The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) appears to be at least a month late in producing its latest estimate of so-called green jobs. Don’t bother is good advice. Hunt the green job – a category that cannot be defined since all jobs that avoid direct processing of hydrocarbons can be rebranded with a virtuous label – is an annual statistical joke. Last year, the ONS informed us that in 2023 the number of people employed in “environmental charities” was similar in number to the 47,000 at work in renewable energy. But the truth is starting to dawn. There will be no green revolution no matter how much state money is thrown at the project. Few recent projects in the UK demonstrate this more clearly than plans to waste £22 billion of public money to capture carbon dioxide from the same British factories that Net Zero deindustrialisation is already closing at a rapidly gathering pace.
Led by the energy policies of the Mad Miliband, the economically illiterate Labour Government is diverting vast sums of money from productive job-creating use to fund technologies that are unproven, unlikely to scale and simply uneconomic. This latter class includes wind power, where the lie is told that it is cheaper than gas while British electricity suppliers drive away productive business by charging prices as high as any in the developed world. This presumably comes under the heading of a ‘Noble Lie’, a convenient and much used political weapon embedded throughout the entire fast-fading fake climate emergency project.
Barely a day goes by without the laws of physics intruding on the green boondoggle. In 2020, flush with £1.5 billion of cash from the French government, Airbus promised an emission-free hydrogen-powered plane by 2035. Nobody it seems told them that huge on-board insulated tanks storing highly explosive hydrogen at minus-253°C made no technical or economic sense. Airbus has now quietly dropped the project, returning to the real world where everybody else knew it was totally unfeasible.
Hydrogen use is of course still flavour of the month, mainly because the deluded think it can back up unreliable wind and solar power. It can’t of course and in the world governed by the laws of science only gas can currently do that. But gas is not green and perhaps even worse it is produced by private companies, so the Mad One is pouring concrete down fracking wells in poor areas of the North, and refusing to issue new oil and gas licences for offshore explorers in soon-to-be-poor towns in Scotland and the North East of England. Meanwhile His Madness is having a quiet word in China’s ear and telling them he would rather the solar panels destined to blanket prime agricultural land were not made by slaves. What next, you might ask. Telling the Congolese not to use children to mine cobalt for the electric cars of the truly virtuous who motor amongst us. Or perhaps taking note of the growing evidence that onshore windmills the size of the Eiffel Tower are having a devastating effect on wildlife and clearing the countryside of everything from the smallest fly to the largest eagle. Perhaps not – economic cluelessness goes hand in hand with rampant hypocrisy in the grisly green echo chamber.
The so-called green revolution relies almost entirely on state-directed diversion of capital under cover of the fake climate emergency, a narrative curated by governing elites and their trusted mainstream messengers for decades, and almost any whacky scheme can be justified. And few are whackier than wind power, a technology first seen in Britain in the reign of Henry II (1154-1189). Nobody would build a windmill these days unless the state bribed them with huge subsidies – payments that add £15 billion to electricity bills paid by rich and poor alike every year. Payments that are slowly and surely helping to destroy what remains of Britain’s manufacturing base. Payments, it might be noted, that could build 20-30 modern hospitals in Britain’s run-down cities – every single year.
As with most if not all state direction of industrial capital, the jobs destroyed in the private sector will not be balanced, and certainly not increased, in the new make-believe green world. For starters, they are often in the wrong place. Any new jobs will be dispersed across the UK, while many industrial jobs relying on hydrocarbons are concentrated in well-established industrial regions. It is presumably assumed that workers will move towards the new jobs, but that largely failed to happen in the 1980s when deindustrialisation wiped out coal mining. Few workers were retrained and the valleys of South Wales have never really recovered their proud working class traditions and livelihoods. Arguments can of course be made that industries naturally die away and are replaced by superior technologies. But anyone making that argument for the green revolution is frankly an idiot. The harm is all self-imposed and is part of a wider global Net Zero collectivist agenda. Under a Labour Welsh Government today the green revolution means cancelling a bypass planned to reduce the bottleneck in the vital M4 Newport tunnel and closing steel blast furnaces in Port Talbot, throwing thousands out of work.
