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Leaked Documents Reveal Chancellor’s Concerns about Cost of Moving Towards a Zero-Carbon Economy

by Michael Curzon
17 October 2021 2:47 PM

Leaked documents obtained by the Observer reveal deep concerns within the Treasury about the economic cost of moving towards a zero-carbon economy. The Chancellor is worried that additional costs from green initiatives would push companies to move production elsewhere.

As Johnson prepares to position the U.K. at the head of global efforts to combat climate change and curb greenhouse gas emissions as host of the Glasgow COP26 meeting, the documents show the Treasury is warning of serious economic damage to the U.K. economy and future tax rises if the U.K. overspends on, or misdirects, green investment.

Green experts said the “half-baked” and “one-sided” Treasury net-zero review presented only the costs of action on emissions, rather than the benefits, such as green jobs, lower energy bills and avoiding the disastrous impact of global heating. They said the review could be “weaponised” by climate-change deniers around the world before COP26, undermining Johnson’s attempts at climate leadership on the global stage.

The internal Treasury documents say that while there may be economic benefits to U.K. companies from swift and appropriate climate action, there is also a danger that economic activity could move abroad if firms found their costs were increasing by more than those of their overseas competitors.

The leaked papers are understood to have been produced to accompany a slide show given confidentially to key groups outside Government in the last month. The documents state: “The investment required to decarbonise the U.K. economy is uncertain but could help to improve the U.K.’s relatively low investment levels and increase productivity.

“However, more green investment is likely to attract diminishing returns, reducing the positive impact of ever more investment on GDP. Some green investments could displace other, more productive, investment opportunities. If more productive investments are made earlier in the transition, this risk may be accentuated later in the transition.”

On the risk of additional costs to companies from green initiatives, the documents say: “Climate action in the U.K. can lead to economic activity moving abroad if it directly leads to costs increasing, and it is more profitable to produce in countries with less stringent climate policies.”

On the fiscal implications, the documents say the cost of moving towards net zero could mean tax rises because of “the erosion of tax revenue from fossil fuel-related activity”. They say: “The Government may need to consider changes to existing taxes and new sources of revenue throughout the transition in order to deliver net zero sustainably, and consistently with the government’s fiscal principles.”

Worth reading in full.

Tags: Boris JohnsonCarbon EmissionsClimate changeRishi SunakThe Economy

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38 Comments
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PhantomOfLiberty
PhantomOfLiberty
3 years ago

The Chinese will be laughing.

56
0
Barbara Baker
Barbara Baker
3 years ago
Reply to  PhantomOfLiberty

All the way to the bank – literally as Rishi appears to be aware.

28
0
I am Spartacas
I am Spartacas
3 years ago

Zero Carbon, Zero Covid – this fixation with ‘Zero’ before some made-up crusade or the other but what always seems to be just another excuse to control and micro-manage every aspect of our lives – where did it come from? Sounds extreme and uncompromising – a decision to wipe-out or eradicate something completely and without logical thought or even mercy – reminds me of that other genocidal programme to destroy and transform society by that maniac Pol Pot – Year Zero.

I think our political class have all gone stark staring mad and we are being governed by control freaks and megolamaniacs..

Last edited 3 years ago by Ember von Drake-Dale 22
136
0
isobar
isobar
3 years ago
Reply to  I am Spartacas

Fits in with Zero Brains!

47
0
George L
George L
3 years ago
Reply to  I am Spartacas

I would be happier if inddeed they’d gone ‘stark staring mad’ but I’m afraid this is yet another scheme hatched decades ago under the banner of Agenda 21/30 for the complete control of our lives and depopulation..

34
0
wendy
wendy
3 years ago
Reply to  George L

But what will be the point in the west aiming for zero carbon, which I think is bonkers, when there is India, Asia, China, Africa and South America? I doubt the globalist movement can take control of these populations. And which people are the ones doing the over populating? On a personal level of my friends inmost keen on depopulation it is those with children. I don’t understand at all what the west thinks will happen to it if it tries to depopulate itself?

