Boris Johnson to Call for Relaxation of Net Zero Target

2 min read

Boris Johnson believes the West should be given a “climate change pass” to help wean the EU off Russian gas supplies as he faces mounting pressure over the Government’s 2050 Net Zero target. The Times has the story.

The Times has been told that Johnson wants the West, particularly the U.S. and Canada, to ramp up its own production of gas to help remove the “massive leverage” Russia has over EU countries.

While retaining the Government’s target, Johnson is understood to believe that Western countries should be able to increase gas production during the transition to nuclear and renewables. It came as Nigel Farage, the former UKIP leader, announced that he is launching a political movement to campaign for a referendum on the Net Zero policy.

A Government source said: “The Prime Minister has been very clear that one of the massive problems is the leverage that Putin has over a number of European countries over gas and oil.

“We have to address this over the short term, mid term and long term. The Prime Minister is interested in giving the gas industry a climate pass in the transition to nuclear and renewables.” Johnson hinted at the approach during an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica and the German publication Die Welt last week.

“We need a collective European strategy and a Western strategy to diversify away from this dependence,” he said. “There are other sources… in North America, in Canada, in the Gulf.”

Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, suggested at the G7 meeting in Brussels on Friday that a ceiling be imposed on imports of Russian coal, oil and gas which comes down over time. She believes that the “long-term defence of freedom is worth short-term economic pain”.

Germany gets two thirds of its gas from Russia. It recently announced that it is shelving the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany. …

Thirty-four Tory MPs urged the Prime Minister to reverse plans to seal two shale gas wells, insisting that Britain must secure its energy independence. Cuadrilla is due to concrete over its wells in Lancashire on March 15th.

In their letter to Johnson, the MPs state: “We urge you to pause and conduct a review. At a time of such geopolitical strife, we cannot refrain from actions that would improve the position of the U.K. and its allies. We have seen how a reliance on imported gas affects the responses of other countries during the initial stages of Russian aggression.” The intervention was organised by Craig Mackinlay and Steve Baker of the Net Zero Scrutiny Group.

Worth reading in full.

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109 Comments
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Human Resource 19510203
Human Resource 19510203
4 years ago

“There is a crack, a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in”.

a moratorium on nut zero is half-way to an abandonment.

lyndar
lyndar
4 years ago

Maybe he doesnt fancy a fight with Nigel Farage. Interesting that his new policy appeared just as Mr F launched his new campaign….

Bobby Lobster
Bobby Lobster
4 years ago

If France can make yoghurt a protected industry, maybe we should bring back fracking in the interest of energy self-sufficiency.

Perhaps he could just decide himself due to covid restrictions before the law runs out later this month? Would save him for going back to parliament, and the green lunatics.

Backlash
Backlash
4 years ago

Call who for relaxation of target? Just scrap it, we don’t owe it to anyone to ruin ourselves

bowlsman
bowlsman
4 years ago

It’s a small step, very small, in the right direction. However, it’s going take quite a while to reach any result.
More urgent action is needed to stop the insane plan to stop production of petrol and deisel cars by 2030. It’s too much and far to quick, especially in favour of expensive EV’s. Battery issues, short journey lengths, frequent charging stops, very few charging points etc.
And manufacture of them producing at least as much if not more CO2. Theres no point.
Leave things alone and let the public decide if they want them.

tom171uk
tom171uk
4 years ago

So it has taken Putingate and a kicking from his own MPs to make this “leader” see the bleedin’ obvious.

MikeHaseler
MikeHaseler
4 years ago

Net Zero is an impossible target … unless you really do want a stone age society and stone age life expectancy again.

Rogerborg
Rogerborg
4 years ago
Reply to  MikeHaseler

Plenty of irony-impaired eco-loons are tweeting support for that from their iPhones.

imp66
imp66
4 years ago

Every war-torn cloud…

David Beaton
David Beaton
4 years ago

Johnson just gets more off-the wall surreal every day – what can be done?

What is he on? Who can help us?

No-one in the sold out Tory Party.

Emerald Fox
Emerald Fox
4 years ago

Cost of gas up 20 times in the past year?

The old bat
The old bat
4 years ago
Reply to  Emerald Fox

I was reading earlier today of someone having been quoted £4000 to fill up their 2000 litre oil tank. Heating oil has gone through the roof this last week and a lot of rural properties have no alternate source of heat. Big trouble ahead for gas, electric, oil. How long will the lights stay on at this rate?

Rogerborg
Rogerborg
4 years ago
Reply to  The old bat

My retired in-laws gave up on heating oil for their rural property (on cost, and when it froze in the pipe) and went for electric storage heaters.

They’re not desperately trying to move house before the price hikes hit, and hoping that potential buyers don’t ask how much the heating bill is likely to be.

kate
kate
4 years ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7isMkGxOrXs&ab_channel=TheDuran

System collapse. Biden turns to Iran & Venezuela for help 

Mercouris discusses energy crisis caused by US actions against Ukraine.
From about 40 mins in.

Fireweasel
Fireweasel
4 years ago

“Boris Johnson to Call for Relaxation of Net Zero Target.”

I wonder what he had to do to get around Carrie so that she’d allow him to do that? 

Sinor
Sinor
4 years ago
Reply to  Fireweasel

She gets to redecorate the flat and pick the wallpaper again.
He now sleeps with the dog .Poor dog .

Bolloxed Britannia
Bolloxed Britannia
4 years ago

Every time he opens his fekin mouth he contributes to “Anthropomorphic global warming”!

PoshPanic
PoshPanic
4 years ago

This is the problem with net zero. It’s based on such an imminent calamity, that you can’t blink on the policy. As soon as you do, people will begin to question the emergency underpinning it.