Worker mobility is an issue rarely considered by politicians, who often view themselves as citizens of anywhere. Few considerations of family and community ties seem to trouble their decisions. Recent research in the United States highlights a lack of mobility in the working class communities and suggests that the geographic mismatch between current fossil fuel workers and any emerging green job opportunities is a significant bar. In fact, the authors suggest that only 2% of fossil fuel workers are likely to transition without significant policy interventions. The UK is of course a much smaller geographic area but similar constraints are likely to apply. As can be noted, previous phases of deindustrialisation have tended to leave many communities high and dry. The slow materialisation of new jobs in industrial areas battered by green policies, and almost certain limited worker mobility, will present significant challenges in the future. Quite possibly the British Government is hopeful that any labour constrictions can be solved with its near open border policy and the arrival of hundreds of thousands of mobile migrants every year.
In the meantime we look forward to the latest, one might say heroic, attempt by the ONS to convince us that green jobs are increasing in the British economy. ‘My old man’s a dustman’, ran the 1960s song, an occupation now relabelled by the green bean counters as ‘My old man’s a sustainable recycling operative’. Titles might change but the job does not, and he probably still wears a dustman’s hat, is possessed of a pair of cor blimey trousers and lives in a council flat.
Chris Morrison is the Daily Sceptic’s Environment Editor.
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Well, if it was needed at this point, that’s the nail in the coffin for me supporting the Tory Party ever again.
Each to their own, but, honestly, I cannot fathom why anyone who’s aware of what’s gone on over the last couple of years, and what we’ve had to endure at the hands of this ‘conservative’ government, would even contemplate voting again… let alone voting for the same people that have tortured the entire populace for the best part of three years. With all due respect, it really does shock me; how many nails does a coffin need?
It’s an expression. I suppose – given the insanity of the last couple of years – ‘that’s the last pile of earth atop the grave’ might be better! There was no possibility of me voting Tory after the disgrace of 2010-2022 and certainly 2020-2022.
The Tories are part of a globalist cult. I fear for the future. Life in a country that hasn’t repudiated lockdowns and restrictions (our local NHS has actually reinstated masks everywhere) is miserable and I feel like there’s a Sword of Damocles hanging over my head. I’m deeply depressed, looking after two poorly elderly parents and never really go out anymore. I went out with a friend for lunch the other day. That was the first time I’d been out socially with a friend since September 2020.
My hatred of politicians knows no bounds. I never advocate violence, because I believe the ballot box – when not manipulated – is the greatest weapon of all, because it can humiliate. And bad ideas need to be shown to be bad ideas. Violence just cements the beliefs of a certain faction. I would love for there to be an election where no one turns out to vote, where a government is unable to claim a mandate because only activists for the political parties showed up to vote.
I hope you find some happiness pal. Try to find some like-minded people – that’s certainly what saved my sanity.
I wish there was a peaceful solution to what’s going on, but, sadly, I don’t believe there is. I am prepared to fight, literally, for my kids future. It is my hill.
I arrived at that conclusion over five years ago. Voting can only work if there is a choice. There isn’t.
It can only work if there is a reasonable chance of one – mine – vote making any difference. There isn’t.
Ergo. It is irrational to vote.
The only way any kind of change could come about is if everybody stopped voting. Then the system would have to change.
We could be no worse off.
And no point talking about tyrants – we have those; or mob rule – we have that… the Green mob, the woke mob, the corporate mob, the various activist mobs, the Union mob, the professional body mob, ‘the science’ mob.
Whatever made you think this is anything like a Conservative Party? That died when John Major took over and has been getting worse ever since. Period, as the Yanks would say.
What a pillock.
At least he has the courage from the off to confirm that not only is he lying and deceitful but he very definitely is bereft of courage.
He hasn’t been in the job two days and he’s started with a couple of whoppers – he won the “election,” as well.
So, how much more misery will be forced on us by the DD’s via sunshine suni before Christmas? Just the start I fear.
There is not a cat in hell’s chance of sorting our energy crisis this side of 2030 – whoops, that date again – so clearly national destruction is the headline programme.
This is Blitzkrieg ll.
Way to go Fishy as the Yanks would say.
But he us not lying, because he does not know the truth. It’s pathological.
We. Are. F**ked.
What a good little (W)EFfer he is.
It doesn’t really matter from here on what is said or done by government regarding fracking.
What will have been left crystal clear is the capriciousness of the state, the government and its bureaucracy. Now its banned, now it isn’t, now it is.
Only a kamikaze would invest in franking in the UK with such regulatory uncertainty.
The damage is done and is permanent. The green mullahs have won.