13
0
George L
George L
3 years ago
Reply to  wendy

Wendy.. in my post above I mentioned a man named Maurice Strong. Instigator of the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. This man openly called for the collapse of the first world industrialised nations.. that’s exactly what’s happening now right before our eyes. The chain of events and timing is no accident or coincidence.

17
0
Star
Star
3 years ago
Reply to  George L

It can’t be long before the idea of carbon dioxide overproduction gets wedded to the idea of oxygen overconsumption.

Will they announce something big at COP26? I thought yes, but now I think the main message may turn out to be “Fight China”.

Welcome to Britain – its armed forces got their a**** kicked to kingdom come in Afghanistan for 20 years until the rulers eventually “realised” there was no mileage in defending Afghanistan against the Afghans when the US, which had sent them in in the first place, decided to withdraw. But wait… Hot on the heels of NATO’s humiliation, the British press now tells us the government of Taiwan views Taiwan as an independent country (it doesn’t), as opposed to a “renegade province”, so…hey, let’s have a Pacific version of NATO too, to help Australia fight China. It’s reminiscent of Monty Python’s Black Knight.

7
0
Rowan
Rowan
3 years ago
Reply to  I am Spartacas

Zero carbon, zero Covid, all thanks to Bill Gates and his lackeys like braindead Johnson.

19
0
Less government
Less government
3 years ago
Reply to  I am Spartacas

WEF puppets

6
0
Hopeless
Hopeless
3 years ago

It would be an insult to fag packets to say that all this farrago of nonsense has been scribbled on the back of one.

It’s just grandstanding by stupid people who habitually reside in La-La Land.

49
0
Norman
Norman
3 years ago

There is a handy review of the various forecasts of climate armageddon in https://wattsupwiththat.com/2021/10/16/failed-serial-doomcasters/ which shows what the true consensus is amongst climate scientists. Their predictions end dates range from 20 or more years ago to 20 years in the future.
I think the one thing that we can agree on is that the science they are using is not something they agree on.

35
0
AN other lockdown sceptic
AN other lockdown sceptic
3 years ago
Reply to  Norman

A couple of years old but this ones good too –

Wrong Again: 50 Years of Failed Eco-pocalyptic Predictions

https://cei.org/blog/wrong-again-50-years-of-failed-eco-pocalyptic-predictions/

As is this one from last year –

Earth Day At 50: None Of The Eco-Doomsday Predictions Have Come True

https://www.netzerowatch.com/earth-day-track-record-none-of-the-doomsday-predictions-of-the-last-50-years-have-come-true/

The zero carbon cult want to change the weather. Good luck with that!

23
0
huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
3 years ago
Reply to  Norman

I think the one thing we should agree on is that “climate change” is another load of absolute BOLLOX designed to hide the control agenda.

Carbon zero? FFS!

24
0
Star
Star
3 years ago
Reply to  huxleypiggles

The climate is changing and it has always changed. Ask anyone who lives in an area where there’s lots of peat, or who has read about the ice fairs that used to be held on the Thames in London. The lie isn’t that the climate is changing. It’s that human action is causing the change. They say they want human action to stop the climate changing, which is insane. Anyone who still manages to be a little bit in tune with nature, to the extent that that’s still possible in a world of mass smartphone use and psychokiller culture like Game of Thrones and the Squid Games, should be awed at the climate changing.

10
0
Dorian_Hawkmoon
Dorian_Hawkmoon
3 years ago

“The Government may need to consider changes to existing taxes and new sources of revenue throughout the transition in order to deliver net zero sustainably, and consistently with the government’s fiscal principles.”

That if nothing else should worry us. Lower energy bills? Don’t make me laugh.

They borrow Ferguson’s Magick Modellinge Macheene when he ‘s not monkeying with it to tell us the sky’s falling in. The lunatics have taken over.


31
0
PatrickF
PatrickF
3 years ago

Rishi, forget your concerns, scruples and conscience. Just stick to the plan, there’s a good boy. Agenda 30, in case you’d forgotten you’re a technocrat.

