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Sunday, July 12, 2026

Net Zero Watch Samizdat: NESO summertime madness











UK

NESO accused of cover-up over blackout threat


Britain’s grid operator has been accused of covering up system failures that threaten to trigger blackouts. Bosses at the National Energy Systems Operator allegedly ordered control-room staff to hide information that showed the grid was not being run securely, and to not to keep permanent records of operational decisions, to ensure there was no paper trail. Shadow Energy Sec Claire Coutinho has written to the ICO demanding it open an investigation into the alleged incidents.

Listen to NESO’s Chief Engineer refusing to answer a direct question regarding Countinho’s allegations.

Grid operator warns of energy crunch

As Britain’s grid operator sent out a fresh warning regarding power supplies after soaring temperatures piled strain on energy networks, energy analyst Kathryn Porter said policy makers were increasingly gambling on the weather and on other countries to keep Britain’s lights on. “This is only going to get worse,” she warned: “Clearly we’re struggling to manage. We need sensible energy policies and to stop gambling on the weather and praying other countries can bail us out.”

Badenoch purges would-be Net Zero MPs from the party

Kemi Badenoch - the Leader of the Opposition - has confirmed that support for the statutory Net Zero by 2050 target is incompatible with standing as a Conservative parliamentary candidate.

This marks a decisive break with the Cameron, May and Johnson governments, all of which accepted the framework that underpins the target.

It is a significant moment in Conservative Party politics and an important win for Net Zero Watch’s campaign to restore energy and climate realism to the centre right.

Net Zero trade policy will send Britain into the relegation zone warns leading expert

This week, the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) has released CBAM: Market-based or Market Bust?, a new report by Catherine McBride OBE, CEO of the Great British Business Council and a former member of the UK’s Trade and Agriculture Commission. The report examines the likely impacts of the UK’s proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and predicts that it will not protect British industry as intended. It argues for an alternative approach which uses competitive market principles to drive efficiency alongside emissions reductions.

WATCH CATHERINE MCBRIDE DISCUSS THE UK’S CBAM POLICY

Labour Energy MP calls for rethink on North Sea

One of Labour’s most senior MPs on energy has opened the door to lifting the party’s ban on new oil and gas drilling licences in the North Sea. Bill Esterson, who chairs the Commons energy security and net zero committee, suggested that a “change of approach” by the Government may be needed. His comments put him at odds with Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, who has consistently dismissed demands for a rethink on Labour’s ban on new drilling licences in the North Sea.

International

Italy leads push to weaken green rules


Italy is leading a rearguard effort to water down environmental rules in the EU’s next €2 trillion budget, opening a new divide that threatens to further complicate already thorny negotiations, according to three EU diplomats with knowledge of the discussions.

The EU’s paradigm shift on livestock farming

For years, the EU treated its cows, pigs and chickens mainly as a source of emissions to be reduced. On Tuesday, the European Commission gave them a new job title. Livestock, it now says, is critical infrastructure. "Livestock is not only about agriculture," the Commission's executive vice president for cohesion and reforms, says: "It is about competitiveness, it is about food security ... and it is about Europe's future."

Watch

WATCH CLAIRE COUTINHO RAISE CONCERNS ABOUT THE NESO IN PARLIAMENT

WATCH OCTOPUS’S RACHEL FLETCHER SAY THAT GRID CONSTRAINT PAYMENTS COULD REACH £10 BILLION BY 2030

WATCH SPECTATOR TV DISCUSS GREEN DARK MONEY

Etcetera…

Read: Dieter Helm’s letter to the Financial Times on the rising costs of Net Zero.

From the blog

WED, JUN 17
Net Zero in crisis: Parliament must reject the Seventh Carbon Budget

Read More

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.

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