If I might take a contrary position, perhaps after seeing that Liz Truss needed a three line whip and bouncers to get people thorough the lobbies, and the strength of feeling by the NIMBY’s, many in Blue Constituencies and Red Wall, perhaps Rishi has decided to fight the battles he can win. We have to acknowledge that, even though they are wrong, there is a lot of support for not fracking. But the UK’s gas storage is pretty full for the winter and the possibilities of power cuts and such has receded somewhat. As I understand it, it is not a ban on fracking that Labour and the Greens wanted, but ‘not proceeding’ with fracking, a small but important difference, leaving the door open for another day.
I’m not convinced that this is what is happening, btw, but it is possible, as an alternative view. I do feel that we should avoid being like the commenters on Guido where we create an echo chamber where we all stamp our feet if the minutia of our demands are not met in full without perceptible delay. I think commenters here are generally above ‘Tantrum Politics’.
Yes, it’s possible.
What’s needed is education of the public about fracking rather than the garbage spouted by a wealthy, heavily-subsidised green lobby.
Agree, but where is it coming from.? The very fact that our current stored reserves include a good proportion of fracked gas from the USA would suggest that people care less about the gas itself than they do about how far away from their home it happens.
The problem is, which MSM media channel is going to ‘educate’ when they’re all part of the green blob?
The matter to take account of is the geographical location of potential shale gas in the UK: https://www.bgs.ac.uk/geology-projects/shale-gas/shale-gas-in-the-uk/ The other factor being the constituencies that happen to be on top of it.
“an echo chamber where we all stamp our feet if the minutia of our demands are not met”
It’s not about stamping feet. If this creep had any belief in this country and its people his first policy announcement would have been positive and not so utterly negative.
If he wanted to broach a subject such as energy he should have started with facts but no, just like the C1984 it starts with propoganda. At least we know his direction of travel.
I’m stamping my feet because he is nothing but a traitorous Next Tuesday Warrior who is clearly intent on destroying this country. He didn’t have to take the PM job he could have skulked in the background like most of the other 650. But no, for reasons lost to most with any humanity he wants to be at the forefront of an attack on 70 million souls, inflicting misery, death and destruction.
Utter evil.
We have 2 days’ supply of gas storage in the UK since the morons in Government decided to rely on USA LPG and inter-connectors with the continent as part of the EU’s policy of energy inter-dependence.
So AT BEST we have 2 days’ storage of our own gas.
Let’s see if there’s a lot of support from not having heating, cooking and lighting, and not having a job or anything to buy in the shops… and not having the Internet. Gasp!
In the TalkTV/Sun leadership debate Sunak was asked: “Fracking yes or no?” He replied: “Yes if local communities support it.” What happened?
He lied by omission. He knew the communities – most of whom have been told they’ll have poisoned water supplies and their homes destroyed in gigantic earthquakes – wouldn’t support fracking. If my local area became a fuel drilling boomtown and we got reduced power bills, I’d be delighted.
By local “communities” he is referring to Community Development Plans that have been rolled out throughout the UK. Similar local development plans have been undertaken throughout the US and I dare say in Western Europe also.
These are adopted by local authorities after consolation with the local community. Much of it is nonsense, but it also takes into account the petty concerns of people who know about and can be bothered to attend such meetings and think they are dutiful citizens in attending (often bemoaning those that ‘can’t be bothered to attend’).
As a template the Community Development Plan agrees to adopt the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Look up your local development plan and see for yourselves. There is usually scant reference to the UN or Agenda 21/Agenda 2030, but “sustainable development” and “sustainable development goals” will be there. The problem being that the sustainable development goals override any and all minutia that the “community” thought they were contributing to.
So when Prime minister Sunak talks about what the communities want he is referring to these plans where communities have stated what they want, and what they all say they want, without exception and by written agreement are the UN Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. This is a blueprint for global fascism. I know. Hard to believe, right? https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda
In many ways I admire these people they have shown remarkable skill and tremendous effort to get as far as they have and achieve so much. Unfortunately they are also desperate pychopathic godless amoral Machiavellian eugenicists, which runs as a counterpoint to their admirable qualities.
I am well aware of local council “consultations” and have attended a couple. They are a complete and utterly farce. Prior to any consultation the Council sets out what it intends to do, it then consults and subsequently does whatever it laid out in the initial plans.
Consultations = box ticking exercise, complete farce.
A recent survey sent out by the Pembrokeshire mob had within the survey, questions(?) that, which ever way the survey was conducted the answer was alway in support of the agenda they were pursuing. So it appears you may have your say as long as it is the same as the local political agenda. So there we have it, comrade.
Ther idiot. If he’s a conservative, I’m the Dalai Lama.