Last edited 3 years ago by PatrickF
22
0
Annie
Annie
3 years ago

Fishi Rishi, who poured magic money into the Great Furlough Scam.Has he suddenly acquired the ability to count up to ten?

Last edited 3 years ago by Annie
20
0
NeilofWatford
NeilofWatford
3 years ago

‘Green jobs, lower energy bills and avoiding the disastrous impact of global heating‘.
‘Green jobs – all massively subsidised by us, the tax payer.
‘Lower energy bills‘ – rubbish. Just like we currently pay a 25% ‘green’ surcharge on electricity bills to line the pockets of Gummer and Chinese turbine/solar manufacturers.
‘Disastrous impact of global heating‘ – +0.7C over the last 30 years is ‘disastrous’? I don’t think so.
Government, lobbyists, media, climate scientists and othe rvested interests all march towards their great reset, which, conveniently, lines their own pockets with our £££.
No thanks.

31
0
George L
George L
3 years ago

There’s not a grain of truth in this climate scam. It was cooked up by the Club of Rome for the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, courtesy of Rockefeller stooge Maurice Strong and his henchmen. The same people who are also responsible for the corrupt IPCC and those hacked emails..

We are now at the first stages of a global cooling after an interglacial period. Its why they had to dump the ‘global warming’ headline and rename it Climate Change which just about encompasses everything.

Read the Club of Rome’s ‘First Global Revolution’.. they tell you in that document exactly what they intend to do, and what we the masses are in for.. Agenda 21/30.. dystopia on steroids.

Carbon of course is the ideal target as there’s nothing that doesn’t include it, even us mere mortals are 2/3rds of the stuff. In short, just like Covid its a pack of lies..

54
0
Star
Star
3 years ago
Reply to  George L

The First Global Revolution: https://tinyurl.com/mkms5ncn

Last edited 3 years ago by Star
4
0
George L
George L
3 years ago
Reply to  Star

Ha ha.. yes.. The First Global Revolution.. I stand corrected.. 😉

3
0
Rowan
Rowan
3 years ago
Reply to  George L

The human carbon problem won’t be with us too much longer.

4
0
JohnK
JohnK
3 years ago
Reply to  George L

But spot the opportunists. A good investment for many, no doubt.

0
0
Paul B
Paul B
3 years ago

Ahh the old lead the country by leaks, classic, strong…. blergh.

10
0
A Y M
A Y M
3 years ago

Rushi suddenly finds a new found concern over the finances he happily blew up over the plandemic.
What a farce. A little punch and Judy show for the blue pilled MSM consumers.
The reality is the winner will be the Climate cultists and those looking to destroy the vestiges of the middle classes and ensure our submission to the total full spectrum control these lunatics are pushing us towards.
They are only putting this act up so those of the blue pilled that are fretting over inflation and supply shortages still think someone in the government has some modicum of sense. It just helps to keep the whole shitshow running into the next manufactured crisis so that Rishi can take over if things get too much for the electorate to bear.

17
0
peyrole
peyrole
3 years ago

BlackRock and friends don’t even try to justify this as anything to do with ‘climate’. Its just a way of making $trillions by creating new investments with all the risk covered by taxpayers.
There are as usual with these things a load of willing idiots to talk about ‘climate’ and loads of politicians willing to have their bank accounts enriched.
Dovetails nicely with the covid scam to disguise the on-going transfer of wealth from the 99% to the 1% globally, along with killing any lingering hopes of demos.

19
0
Splattt
Splattt
3 years ago

We know the true cost is several trillion pounds. We also know most countries won’t attempt it so will leave us at a massive disadvantage for decades to come.

Energy costs will climb through the roof (as will blackouts) and quality of living is going to drop measurably.

Net zero as well as being impossible is the biggest act of economic and social self harm any country has ever subjected itself to.

