Net Zero Watch Samizdat: Net Zero Splurge

UK

Net Zero Splurge

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced her Spending Review this week. It was revealed that by the 2028/9 financial year the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will be getting a whopping 16% percent real terms increase in government funding, compared with 3.5 percent for Defence and just 1.5 percent for Education.

Badenoch: ‘Net Zero’ windfall tax should be scrapped

Kemi Badenoch is expected to call for the windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas to be scrapped. The Conservative leader will say that the energy profits levy on oil and gas profits can no longer be justified, and there will be nothing “left to tax” if it continues. The intervention comes shortly after Nigel Farage gave a speech in Aberdeen in which he said “the scales are falling off the eyes of the public when it comes to Net Zero.”

Cracks appearing in Labour’s Net Zero loyalty

Labour MP Henry Tufnell told Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions that if Net Zero was not delivering “more jobs [and] cheaper bills” then “we must reconsider our approach.” As a rising star of Labour’s 2024 intake, the intervention could be the first significant sign of internal divisions within the Labour Party on Net Zero.

New Mini-Nukes

Rolls-Royce will build Britain’s first mini nuclear power plants, with the British engineering giant expected to deliver first plants by 2030s after seeing off rivals.

Farage promises new coal mines in Wales

Nigel Farage declared he’s ready to “fight” Sir Keir Starmer to achieve his “ambition to re-industrialise” the country, if he wins power in the Senedd next year, as he vowed to defy Labour’s Net Zero orders and open new coal mines in Wales.

International

Big Tech, big energy requirements

Indirect carbon emissions from the operations of four of the leading AI-focused tech companies rose on average by 150% from 2020-2023, as they had to use more power for energy-demanding data centres. The AI revolution will need a lot of energy and renewables are unlike to be able to meet the strict reliability requirements that data centres require.

OPEC Secretary-General attacks Net Zero

The Secretary-General of OPEC has expressed concern over net-zero targets he called “unrealistic,” “fixated on deadlines” and “detached from reality”, and criticised the International Energy Agency for sending mixed signals to industry.

Rooftop solar to crash under GOP Bill

For two decades, Congress has offered tax breaks for people who put solar panels on their roofs. But that could soon come to a crashing halt. GOP legislators plan to axe these benefits but the plans are meeting resistance in the Senate.

The rise and rise of ‘King Coal’

Tilak Doshi touts the continued rise in coal consumption, and explains how coal remains a critical lynchpin of the global energy system.

Etcetera…

Andrew wrote for Conservative Home, criticising James Cleverly’s intervention on climate policy, arguing that it was symptomatic of vacuous green sloganeering. He also appeared with Mike Graham on TalkTV, responding to the Spending Review.

Harry Wilkinson was on GB News discussing mandatory targets for electric vehicles.

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 Samizdat is a newsletter summarising the latest issues - for more information, please visit the website at www.netzerowatch.com.