in peak electricity consumption, a windfall levy on fossil fuel companies and a €180/MWh cap on the price of electricity generated by non-gas power producers. Economists expect the eurozone bloc to fall into recession this winter, as households reduce spending and industrial groups cut back on production.

Carsten Brzeski, an economist at Dutch bank ING, said new fiscal support measures would “soften the recession in the eurozone and lower the peak of inflation, but also mean the fall in inflation next year will be less accentuated because you will have stronger demand”.

Prices for food, alcohol and tobacco in the eurozone rose 11.8 per cent, up from 10.6 per cent in August. Core inflation, which excludes more volatile energy and food prices to offer economists a clearer idea of underlying price pressures, rose 4.8 per cent, up from 4.3 per cent in August.

More than half the euro area’s 19 countries recorded double-digit levels of inflation and in three Baltic countries it was above 20 per cent. However, inflation slowed in France from 6.6 per cent to 6.2 per cent — the lowest in the bloc thanks to large subsidies on energy bills. Dutch finance minister Sigrid Kaag said it was “terrible” that inflation in the country had hit 17.1 per cent.

The overall eurozone figure was lifted by German inflation, which hit a new 71-year-high of 10.9 per cent in September after the expiry of government measures to cushion the impact of the energy crisis.

Germany on Thursday became the latest EU country to announce further measures to reduce energy costs for consumers and businesses. Berlin aims to spend €200bn on capping gas and electricity prices. Deutsche Bank economists estimated Berlin’s plan would knock 3 percentage points off German inflation next year compared with the bank’s previous forecast of 9 per cent and soften the fall in 2023 output to minus 2 per cent, compared with its previous forecast of minus 3.5 per cent.

The ECB, which targets inflation of 2 per cent, has said inflation is “far too high” and indicated it intends to keep raising rates until price growth slows down appreciably. The central bank has raised its deposit rate by 1.25 percentage points at its last two policy meetings and markets are pricing in a further 0.75 percentage point rise on October 27.

Nouriel Roubini, economics professor at New York University, predicted in a tweet that the eurozone was heading for a “stagflationary hard landing” caused by persistently high inflation and stagnant growth. He warned that the ECB would have to raise rates “faster and sooner causing serious economic, financial and political stresses”.

Separate figures from Eurostat on Friday showed the total number of unemployed people in the euro area fell by 30,000 to just below 11mn in August, the smallest monthly decline so far this year, while the jobless rate remained flat at 6.6 per cent.

Isabel Schnabel, an ECB executive board member, said in a speech on Friday that even though many eurozone workers were suffering pay cuts in real terms as their wages lagged behind inflation, soaring energy prices and supply bottlenecks might mean that companies kept raising prices even in a downturn.
 
Full story
 
5) Energy crisis: UK households turning to coal ahead of 'hard winter'
BBC News, 30 September 2022

 

People are turning towards coal and logs to heat their homes after a surge in energy prices.

A coal merchant in Somerset said he was busier now than he had been in the past 30 years.

One woman making the switch said her guests would "get a blanket rather than heating" when visiting her home.

The government announced an energy bill support package in the mini-budget but calls have been made for long-term action such as help with insulation.

Andrew Mount, from Burnham Coal Supplies, said he is seeing some customers coming back to coal from gas and claims shoppers are stockpiling.

Jo Twist, who lives in a village near Yeovil in Somerset, said her coal bunker was raided by a thief who had resorted to "desperate measures".

Notwithstanding, she said she was glad she had made the switch from oil to coal and logs after prices more than doubled - from £500 to £1,200 for 1,000 litres of oil.

She said she had not set her fire yet and was holding off for as long as possible.

"When people come around they get a blanket rather than the heating - that's what we were like when we were children," she said.
 
Full story
 

6) Dutch stockpile coal and wood for winter
Reuters, 30 September 2022

VEENENDAAL, Netherlands, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The budget-conscious Dutch, who enjoyed abundant cheap gas for half a century to heat their homes, are turning to more traditional heating methods as cold weather reaches the Netherlands.

Sales of coal, wood and pellets for heating stoves have jumped as consumers seek cheaper energy alternatives to counter sky-rocketing gas bills in the wake of the war in Ukraine.

Customers visiting the warehouse of coal merchant Wim van Beek in the central Dutch town of Veenendaal this week were primarily looking to trim spending on heating, the merchant told Reuters.

They were also worried about the security of commercial energy supplies amid the escalating confrontation between the West and Russian President Vladimir Putin, he said, adding that sales volumes were as high as in the 1980s.

Customers were driven by the belief that "if I have coal in my shed I will be warm this winter. Then if Putin goes nuts or three more gas pipelines get sabotaged, I have my heating sorted", Van Beek said.