16
0
Star
Star
3 years ago
Reply to  Splattt

Let’s not forget Emperor Bokassa who forced parents of school pupils in the Central African Republic to buy extremely expensive school uniforms made in a factory owned by his wife, and then started having children who didn’t wear them beaten to death. But this time it’s global.

Nowadays “the science” says an extinction like the one that did for the dinosaurs is lurking around the corner if we don’t go all-electric. Like yeah, right. Those reptiles must have been very naughty to bring a meteorite down on the planet like that.

Last edited 3 years ago by Star
8
0
Horse
Horse
3 years ago

In 2021, Antarctica records coldest winter since records began in 1957 as we head into a new grand solar minimum. Global climate will continue to cool significantly for a long time and yet the globalists will carry on hosing us all down with their climate change slime as a feint to implement their fascist regime.

12
0
tom171uk
tom171uk
3 years ago

Who authorised this “leak”? Don’t get excited, folks: it’s bollocks.

5
0
RJBassett
RJBassett
3 years ago

Boris is happy to destroy what’s left of British industry and plunge most of the country into fuel poverty if it gets him a kind word from the BBC or the Guardian for one 24 hour news cycle.

9
0
RTSC
RTSC
3 years ago

Convenient leak …. Johnson knows his Green Lunacy is alienating traditional conservative voters so Sunak has “been allowed” to send an alternative signal.

The COP26 Boondoggle will still go ahead. Johnson will still posture and preen on the world state at our expense making all sorts of unaffordable promises. And the Green Lunatics will still continue with their mission to destroy our economy; drive millions into fuel poverty and tax the bejesus out of us …….. as punishment for the Original Sin of starting the Industrial Revolution.

7
0
mojo
mojo
3 years ago

It seems to me we would be better off building our fishing industry and marine life instead of injecting miles of concrete into the sea bed for wind power where the blades have to be expensively renewed every 20yrs and they do no biodegrade, doesn’t provide enough energy let alone the electricity for cars that will only travel a few hundred miles before a recharge.

unless someone stops this nonsense in its tracks, yet again these loonies will destroy what chance UK has of creating a prosperous future for our grandchildren. Innovation from true entrepreneurs and not folk attached to government/corporate socialists, is the way to go.

7
0
Less government
Less government
3 years ago

The treasury is right to be concerned; this article shows how we have paid £20Billion to trash Oil and Gas in the North Sea and give all the renewable businesses and jobs to China. A total farcical disaster.

5
0
Rogerborg
Rogerborg
3 years ago

This is utterly obvious to anyone with the wit to put on a matching pair of shoes.

We’re not reducing emissions of vital plant food one whit. All we’re doing is beggaring (and soon to be freezing) ourselves while shifting output to the Orient, where China alone is currently building 100GW of new coal plants, double the output of our entire grid.

Nobody can credibly pretend to believe otherwise, or that this is about ecomentalism. So we have to ask what it is really about, and cui bono, because it’s not any UK prole, of that we can be sure.

3
0
imp66
imp66
3 years ago

The rush to a zero carbon industrial complex is laughable. Is CO2 REALLY the devil incarnate? I feel I am living in a parallel universe, where those in power and authority seem to have totally lost their minds! ( Or the evil bastards are enthusiastically following Herr Schwab’s dictats).

2
0
IanC
IanC
3 years ago

And herein lies yet another monumental con/lie being perpetrated by these megalomaniacal monsters, on the great unwashed and unjabbed.

Christ on a blowhole! Is there no limit to their evil chicanery?

Just have a look at this and decide for yourselves. Pretty compelling if you have an open mind. (What’s one of those?) The PDF is available to download.

http://www.beautyandthebeastlytruth.com

Unfortunately, there is little or no place in the arena we currently inhabit for calm rational discussion, just hysterical tooth grinding, spittle spraying ranting, and finger-wagging, cheered on by the puppetmasters, else this would be compulsory reading for all. It would in saner circumstances help many to achieve educated and informed opinions.
They do not want the plebians to be informed. Much better they are at one another’s throats.

0
0

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