Category: Energy Independence

Climate change is a religion for the BBC (Image: Getty)

The political spats over energy policy this week could represent a pivotal moment in Britain’s post-war history. We might at last be starting to row back on the net zero climate and energy policy, which has been our nation’s biggest mistake since nationalisation.

It is clear that the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, with access to the most detailed data available, is rightly starting to have second thoughts about the punishing timetable to reduce the United Kingdom’s reliance on oil and gas.

The outcome of this debate will have a direct and substantial impact on the living standards of you and your family.

Net zero is based on the belief that humanity can adjust the global climate by actively managing carbon dioxide levels.

Readers will know that — sadly — all our major political parties support reducing our carbon dioxide emissions, deriving from our use of oil and gas to net zero by 2050.

What is less well known is that this target has been driven not by science but by politics and that much of the technology that will supposedly deliver this target is either not yet developed at sufficient scale or is crazily expensive.

First, the science.

Carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is necessary for life on Earth. Together with water and sunlight, it provides food for plants. That is why the Earth is becoming greener. But it is also one of many factors that contribute to variation in our climate.

Such variation is why Governments are correct to monitor the climate and to ensure we have the resilience to cope with extreme weather — a constant feature of life on Earth.

But in recent years, an extreme phobia about carbon dioxide has taken hold.

Rather than seeing the gas as one factor among many that might have a climate impact, political activists mistakenly see carbon dioxide as a “control knob” for the global temperature, and they deem higher temperatures as an unequivocally bad thing, even though it is cold, not warmth, that is the bigger threat to life.

As a consequence, spurred on by excitable academics and investors in green energy, our political class has acted against oil and gas.

You see plastic products everywhere.

Your communications equipment, your anorak, your furniture and more.

Modern, affordable plastics derive from fossil fuels.

Other uses include food packaging, spectacles, sports goods, and medical equipment.

We are simply not in a position to do away with oil and gas-derived products overnight. Even reducing our usage would require substantial investment and quite a number of new inventions.

If that means that we must manage climate variability rather than seek to stop it totally, then that must be our policy.

That is why I am so encouraged to see Rishi Sunak seek to establish a more realistic timetable for changes to our energy mix.

There are plans to phase out petrol cars and gas central heating. The green alternatives are much less convenient or effective, which is why they require subsidies and compulsion.

But the damage of net zero goes much further than that. Look around your house.

In recognising that energy policy should be based on engineering reality, not misguided scaremongering, Sunak is correcting a policy mistake of historic importance.

But the news is not all good. The UK has invested a fortune in wind and solar power.

There is a place for these as an energy source, but this should not be on a comprehensive scale, as neither sun nor wind can be relied upon 24-7, and the cost of battery backup is immense.

Worse, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has shown us that relying on overseas oil and gas has its own dangers.

Even shipping gas from friendly sources such as the USA and Qatar brings with it costs.

We have oil and gas under our feet and below our waves.

The UK should not be importing huge amounts of energy when we could be harvesting our own resources, thereby creating jobs, receiving revenue and ensuring the security of supply.

I would like to see more drilling for resources in the North Sea and a hardheaded, rational evaluation of the case for fracking.

We already use fracked resources, but we import them from elsewhere rather than reaping the benefits ourselves. We need to be more self-sufficient.

Yes, my opinions go against the zeitgeist created by Whitehall and the BBC.

But there are signs at last from Downing Street that common sense and British interests are starting to reassert themselves.

Like many Conservatives I welcome news that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is to relax some of the targets relating to Carbon Dioxide reduction.

I am concerned that the various Climate-related targets, rules, taxes and subsidies that have accumulated since 2008 are having a substantial, negative impact on the finances of working people.

Climate policy to date has been characterised by harvesting low-hanging fruit, such as replacing coal-derived energy with much cleaner natural gas, and an element of intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar.

