Little known to the voting public, Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dems have all signed up to legally binding five-year plans, known as ‘carbon budgets’, which stipulate a “detailed programme to re-engineer society to cut emissions by a specific amount”, writes Allister Heath in the Telegraph. And any deviation could be open to legal challenge, meaning Governments have almost zero leeway to delay or cancel extreme measures like bans on boilers and petrol cars, no matter how unpopular or impoverishing.
Did you know, dear reader, that we are now on our fourth such carbon budget, valid from 2023 to 2027? Did you realise that the next two – up until 2037 – have already been enshrined in law, making a mockery of the next two or even three general elections? Were you aware that all of the consumer-facing changes – in 18 months, no newly built home will be fitted with a gas boiler, in seven years’ time, it will be illegal to buy new petrol cars, in 12 years, you will no longer be allowed to replace your existing boiler like-for-like – have been accounted for in the plans, gravely limiting room for political manoeuvre? Did you realise that any significant deviation from these carbon budgets could trigger legal action from pressure groups?
As Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband pushed through the Climate Change Act in 2008, committing to cut emissions by 80% on 1990 levels by 2050, with the support of all but five MPs. It was the equivalent of another Maastricht Treaty, a huge shift that will, in time, trigger a furious reaction from the electorate when it realises that it is no longer in control. It was apposite that, in 2019, Theresa May, fresh from sabotaging Brexit, amended the Climate Change Act by statutory instrument, increasing the target to a 100% cut in emissions by 2050.
That distant date has lulled many into a false sense of flexibility. Why can’t we delay the ban on combustion engines to 2035 or even later, naïve souls ask, and still meet Net Zero on time? The reality is that it could well be unlawful because cuts to emissions must be phased in according to a strict timetable.
The Government is obliged to set binding, five-year carbon budgets that cap the maximum amount of emissions allowed during each period; each budget is much tougher than the previous one. Meeting them is no joke: they need to be legislated 12 years in advance and be accompanied by credible policies to deliver them in full. Miliband’s Act created the Climate Change Committee (CCC), a ridiculously influential quango which advises the Government on the level of each budget and how much of a contribution each sector should make.
Through a combination of a recession, continued deindustrialisation, insufficient house and infrastructure building and the shift towards renewable energy, the UK met its first (2008- 2012), second (2013-2017) and third (2018-2022) carbon budgets without needing to try too hard. We are now into our fourth budget, requiring a 52% fall in emissions compared with 1990; this, too, could be manageable, partly because of stronger than expected sales of electric cars. But the pain is starting, and the backlash – from landlords, from motorists – is beginning.
Real, Brexit-intensity political warfare will undoubtedly break out ahead of the fifth budget (2028-2032) and especially sixth (2033-37), which will include aviation and shipping, coincide with the ban on new petrol cars and all new gas boilers, a massive, hugely costly insulation drive and require a cumulative 77% cut in emissions.
The Government has very little leeway if it wishes to continue to accept the strictures of the Climate Change Act.
Worth reading in full.
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Tunisia? Are Indian call centres not sufficiently useless?
They have a better chance of being exposed to the English language than the legacy French heritage Tunisians, so they would be much better at nor understanding JL customers (QED by the article).
I find the language used in Indian call centres to be far easier to understand than that used by Glaswegian call centres. I guess the accent is Received Indian Civil Service Pronunciation, which to me sound like 1950s BBC with a whiff of curry rather than a smell of Tennants
All of India’s cheap available capacity is currently engaged with BT and TalkTalk.
To be fair I have been routed to call centres in the UK that are bad, there was one in Newcastle that was indecipherable, I forget who that was. My favourite had to be Scottish Power whose call handlers had a lovely East Lothian lilt that I could listen to all day.
It’s just another sign that all is not well in the state of Britain. I would say that the gradual destruction, maybe that’s too strong a word, of the high street is planned. John Lewis’ fortunes are just collateral damage to what is already in full flow. If you join up all the dots, there is a clear trend towards online shopping with maybe just Amazon dominating it all at some point in the not-too-distant future. Further down the line, if you own nothing, then you’re probably not going to be doing much shopping anyway! Whether you’re happy about that depends on your mindset but I’m sure the WEF is thinking about how to do that via some sort of mind control involving one or more aspects of transhumanism/AI/neuralink/5G/mRNA etc. Although their plans will come to naught, whatever they have planned for us ain’t going to be good!
“I would say that the gradual destruction, maybe that’s too strong a word, of the high street is planned.”
Use of the word “destruction” is not too strong Aethelred. The destruction of high streets everywhere is self-evident and it is deliberate.
Near me we have Rochdale, Ashton, Oldham, Huddersfield, all hollowed out market towns that are dismal even to walk through.
Oldham is demolishing its market hall and replacing it with flats. These flats will be slums before they have even been occupied.
Let’s not forget that Civic Pride has to be eliminated. We cannot be allowed any jingoistic nonsense.
It’s not yet that bad in the market towns near me – Market Harborough, Oakham, Stamford – but I can see the decline beginning.
Point taken, HP. Down in the south here it is more gradual but still in progress.
Bolton going the same way Hux. I lived there for 16 years up until June this year and the decline has been sad to see. Bury is easily the best of the lot, hopefully the council don’t start ‘making plans’ which normally equates to ruining everything.
Bury is indeed a small piece of cut glass amongst a desert of collapse in the North.
I’ve gone the other way wrt Amazon. Stopped shopping with them a few years back. Everything on there these days just seems to be cheap Chinese tat. I am going back to waiting until I need a few things and going to a retail park to buy things from an brick and mortar store so that I can check what I am getting for my cash.
I knew something was wrong when JL decided boys and girls genders were the same.
We shopped there regularly but cancelled them for wokism.
Don’t give your money to people/organisations that hate you.
I couldn’t be doing with all that. Why did the writer not just go elsewhere?
She is a well connected box-ticking exercise – she shouldn’t be allowed to lead a pig by the nose.
https://off-guardian.org/2023/10/05/no-jab-no-education-big-pharmas-influence-on-irish-and-british-schools/
A dump but a worthy one.
They are coming after the children , again. No jab, no education.
Alternatively: no jab, no indoctrination.
That’s what happens when you put a Civil Servant mandarin in charge of anything. History shows us that as clear as clear can be.
Especially a civil servant mandarin who has achieved that exalted status through ticking the DIE boxes
The thing that stands out to me from this story is the level of motivation and determination to purchase a John Lewis mattress.
I would have given up on them the moment they couldn’t clarify which mattress was on show, and gone to get one elsewhere.
But perhaps I don’t have the same level of commitment to John Leeis products.
Having moved house this year (and shock horror, to a new build as well – which I am finding very comfortable so far by the way) I was shopping around for a TV stand and a coffee table. Comparing JL to Next there where very similar looking products at both, except at JL they where £300 each dearer.
I can’t help but think that JL have been relying on name recognition to generate sales because there’s no way their coffee table that looks exactly like the Next one justifies the extra £300 cost (note – granted I am comparing online and have only seen the Next product in store not the JL one).
I did end up buying a set of light shades from them (online), using a voucher I had. I bought a couple of others from M&S at the same time, and again not much difference in quality, their home delivery service was fine but I can’t shake the conclusion that, other than name recognition they have no other USP.
Has the DS decided to have a consumer and business news section? What next? A crossword?
I’ve seen many cross words here. I’ve posted quite a few myself.
Diversity box ticking at its finest. Congratulations John Lewis. It was nice to know you.