Red or blue, they are all led by the dead hand of the ‘passive’ investment funds. Once a government hocks its future earnings by selling bonds, it is surrendering sovereignty. UK plc owes over £2,000 Billion or £2 Trillion or £2,000,000,000,000 to holders of bonds. We must pay £19.6 billion every month in interest alone.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/governmentpublicsectorandtaxes/publicsectorfinance/bulletins/publicsectorfinances/june2022#debt
The grand conspiracy is that the same pension funds that buy government debt are also the same funds that own ~20% of every publicly traded company.
Blackrock, State Street, Vanguard.
They control governments by squeezing their cojones through manufactured bond market turmoil – essentially if we don’t like your government policies, we will sell your bonds cheaply, therefore devaluing your currency.
If you owned 20% of Exxon Mobil, Total, Shell, BP and Linde would you want UK government fracking disrupting your cartel’s income stream?
I agree Monty. It feels as if we’ve maxed out on debt with menacing loan-sharks.
“Say, that’s a nice-looking
democracycountry you’ve got there. It would be a shame if something ‘bad’ happened to it. Now, I’m sure we can agree you were mistaken on what needs to happen next”.“I’d would be a reeaaall shame if we had to come round again.”
Yep! That’s pretty much what Rishi’s failed leadership campaign was along: ‘Vote for me or my banking mates will come around and mess you up!’
“UK plc owes over £2,000 Billion or £2 Trillion or £2,000,000,000,000 to holders of bonds. We must pay £19.6 billion every month in interest alone.”
Is that right? £240bn of interest on £2 trillion is well over 10%…
Eye-watering sums, all exacerbated by Sunak’s lockdown and furlough wheeze.
See this from the ONS link that I shared above:
Interest payable on central government debtSince mid-2021, the cost of servicing central government debt has increased considerably. These rising costs do not principally reflect recent increases in the level of government debt, nor is the change in servicing costs driven by large increases in the interest – or coupon – payments by government. Instead the recent high levels of debt interest payable are largely a result of higher inflation, with the interest payable on index-linked gilts rising in line with the Retail Prices Index (RPI).
This month the interest payable on central government debt was £19.4 billion, £10.3 billion more than the previous monthly record set in June 2021, with £16.7 billion of this £19.4 billion cost reflecting the impact of the RPI.
You cannot believe the idiocy of these people. Presumably Sunak got the instruction from on high. How else can you explain it?
Reducing the supply of energy in an energy shortage is either the decision of a fool or puppet.
Trust me, once lights go out and central heating has no gas they will burn coal like it is going out of fashion and anything else they can get their hands on. Pretending to save the planet is all well and good till REALITY strikes
I am watching a rerun of the self-induced immolation of Australia’s so-called conservative parties. It is hard to see any of these parties ever gaing power again, though we live in such a strange world that anything is possible.
What they have in common is the influence of the WEF.
They have shut themselves off from their base and are seemingly quite happy to be in opposition and just draw a salary.
Probably because they aren’t really “conservative” anymore. As someone once pointed out ——“We are all socialists now”.
Why is he removing onshore wind farms? Surely that must be a glitch?
Rishi Sunak by name Rashee Sanook by nature.
Maybe a stupid question, but does anyone know why this reinstated ban does not require another vote in Parliament?
Is any semblance of democracy gone now?
As with everything in politics it is “perception” that is more important than reality. Why would you have an outright ban on fracking at this point? Why not just put it on hold if you have concerns? But remember we have 22 million gas boilers in this country and we NEED gas. Regardless of what brainwashed dreamers who chuck soup everywhere might think , we need gas and we are going to need it for a very long time, whether it comes from under our feet of the North Sea or Norway.
What really did it for me was the sight of the green Marxist Caroline Lucas doing her little clap when Sunk announced the reimposition of the fracking ban.
The “Conservative” party can forget my vote forever now. We need to finish it once and for all.
Perhaps he’ll open Fracking corner shops. Sunak out
So is Sunak going to stick to the Manifesto and both CONTROL and REDUCE immigration …. which is what was promised?
If so, he’s got 1 million visas which were issued in 1 year to deal with …… and rescinding 900,000 of them and removing the migrants.
And that’s before we get onto the 80,000 criminal migrants they’ve imported via the free-ferry service the Government is operating in the channel
These folk are mentally ill.
There is no evidence the climate is changing outside of natural variability.
WEF puppet, doing as he is told
Wayne Kerr.