Full story
 

7) Felicity Bradstock: While Europe banned fracking, the U.S. is transforming it
OilPrice.com, 1 October 2022
 
The fracking boom in the U.S. allowed the country to tap into otherwise inaccessible oil and gas reserves,  helping to make it the energy giant that it is today.
 
While the environmental downsides associated with fracking have led some European countries to ban the practice, the U.S. fracking industry is working to transform itself.

From following strict ESG regulations to using fracking technology to assist in carbon capture and storage, hydraulic fracturing still has a future in the U.S.

The U.S. has benefitted significantly from fracking over the last decade, with hydraulic fracturing helping producers to access some of the most hard-to-reach fossil fuel resources. But the industry has faced continual criticism from environmentalists who fear the impact of fracking operations on the environment. Instead of moving away from fracking, like many European countries, the U.S. appears to be cleaning up its act with more environmentally friendly practices and by using fracking technology in new and innovative ways. 
 
The U.S. has been using fracking (hydraulic fracturing) techniques since 1947, drilling 1.2 million wells in that time. Fracking, the method of recovering oil and gas from shale rock, involves drilling into the earth and aiming a high-pressure mix of water, sand, and chemicals at a rock layer to release the gas contained inside. These operations have helped producers access seven billion barrels of oil and 600 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
 
Using fracking techniques has helped the U.S. tap into vast oil and gas reserves that were inaccessible to traditional drillers. During the fracking boom of the 2010s, the U.S. overtook Russia and Saudi Arabia as the biggest crude oil and natural gas producer worldwide. Its domestic crude production rose from 5.4 million bpd in 2010 to 13 million bpd by 2019. Production has waned in recent years as we saw the beginnings of a slowdown in 2019 followed by pandemic restrictions and a demand decrease.
 
While the U.S. relies heavily on fracking for its oil and gas output, environmentalists have continually fought to halt fracking operations due to environmental concerns. The main concerns include risks to air quality, water contamination in fracking areas, and concerns over seismic events caused by fracking. 
 
According to one analysis by the Energy Policy journal planned drilling projects in the U.S. will release 140 billion tonnes of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere if they go ahead. The main area of concern is the Permian basin, a 250 miles wide geological formation spanning west Texas and New Mexico. One area, the Delaware basin, is expected to emit 27.8 billion metric tonnes of carbon based on current drilling plans, while the Midland basin could release up to 16.6 billion tonnes of emissions. 

Many countries across Europe have already banned fracking due to uncertainties around seismic movements and other environmental concerns. Germany, France, and Spain have banned fracking entirely. Meanwhile, the U.K. introduced a ban on fracking in 2019 but just made a U-turn on this decision under new Prime Minister Liz Truss, who is aiming to re-establish the country’s energy security. 
 
Following a year of mounting pressure after the COP26 climate summit and subsequent advances in U.S. climate policy, producers are now looking to clean up their act. The country’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has mandated emissions standards for non-road diesel engines, meaning that fracking operations will switch to Tier II and Tier IV engines, which will reduce carbon emissions. In addition, many fracking operators are introducing new ESG measures, such as water recycling, emissions reduction at the well site, and the use of in-basin sand to eliminate drying and long-haul transport.
 
And several startups and coming up with their own innovative ways to make utilize fracking technology in environmentally friendly ways. One such startup, Microseismic, believes it can thrive in the climate change era. The company provided unique seismic monitoring equipment in the early 2000s, using a stethoscope-like technology as opposed to seismic vibrators, which act like ultrasound equipment. Although not the original purpose of the company, Microseismic began supporting shale operations as the gas boom took hold. CEO Peter Duncan explained, “They told us to do frac monitoring, and it became more valuable to clients as they started drilling long horizontal wells that could no longer be sensed or monitored with a single down hole.” Microseismic was building the equivalent of a big dish microphone up on the surface, which was highly valuable for producers. 
 
Following the pandemic, which led Microseismic to lay people off due to its reliance on the weakening shale business, the company is bouncing back with innovative ideas for reducing emissions in shale operations and elsewhere. Microseismic has experience in carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which is becoming a must in oil and gas operations. Duncan stated, “Our science is extremely important in making CO2 sequestration work, and we are heavily pursuing it.” The startup has already applied for a DoE grant for commercial use of its equipment on fracking and sinkhole detection, as well as to support CCS operations, which is currently under consideration.
 
Duncan believes its passive seismic monitoring technic will help identify risks, “You can hear small microseismic events growing in magnitude, and then know it might be leading to a seismic event at the surface, and you can take action to stop that,” he said. “You can detect whether a  crack is forming in the seal or rock that will allow the CO2 to leak outside the reservoir, and as a plume of CO2 grows, it will create microseismic events,” he added.
 
Fracking has ultimately helped the U.S. to become an oil and gas giant over the last 70 years. And although environmental concerns have hindered fracking operations, new technological developments and best practices are transforming the extraction method in the U.S.
 
