Eco bullying

Everyone talks a good environmental game, but very few actually know the rules, so the standard of play is very poor indeed. In the United Kingdom we have a series of disconnected environmental “signals” and schemes and consultations.
 
We have to be dragged almost screaming by the European Union into any cogent environmental laws and [...]

Windfall profits but not from wind farms; the blighted emissions trading scheme

I have written in this web log about what I perceive to be the failings in the Emissions Trading Scheme, much beloved of the United Kingdom Government as the means of curbing carbon dioxide emissions. The scheme in effect licenses large emitter to produce so many emissions each year; if they produce less they can [...]

Peak Coal - when will coal run out?

The concept of “peak oil” is well known; there is a stage when we have less oil in our world’s reserves than we have used. It does not take much imagination to understand that this is not good. M King Hubbert was a geologist working for Shell in the 1950s.
He proposed that the rate [...]

Forget renewables in Europe - it would make nuclear and the Emissions Trading Scheme Fail!

Saturday’s Guardian led on a story under the headline “Britain seeks loophole in EU green energy targets”. Apparently the Business Minister, Lady Vedera proposes that renewable energy targets should include projects outside the EU. In other words, we should count as part of EU emission targets projects that we sponsor (or sell) to places outside [...]

Hopes,aspirations, signals, endless reviews and consultations- the 2008 Budget

Mr Darling’s Budget has been much as I feared; it shows a Government that is good at commissioning reviews and studies but lacking the political courage to make genuinely hard decisions.  
The Budget documents states: “Tackling climate change is the most serious and pressing global environmental challenge the world faces.” True. Unfortunately the policies announced under [...]

Climate Change Conference -Statements of the obvious at Bali

It seems that the delegates at Bali’s Climate Change Conference have agreed that they will not set firm emission targets at this stage but will negotiate them over a two year period and that the new targets agreed in 2009 will replace those set down in Kyoto.
The developing countries, in particular China, thought that [...]

World Climate Change Conference - no contest! Shadow boxing at Bali

There will be a stand off at the world climate change conference in Bali – what will look like a fight will in fact end up as a charade. 

Climate Change - Mr Stern and the fundamental failure of markets

Nicholas Stern economist and famed author of “the Stern Review: the Economics of Climate Change” claimed yesterday that “the problem of climate change involves a fundamental failure of markets: those who damage others by emitting greenhouse gases generally do not pay. Climate change is a result of the greatest market failure the world has seen.” 

Climate Change Bill -Mr Benn makes the climate hotter

On the 16th November I blogged about Mr Hilary Benn boasting that his proud new  Climate Change Bill would show the world real leadership at the forthcoming Climate Change Conference in Bali. It was clear to me at the time that Mr Benn had lost the plot, as have the whole government of the United [...]

Biofuels, carbon trading and a free lunch

I wrote, in “the Energy Age” that as far as energy and climate change is concerned there is no free lunch; you cannot grasp at a single solution, or even two or three solutions. The nature of the problem is such that you need to use every possible weapon in your armory, every technique available [...]