Ron Smith
Ron Smith
4 years ago

Vote Reclaim!

Rogerborg
Rogerborg
4 years ago
Reply to  Ron Smith

Honestly, Ron, I can’t even remember which novelty ego project that is. I don’t think it’s UKIP 3.0 Ltd, so it’s either Luvvie Lawrence, or the decent but Quixotic David Kurten, unless I missed yet another novelty launch.

And either way, no I don’t vote for parties, because I’m not a flag-waving simpleton. We cast our votes for, and get represented by, the individuals who are actually standing in our constituencies. So that’s what I do. Vote for the person who best represents my views, regardless of rosette, or writing “None of these cads” (or words to that effect) on the ballot.

Party politics are the cause of our woes, not the solution.

DanClarke
DanClarke
4 years ago
Reply to  Ron Smith

Or even Reform

rtj1211
rtj1211
4 years ago

People have got to stop tolerating Western prostitutes saying that ‘Putin uses gas as a weapon’. The USA is the one using gas a weapon and has caused Europe to commit industrial suicide by cutting off NS2. The only way to explain that is that the USA truly hates Europe and wants it destroyed. There’s no discussion possible about that. That NS2 warmongering of the USA was going on for years before Putin went into Ukraine.

Europe needs to grow 60 testicles and punish the USA for trying to destroy their economies.

There needs to be a declaration required of all US citizens living in Europe, including every single diplomat, that they have no right to reside in Europe if they advocate policies destroying European prosperity to benefit the USA. They have to state that the USA trying to shut down NS2 was pure mafioso gangsterism, behaviour incompatible with any friend of European nation states. If they refuse to state that, they should be given 96 hrs to leave the country of face the consequences….

If that means that the USA has no diplomatic presence in any European nation, too bad….

Rogerborg
Rogerborg
4 years ago

Release the reverse-ferret!

Well, a Government Source has floated the balloon, anonymously, and deniably.

Let’s see what the narrative develops into once Premiere Johnson’s husband has had a few days sleeping on the sofa, and WuGov has told us how horrified by are by this betrayal of Saint Greta.

Francis64
Francis64
4 years ago

Getting tired of this ‘zero‘ nonsense – its everywhere now whether its zero covid, zero carbon, zero emissions, zero this, zero that – it sounds like fanaticism – sounds too much like Pol Pot’s crazy ‘Year Zero’.

Zero this you lunatics …

…………………./´¯/)
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………./’/…/…./……./¨¯\
……..(‘(…´…´…. ¯~/’…’)
………\……………..’…../
……….”…\………. _.·´
…………\…………..(
…………..\………….\…

Milo
Milo
4 years ago
Reply to  Francis64

incredibly artistic

Backlash
Backlash
4 years ago
Reply to  Francis64

All peddled by the Zero brains brigade.

Jabby Mcstiff
Jabby Mcstiff
4 years ago

You really want these clowns to micro-manage your life. Why is this even a discussion. You should just tell them to fuck right off.

Bella Donna
Bella Donna
4 years ago

But we left the EU didn’t we?

Marcus Aurelius knew
Marcus Aurelius knew
4 years ago

Oh Boris FFS just scrap the lot. Please.

Beowulf
Beowulf
4 years ago

“The Prime Minister has been very clear that one of the massive problems is the leverage that Putin has over a number of European countries over gas and oil.”

He’s only just worked that out?

MrTea
MrTea
4 years ago
Reply to  Beowulf

Most of his life has been very busying greasing his weasel, and the last two years he has been busy defrauding the public with the lockdown scam.

Bella Donna
Bella Donna
4 years ago
Reply to  Beowulf

He’s a bit slow isn’t he – must have been dropped on his head as a baby.

Sinor
Sinor
4 years ago

But as the Saudi Arabia of wind to be,we surely do not need to do this as the magic windmills will solve all our problems, said Pig Dictator not 5 monthes ago.
Stuff the lot Nigel we are right behind you..

MrTea
MrTea
4 years ago
Reply to  Sinor

Trouble is it takes about 20 years to force the Tories to do the right thing.

Sinor
Sinor
4 years ago
Reply to  MrTea

You are right but at the moment there is no real Public debate .I think Farage has the skills to at least get the ball rolling.

Beowulf
Beowulf
4 years ago

Re: reCHAPTCHA. This pointless step is annoying enough without having to read “if there are none…”. It’s “is none”.

Rogerborg
Rogerborg
4 years ago
Reply to  Beowulf

I could not care fewer.

CynicalRealist
CynicalRealist
4 years ago

Flip-flopping according to which way the winds of political opinion are blowing. As he usually does!

DanClarke
DanClarke
4 years ago

Should we start exporting our clean air….

Rogerborg
Rogerborg
4 years ago
Reply to  DanClarke

We already are, in empty shipping crates being sent back to Chyna.

MrTea
MrTea
4 years ago

‘Government source said: “The Prime Minister has been very clear that one of the massive problems is the leverage that Putin has over a number of European countries over gas and oil’

Talk us through the wisdom of moving all our industry to China whilst simultaneously selling off our infrastructure to them you big fat Etonian bell end.

If the Chinese cut off their exports to us we are screwed are we not.

mishmash
mishmash
4 years ago

And China? Oh that’s right…..
comment image

MrTea
MrTea
4 years ago

At the start of the Ukraine thing I was certain of very little other than Putin will run rings around the gender bender politicians we have in the West and that the propaganda from our lot would be tiresome.
Putin is mad, Putin is Hitler blah blah blah

NeilofWatford
NeilofWatford
4 years ago

Lie detectors are always set off when I hear the UK Government telling us they’ve been ‘really clear’ about something.
It always means the exact opposite.
Johnson and his Reset Gang must go.

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