Now, however, the policies are set to really bite. Working families in constituencies like my own cannot afford to spend thousands of pounds on heat pumps and the housing modifications that they necessitate. 

Nor can working people spend £20,000 and more on Electric Vehicles. 
Moreover, the cost of green products is not restricted to heavy financial bills.

Take electric vehicles as an example. The batteries require minerals sometimes deriving from child labour, in a supply chain dominated by China.

Closer to home, there are concerns about the de facto enforced move to public transport. How can a mother with three children, and shopping to collect, take the children to see their grandparents if it requires two bus changes and groceries to pick up?

“Behavioural change” is a green code phrase for “reduced living standards”.

n reality, Climate Alarmists focus on the alleged “social costs” of fossil fuels, but rarely give a realistic – or even honest – assessment of the social costs of green products or lifestyle changes.

Regarding the financial impact, we are talking huge sums for worse products. We know they are worse because the products require backing from subsidies, mandates, and the like.

When cars replaced the horse and cart they did so naturally, not by State diktat. We should leave it to the market and free enterprise to drive progress and efficiency, not desk-bound bureaucrats picking deadlines out of the air.

Be in no doubt that the climate targets and deadlines are bureaucratic, not scientific.

The UK’s original carbon reduction target was to reduce emissions by 80 per cent against a somewhat arbitrary baseline. This was changed to 100 per cent – “Net Zero” – despite no change in the science and with little debate.

The targets seem to be a device to chivvy the population into compliance, rather than a rational consideration of an evolving body of scientific knowledge.

Like many Conservatives I welcome news that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is to relax some of the targets relating to Carbon Dioxide reduction.

I am concerned that the various Climate-related targets, rules, taxes and subsidies that have accumulated since 2008 are having a substantial, negative impact on the finances of working people.

Climate policy to date has been characterised by harvesting low-hanging fruit, such as replacing coal-derived energy with much cleaner natural gas, and an element of intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar.

Now, however, the policies are set to really bite. Working families in constituencies like my own cannot afford to spend thousands of pounds on heat pumps and the housing modifications that they necessitate. 

Nor can working people spend £20,000 and more on Electric Vehicles.  Moreover, the cost of green products is not restricted to heavy financial bills.

Take electric vehicles as an example. The batteries require minerals sometimes deriving from child labour, in a supply chain dominated by China.

Closer to home, there are concerns about the de facto enforced move to public transport. How can a mother with three children, and shopping to collect, take the children to see their grandparents if it requires two bus changes and groceries to pick up?

“Behavioural change” is a green code phrase for “reduced living standards”.

In reality, Climate Alarmists focus on the alleged “social costs” of fossil fuels, but rarely give a realistic – or even honest – assessment of the social costs of green products or lifestyle changes.

Regarding the financial impact, we are talking huge sums for worse products. We know they are worse because the products require backing from subsidies, mandates, and the like.

When cars replaced the horse and cart they did so naturally, not by State diktat. We should leave it to the market and free enterprise to drive progress and efficiency, not desk-bound bureaucrats picking deadlines out of the air.

Be in no doubt that the climate targets and deadlines are bureaucratic, not scientific.

The UK’s original carbon reduction target was to reduce emissions by 80 per cent against a somewhat arbitrary baseline. This was changed to 100 per cent – “Net Zero” – despite no change in the science and with little debate.

The targets seem to be a device to chivvy the population into compliance, rather than a rational consideration of an evolving body of scientific knowledge.

To add insult to injury, the proposed relaxation of deadlines would have an impact on the global climate that is so small it cannot be measured, if indeed it exists. Large carbon-dixode emitters elsewhere around the world continue to invest in fossil fuel-derived energy. We cannot fine-tune the global climate by marginal adjustments in the UK’s relatively small emissions. Meanwhile, climate variability is not “running away”, but remains modest.

