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The Tide is Turning Decisively Against Net Zero

From Trump's counter-revolution in Washington to Badenoch's embrace of North Sea oil, from Hungary's defiance in Brussels to the entreaties of European carmakers, the tide is turning against Net Zero, says Tilak Doshi.

9 min read

In the belief that atmospheric CO2 is the control knob of 'dangerous' impending climate change, Net Zero emerged in the 2010s as the global rallying cry to 'save the planet'. By the time the Paris Agreement was concluded in 2015, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) established the arbitrary 1.5°C limit on global temperature increase and established the 'Net Zero by 2050' policy target for developed countries around the globe.

But a spate of recent headlines suggests that the 'Net Zero by 2050' policy is falling apart. There is a growing realisation across advanced economies that the grandiose project of achieving 'Net Zero by 2050' is collapsing under the weight of its own contradictions. What was once heralded as a consensus across the political class, corporate boardrooms and multilateral agencies now looks increasingly like an edifice of ideology built on a vaporous, oxymoronic 'consensus science'. The rising tide of empirical reality — the costs of intermittent renewables, the geopolitical consequences of energy insecurity and the sheer scale of power demand growth from artificial intelligence infrastructure — has swept away the carefully constructed narrative of inevitability around the so-called energy transition.

Yet, as David Blackmon reminds us in his well-subscribed Energy Transition Absurdities Substack blog, “climate alarmism is demoralised but it is far from dead”.  It would seem that no amount of evidence on prohibitive system costs of intermittent renewable energy and their adverse impact on energy prices can convince diehard climate doomsters otherwise.

The Crumbling

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32 Comments
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Gezza England
Gezza England
1 year ago

Just goes to show that winning a Nobel prize does not stop you being an ignorant tosser.

marebobowl
marebobowl
1 year ago

The tide is turning against starmer, Boris, sunack, the three medical advisors during the scamdemic no all the big pharma shills who told people the mRNA vaxxes were safe and effective!

Less government
Less government
1 year ago

It’s a scam and all about the transfer of taxpayers money and control over our lives.
Absolutely deliberate destruction of our industry and economy.
But we are winning.

Richard
Richard
1 year ago

If anybody thinks net zero is dead or dying they are living in cloud cookoo land. According to my grandchildren it is embedded in the school curriculum as fact and has been for at least since that were born which takes us back to the early noughties. Try changing that anytime soon. “Sorry kids, 2 + 2 no longer = 4!” Not going to happen, unfortunately.

JXB
JXB
1 year ago

Breaking News via Doomsberg, Substack.

The nonsense that China is leading the World in decarbonisation is just wishful thinking, as us ending fossil fuel use or degrading the Russian economy.

“Russia’s Gazprom PJSC said it signed a legally binding agreement to build the long-anticipated Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline to China via Mongolia and would expand deliveries through other routes, in what will be seen by the Kremlin as a major political win.

In comments made to Russian wires from Beijing, Chief Executive Officer Alexey Miller said the gas producer could ship as much as 50 billion cubic meters a year [~5 bcf/d] via the Power of Siberia 2 for 30 years. Miller said the price for the fuel will be lower than what Gazprom currently charges customers in Europe, according to the reports.”

So Europe has sacrificed a secure, low cost source of gas on the alter of Net Zero, and saving “plucky Ukraine” to stop Russia’s advance to conquer Europe.

JXB
JXB
1 year ago

“…  “extract every last molecule of oil and gas from the UK North Sea”…”

And what about the coal, oil, gas beneath our feet?

mike r
mike r
1 year ago

”You cannot fool all of the people all of the time” – let’s hope that happens sooner rather than later. At some point people will work out it’s all lies, and the longer it takes, the worse the backlash.

BillT
BillT
1 year ago

The author should also mention the underlying science which clearly shows that CO2 cannot be the culprit in rising temperatures. He should also mention the figure fiddling that routinely takes place in order to bolster a very weak case. There is no theoretical need to phase out fossil fuels.

Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey
1 year ago

It’s becoming more obvious by the day that the globalists have tried to tie developing countries to this madness and halt any progress they should be making. The many quangos and foundations that assist in this are also taking money from the taxpayer to prevent development in these countries as well as wasting billions on this daft scheme.

But it does now seem that these countries have realised and are turning to BRICS. The writing is on the wall for the west.Western governments are no longer credible and they have damaged us all and are reaching desperation point.

But the developing world will increase their use of fossil fuels and that will offset the reductions achievable by our lunatic politicians by a massive amount. What I think they should be doing is to develop methods of generating energy and trapping any pollutants at the point of production, If a fraction of the money being wasted on net zero were used they could solve the problem.

Meanwhile in the real world more people die due to the cold than die due to heat.

Douglas Brodie
Douglas Brodie
1 year ago
Reply to  Bill Bailey

“Trapping” or saving CO2 emissions is pointless, see my comment above. 

Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey
1 year ago
Reply to  Douglas Brodie

I agree, but you probably misread, I said pollutants. The technology already exists to trap many particles on production. Normal, non CO2 air pollution is the real problem as well as micro plastics. The list goes on and this CO2 obsession is diverting from the real problems of planetary pollution.

There is a lot of junk waiting at the bottom of the sea which was dumped for years. CO2 is the least of our problems.

Tonka Fairy
Tonka Fairy
1 year ago
Reply to  Bill Bailey

Absolutely, Bill.
CO2 is NOT a pollutant, but we should do all we can to prevent genuine pollution.

(Don’t even get me started on the ecological carnage caused by mining and refining the materials needed for this boondoggle.)

Douglas Brodie
Douglas Brodie
1 year ago

I‘ve just written a very similar piece entitled The charade of Net Zero. It proves conclusively that UK Net Zero is utterly pointless and explains why the UK Uniparty insists on pursuing this ruinously-expensive, economy-wrecking agenda.

