Costless and Clueless Conservative MP Chris Skidmore has laid out the gruesome actions needed to force British industry, finance and the wider public to live under the Net Zero political hegemony.
Presenting an “independent” review of Net Zero, Skidmore said it would deliver a “thriving modern green economy”. For starters, Clueless Chris wants to ban all gas boilers two year earlier in 2033, and make it impossible to sell a house without potentially ruinous extra insulation costs. To ease the pain, he suggests publishing a plan for England this year “to ramp up public engagement on Net Zero”.
Skidmore is a long-time green activist. In 2019 he passed into law the parting gift from doomed Theresa May that mandated Britain achieve Net Zero by 2050. A here-today, gone-tomorrow middling minister, Skidmore initially moved from an Oxford history degree through spad and political think tank appointments, to become an MP in 2010. Actual costing of virtuous proposals does not seem to be his strong point. His report is long and assumes a radical, and many would argue disastrous, transformation of society. It is devoid of any costing, despite claiming Net Zero is the “economic opportunity of the 21st century”.
Any figures tend to be of a macro nature, as in the suggestion that in “some estimates” the UK would see 2% extra GDP growth with Net Zero. These estimates came from the government’s own in-house green activist unit, the Climate Change Committee, whose members Lord Deben and Chris Stark are singled out for thanks in helping prepare the report. The word ‘subsidy’ is rarely used in green circles, rather Skidmore notes that “economic opportunities are being missed because of weaknesses in the U.K.’s investment environment”. He quotes research that is said to show that transitioning to a decarbonised energy system based on green technologies by 2050, “can save the world at least $12 trillion”.
Those with keener financial skills might ask why windmills supply what is said to be cheap power, but still require subsidies of £12 billion every year to produce barely 5% of the U.K.’s total energy needs. “Moving quickly must include spending money”, says Skidmore, a suggestion that might lead the more cautious to start counting the spoons.
What is surprising about the Skidmore report is that it appears to have been written without any consideration of the mounting evidence that most green technologies, from windmills to electric cars and heat pumps, are inferior to those products they seek to replace. It is difficult not to come to the conclusion that when you ‘believe’ the planet is in a climate emergency, despite no convincing evidence, and it is your job to save it, no opposition or alternative views can be heard, let alone prevail.
The proposal to ban new and replacement gas boilers within ten years is a real shocker. Heat pumps are a poor substitute, and require almost airtight insulation to provide adequate winter warmth in a typical U.K. house. The CCC estimates a cost of £10,000 to insulate a house and install a heat pump, but these costings have been challenged by Michael Kelly, a past professor of technology at the University of Cambridge. Based on actual experience retrofitting social housing, Kelly recently estimated that the true cost of insulation and heat pump installation is nearer £65,000 per house. For all U.K. houses and non-domestic premises, Kelly arrives at a total figure of £3 trillion, equivalent to the annual GDP of the U.K. In Skidmore’s world, this expenditure will soon be required before a house can be sold.
Heat pumps and electric cars will all require a massive expansion of the electrical grid. Onshore wind farms are a noted ecological disaster area. They are noisy, unsightly, last only a few years and are lethal for wildlife populations. New evidence from German scientists has indicated that millions of bats are being slaughtered every year by giant wind turbines. In addition, large birds that rely on wind currents for flight such as golden eagles, hawks and kittiwakes frequently fight losing battles with fast whirling blades. Skidmore looks to pave the way for widespread onshore turbine deployment, “working closely with communities to deliver local benefits”.
Powering the grid with intermittent wind and solar is a disaster waiting to happen. Without reliable back up, many thousands will die when the wind stops blowing during cold winter spells. Battery storage is one option touted, but moving to all electric cars in short order will use up all the lithium and cobalt in the world. Not that it matters that none will be left for storing grid power, since the cost of this exercise is very silly to start with. A recent report published by the Global Warming Policy Foundation noted that Net Zero promoters “have no idea what they are doing” over multi-trillion dollar battery costs. The report found realistic costs for protecting against wind and solar blackouts could reach 15 times a country’s GDP.
The author noted a “heads in the sand” approach from politicians, adding, “One would have to conclude that the entire effort is either wholly unserious or breathtakingly incompetent.”
Chris Morrison is the Daily Sceptic’s Environment Editor.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.