Carbon dioxide is not pollution; it is a naturally occurring trace gas essential to life on Earth. It is only one of many factors that might have an impact on the climate. Many leading scientists, including Nobel Laureate (Physics, 2022) Dr John Clauser, have cast informed doubt on the concept of a “climate crisis”. The legacy media such as the BBC cannot continue to pretend that this debate does not exist.

When I speak to my constituents it is clear that they are not adversely impacted by climate change. They are adversely affected by policies designed to micro-manage the climate, such as green levies on energy bills.

The crux of the problem to date is that too many politicians think that change equals deterioration. The Government has acted on the “Precautionary Principle” (essentially, “if human action has a potentially negative impact, it should not be allowed.”) This is flawed. As former Chancellor the late Lord Lawson said: “Be careful” is sensible, “you cannot be too careful” is nonsense. That is especially true if the bill potentially comes to trillions of dollars per decade globally.

I want to see a move to Cost-Benefit Analysis (“What are the benefits of the proposed human activity, how does this compare with the supposed costs of more carbon, “and” how does the cost of carbon abatement compare with the cost of adaptation?”)

The Government seems to be moving in the direction by changing the targets on mandating EVs and the like. That is more realistic in terms of responding to climate variability, and good news for the standard of living of my constituents.

OUR PLAN FOR MORLEY

Proud to visit Yorkshire’s fantastic, forward-looking Drax Power Station today. It is vital as a country we have security of supply so we can be self-sufficient & independent in our power generation & not reliant on hostile regimes.

Today, I spoke with Warm Front Ltd.. To cut people’s rising energy bills, this organisation provides its customers with innovative energy saving solutions.

With the help of funding from Central Government, this can include the installation of loft and cavity wall insulation.

I’m here with the UK’s leading energy provider, British Gas/Centrica Plc.

To help tackle the rising cost-of-living, they offer a range of services from fixed and varied tariffs, boiler checks, repairs, and new smart solutions to make you home more energy efficient.

If you’re struggling to pay your bills, follow the link below to their trusty guide on how you can save money.

If you’re having difficulty paying any debt, need legal debt advice or if you are not sure of what to do about your finances, Money Buddies are here to help.

Come down to my Cost-of-Living event to talk to a member of their team.

As part of my Cost-of-Living Support event, Morley Elderly Action are here to provide help, support, & guidance for those aged 60 and over.

If you are interested in the services offered by Morley Elderly Action, please join me at Morley’s Salvation Army Hall.

http://www.morleyelderlyaction.org.uk/

Groundwork Yorkshire were at my Cost-of-Living Event, to help you take control of your bills, save energy where possible in the home, and provide access to other services and initiatives available.

They offer a wide range of support, whether that’s advice on paying off debt with energy or water companies, installing home improvements for energy efficiency or spotting other concerns for a referral to other services.

Care & Repair Leeds are an independent home improvement agency that operate across the whole of Leeds.

This amazing organisation assists older people and people with disabilities, offering them tailored installations to improve mobility at home and within the community.

Leeds City Council attended my Cost-of-Living Support event, sharing information on their job opportunities, skills workshops, community services and housing needs.

At my Cost-of-Living Support event, I was joined by Yorkshire Water.

If you’re struggling to pay for your water bills, The Yorkshire Water Community Trust offer immediate short- and longer-term schemes so you can pay back your bills in affordable amounts.

https://www.yorkshirewater.com/bil…/help-paying-your-bill/

I was joined by Leeds Credit Union at my Cost of Living Support event.

This company offers our more struggling members of society affordable and straight-forward financial products and services that are most suited to them.

https://leedscreditunion.com/loans/

Leeds Uniform Exchange encourages people to pass on good quality school uniforms that are no longer needed and, instead of buying new, find items of school uniform for free! They help people and communities to start exchanging by setting up uniform sharing schemes at schools, online or in neighbourhoods across Leeds.

They are accompanied by The Fresh Start Uniform Exchange are attending my Cost-of-Living event. This wonderful organisation will be showcasing their wide selection of second-hand clothes.