My last article here claimed that the EU’s commitment to the climate agenda was being reversed. Yet on the same day, it was revealed that the European Commission is about to create a policy to reduce the bloc’s CO2 emissions by 90% (relative to 1990) by 2040. That might seem to be a contradiction, but it isn’t.
The EU already had in pace a 2050 'climate neutrality' (EU-speak for 'Net Zero') target. And it already has in place a 55% 2030 target. It even has in place a 2035 target of “66.25-72.5 % below 1990 levels by 2035”, according to the bloc’s submissions to the Paris Agreement’s 'Nationally-Determined Contribution' mechanism. All of these targets are summarised here.
So the 2040 announcement was not all that new. It is functionally equivalent to the UK Climate Change Committee’s five-yearly Carbon Budgets. The UK 2008 Climate Change Act requires the CCC to propose these targets to Parliament so that they can be turned into five year plans.
The 2025-2040 period therefore represents the steepest part of the EU’s 'transition'. But the announcement gave some wiggle room – “flexibility” in the statement’s terminology. The policy allows “the use of high-quality international credits to make an adequate contribution towards the 2040 target, up to 5% of 1990 EU net emissions”, reducing the net reduction to 85%. The “flexibility” comes in the form of some new caveats, albeit currently understated, which are likely to become increasingly dominant in EU
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The only “flexible” policy we need from mad Millibrain, the govt and EU is called ‘freedom of choice’.
Sir Keir Starmer has said there are no longer “climate deniers” in Britain but there are “climate delayers” who believe in putting off action on climate change.
Living proof that the deluded buffoon is completely out of touch. Unlike his namesake – Cnut – he seems to believe that he can affect the world’s climate. Completely deluded.
There is essentially nothing that he isn’t deluded about.
A deranged mind in fact.
very true
Net Zero takes an uppercut. —1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 OUT.———Reality is the hardest enemy of all to defeat.
“The EU will be forced by crises.” …. Jean Monnet.
The EU is ditching the Climate Crisis in favour of the Russia Crisis.
“Never let a good war go to waste.”
Or maybe it is because the climate change absurdity is hollowing out Europe (and the UK) and they are finally starting to WAKE UP that ideology cannot trump common sense. —-Except Miliband that is who is still clinging to his eco socialist lifeboat
Although I don’t want to see the damage that the fool is causing, and has been causing for 30 years since B.Liar’s meeting with George Soros in 1996, I am just waiting to see him come down in flames, then crash and burn.
Poetic justice.
Yes except the entire political class are in on this scam, not just Miliband
‘The USA’s new National Security Strategy’
‘As a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine, European relations with Russia are now deeply attenuated, and many Europeans regard Russia as an existential threat.’
Dr. Watson: Holmes, why do many Europeans regard Russia as an existential threat?
Sherlock Holmes: Poland and Ukraine have been invaded by Russia three times, Finland twice, The Baltic States two or three times each, all within the last one hundred years. Even here in Britain, we have had citizens murdered, policemen injured as a direct consequence of Putin’s orders to his security agencies, using chemical and nuclear agents prohibited by the international treaties that Russia has signed.
Dr. Watson: Moving on, does the Ursidae family of species do their business in the forests?
Poland and Ukraine have been invaded by Russia three times, Finland twice, The Baltic States two or three times each, all within the last one hundred years.
Poland was part of Russia¹ until soldiers of the central powers conquered it from 1915 – 1917. Finland² was part of Russia until the successful Finnish insurrection supported by Germany in 1918. The Baltic³ states and Ukraine where part of Russia until the peace agreement of Brest-Litovsk between Germany and Russia in 1918. Ukraine was reconquered quickly after this peace treaty was anulled by the Western Entente powers. The Baltic statelets (basically a capital with some empty countryside surrounding it) remained independent until Stalin conquered them again and again became independent during the course of the collapse of the Soviet Union.
All of this took place within less than the last 110 years.
¹ Nominally ruled by the czars in personal-union since the Congress of Vienna.
² Annexed from Sweden during the Napoleonic wars.
³ Partially gained during the Polish partitions of the 18th century, partially conquered from Sweden earlier.
It will demonstrate the fallacy of being an independent island, with it’s own, unique requirements, while manufacturing industry moves on. In the case of road vehicles, ISO Standards will prevail, along with language and numeric translations (metric to imperial). To meet the “global opportunity” you have to comply with “global” standards, after all.
In the case of the Miliband campaign, what seems to have gone quiet is the alleged fire risk of battery electric vehicles, along with potential insurance policy price rises or limits of cover. Perhaps there are restrictions with regard to what certain organisations are allowed to say.
I’m not dead against EVs – I own a Toyota Hybrid which has a (fairly small) traction battery. It was made in France, and was imported by a train that imports those and exports other T products made in Derbyshire. Most of the output from the Burnaston will be exported. It is still part of “Toyota Europe”.
It isn’t about being against EV’s. It is about the government trying to coerce us all into them, by removing the alternative. No one had to force people out of their horse and cart into a Model T.
On the other hand the EU has history in such matters – the banning of domestic incandescent light bulbs for the markedly inferior CFL bulbs…
But if the EU significantly reduces the future ban on EVs then it is difficult to see how the UK could continue.
Yes and ofcourse the UK will be the last to quit. We always have this need to pretend to save the planet harder and faster than everyone else, and it is costing us an arm and a leg, with the highest electricity prices in the entire world.
The wheels are coming off the clown car.
Starmer’s ship of fools have found their world is flat and they’re sailing of the edge. Hopefully they’ll take some of the dripping wet Tory eco-simps with them.
As Andrei Martyanov put it, when analysing the (ignored) strengths of the Russian economy, vs the mess of the EU and Britain: there is no such thing as a post industrial economy, there is only industrial economy.
Quite. And will the following graphic focus the minds of Starmer, Macron or any of the other globalists?