8) Britain launches urgent security review of North Sea energy pipelines after Russian 'sabotage'
The Daily Telegraph, 29 September 2022

 

Security around Britain's oil and gas pipelines is being urgently reviewed after Vladimir Putin was accused of sabotage following "unprecedented" damage to undersea links between Russia and Europe.

The energy industry is discussing with Government officials how to protect North Sea oil and gas rigs and pipelines after underwater explosions damaged Nord Stream 1 and 2 causing four leaks.

Industry representatives are also speaking to their peers in Norway after unidentified drones were spotted flying near Norwegian oil and gas rigs following the Nord Stream ruptures.

Four leaks have now been discovered on the Nord Stream lines near Sweden and Denmark. The cause is not yet known, but the EU, Nato and the US say they appear to have been sabotaged.

It comes amid an escalating energy war between Europe and Russia over Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin has deemed “stupid” suggestions it might be behind the attack.

Mark Wilson, operations director Offshore Energies UK trade group, said industry did not have any evidence of unusual activity in UK areas giving rise to any specific concern, but wanted to make sure it was prepared.

Authorities in Norway, which is Britain’s largest supplier of gas, on Tuesday urged oil and gas operators to be vigilant, warning drones could pose a risk of accidents or attacks. On Wednesday, the Norwegian Prime Minister said it would deploy its military to protect its oil and gas installations.

Full story
 
9) Lights out: Europe's energy crisis begins to bite for sports clubs
Reuters, 30 September 2022
 
German second division club Nuremberg will not be playing evening matches in the near future after the city council decided on Friday to limit the use of floodlights at the team's Max Morlock stadium amid the energy crisis.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sent energy prices soaring worldwide and Germany, which had been heavily dependent on Russian energy, is looking to reduce its energy usage with winter approaching.

"Gas and electricity could be in short supply in the winter. That is why the city council had a renewed discussion about where we can save energy," a statement read.

The council added that it had made the decision to limit the use of the floodlights and under-pitch heating.

"The pitch heating in the stadium will remain off after an agreement with the German Football League (DFL)," it said.

"We are limiting the use of floodlights until maximum nine in the evening."

This will prevent the former Bundesliga club from staging any evening games, which start half an hour earlier.

Meanwhile, in England, fourth-tier club Mansfield Town brought forward their kick-off time for a fixture to limit floodlight usage.
 
Full story
 

10) ‘Staggering’ wind farm switch-offs cost energy customers nearly £1bn
The Scottish Herald, 2 October 2022

Payments to power companies to change off primarily Scottish wind farm generators as a result of they produce an excessive amount of energy have value bill-payers approaching £1bn in simply over 5 years and are anticipated to soar to £500m a yr.

It has emerged that households who’re seeing a doubling of power payments since final winter are set to face additional ache by the “absurd” constraint funds system which is predicted to dole out report quantities within the subsequent 4 years.

In keeping with an evaluation seen by the Herald on Sunday by Nationwide Grid ESO, the corporate accountable for conserving the lights on, all UK constraint prices together with gasoline, wind and coal era are predicted to develop from round £1bn to an “eyewatering” £2.3bn by 2026.

It implies that wind farm compensation funds might attain as a lot as £500m in a yr earlier than power infrastructure enchancment carry the prices down.

As a result of electrical energy can’t be saved and must be generated on the time of demand, compensation is given to power companies after they have to cut back their output. With wind farms it entails turning off generators when the community is unable to deal with the facility they produce.

The funds are made by the Nationwide Grid ESO however charged to shoppers and added to power payments.

Full story

 

11) And finally: Cold weather puts Scottish grouse breed in danger of extinction
The Daily Telegraph, 30 September 2022

 

A Scottish grouse is at risk of extinction after numbers fell below 1,000 for the first time in the wake of cold spring weather.

An estimated 542 capercaillies are left in the wild in Scotland - a 50 per cent fall since the last survey six years ago, a survey carried out by the RSPB found.

The capercaillie, a large woodland grouse, has been in decline since 2003. However, this is the biggest fall since 2000 and the first time numbers have dropped below 1,000.

The survey was carried out last winter between November and March, recording sightings of the birds as well as feathers and droppings.

Conservation scientists said the decline is fuelled by a combination of factors that reduce capercaillie survival and breeding success, including fragmented habitat and cold, wet spring weather.

This affects the fitness of female birds before the breeding season and also reduces chick survival rates. Another cause is predation by pine martens, foxes and crows.

Full story

The London-based Net Zero Watch is a campaign group set up to highlight and discuss the serious implications of expensive and poorly considered climate change policies. The Net Zero Watch newsletter is prepared by Director Dr Benny Peiser - for more information, please visit the website at www.netzerowatch.com.