Rowland P
Rowland P
1 year ago

No mention of the Reform Party’s stance on this then, or of the Heritage Party whose policies include the immediate repealing of the Climate Change Act.

Gezza England
Gezza England
1 year ago
Reply to  Rowland P

It would be quicker to issue a new Statutory Instrument to change the target from zero to say 5% reduction and lo and behold, job done!

varmint
varmint
1 year ago

We are tired of seeing the Politicians in charge pretending that failure is PROGRESS. The fantasy has become way too expensive to keep pretending it isn’t. People are starting to realise that you cannot power a country without reliable affordable energy, and we see that this planet saving agenda simply doesn’t make any sense. Wind does not blow all the time and the sun does not land on solar panels all day because a treaty has been signed. The truth isn’t decided by Committees, Consensus and International Agreements. We are getting rid of guilt and fear and replacing it with FACTS. Governments will eventually realise that they cannot keep governing us with slogans and Press Conferences telling us “we must act now”, and that truth does not require government approval, and the truth is that Net Zero is cracking under the weight of its own absurdity.

Marcus Aurelius knew
Marcus Aurelius knew
1 year ago

Well, it’s almost 2000 years now, and quite a few people still believe he’s coming back to save mankind. Nonsense can persist for an awful long time, and oh boy has that one persisted. Tithes have funded an enormous global empire of crooks and nasties. The similarities with Net Zero are undeniable.

Let’s hope that Net Zero taxes soon become only something paid voluntarily by the faithful every Gretaday.

MajorMajor
MajorMajor
1 year ago

Let it be to you according to your faith.
But I happen to be one of those people who believe that he will come back to judge the living and the dead.
And you know, even when I was sceptical about the whole idea, there was still a niggling thought in my head: surely if something last 2000 years, maybe, just maybe there is something in it.

Marcus Aurelius knew
Marcus Aurelius knew
1 year ago
Reply to  MajorMajor

There a lots of ideas that have lasted over 2000 years which are most certainly nonsense. I don’t believe time and nonsense are inversely proportional, nor do I believe nonsense can become sense merely because it’s been nonsense for quite a long time.

And I am pleased to see that a comment from me on the Jesus thing has finally received more ups than downs! Progress! Maybe it’s my improving manner…

Perhaps if I had said the same thing about Islam the ratio would be even more favourable?!

CircusSpot
CircusSpot
1 year ago

I think it is being superseded by an even faster way to make money quickly with the ‘people’ trade. From the recent rulings there is nothing to stop anyone opening their doors to dozens of illegals and I fear this is what is going to happen to a house/flat next to yours quite soon.

Grim Ace
Grim Ace
1 year ago

It always was about anti ‘capitalism’. Greens are communists in disguise. Communism has never been successful through the ballot box, so they can only take control through cheating and lies. They are also not very scientifically bright people. The failures of academia tend to be climate alarmists.

For a fist full of roubles
For a fist full of roubles
1 year ago
Reply to  Grim Ace

But in the process they are enabling numerous multi-millionaires to become richer.

EppingBlogger
EppingBlogger
1 year ago

As is the way with communism

Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey
1 year ago
Reply to  EppingBlogger

Yes, As I said many times here, the unholy alliance between commies and capitalists is an existential threat. The only good thing is that if they win they will then proceed to annihilate each other. I don’t recommend that scenario!

Purpleone
Purpleone
1 year ago

Who, by coincidence I’m sure, are also their donors…

MajorMajor
MajorMajor
1 year ago

It’s a battle between reality and ideology.
One thing that characterizes the woke left is a set of pervasive delusions:
Net zero is achievable,
Islam is the religion of peace,
Gender is a social construct,
etc, etc.

Jon Garvey
Jon Garvey
1 year ago

It would seem that no amount of evidence on prohibitive system costs of intermittent renewable energy and their adverse impact on energy prices can convince diehard climate doomsters otherwise.

Surely that’s because it was never science to begin with, but an alternative to global war project to bring in the New World Order. Funny how, as it’s failing, our governments and NGOs are pushing for global war…

Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey
1 year ago
Reply to  Jon Garvey

Certainly there are many who think that the present incumbent governments in Europe are panicking and are using Ukraine to stoke up fear. Check out Douglas MacGregor who was a defence advisor to the US government.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WfW84CrdDHU&pp=ygUZRXVyb3BlIG9uIHRoZSBlZGdlIGlmIHdhcg%3D%3D

it’s also worth checking out the Mankovitch cycle, some actually think cooling has already started and 2030 is the danger year for cooling.
Here’s a vid explaining the cycle.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cN-PPkE9h70&pp=ygUkR3JlYXRlc3QgbXlzdGVyaWVzIG9mIGNsaW1hdGUgY2hhbmdl

Douglas Brodie
Douglas Brodie
1 year ago
Reply to  Bill Bailey

An excellent 9-minute video from Peter Ridd, rubbishing the notion that “the science is settled” on climate change. The immediate risks of global cooling come from the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation cold phase (like the 1960s-70s) and a Grand Solar Minimum (like the Maunder Minimum of 400 years ago), both imminent.

Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey
1 year ago
Reply to  Douglas Brodie

Yes, I’m not sure it was that video but proper scientists are warning that we are headed for a very cold period, maybe in the next two or three years, if that’s the case the death rate will rocket for those who are unprepared.

mrbu
mrbu
1 year ago
Reply to  Bill Bailey

It’s not just those who are unprepared who would see their lives shortened. It’s also those who cannot afford to heat their homes adequately at today’s artificially inflated energy prices.

Epi
Epi
1 year ago
Reply to  Jon Garvey

Good point hadn’t thought of that but now you say it it’s obvious. Thank you.

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