Edward Davey Kingston & Surbiton, Liberal Demorat.
1: Climate change is the most important issues facing us today and has been for some time. The consequences if we do not tackle this urgently and fully are potentially catastrophic for the whole human race and life on the earth. The problem to date has been persuading enough people to recognise the threat, and despite Al Gore et al., I remain alarmed at how few people still really understand the scale of the problem and how fast we need to move.
2: We must lead lead the debate and lead the action. If Britain does commit itself unilaterally to largescale reductions in greenhouse gas emissiomns say to the oft discussed 60% target by 2050 that will be an excellent start, if, at the same time, we set out a credible pathway, with policy changes starting now.The list of policies is well known but worth repeating. Top comes the need to accelerate significantly the development of renewable energy and investment in energy conservation and efficiency, particularly for existing housing, where standards are still very low. We need to promote actively a decentralised energy system based more on microgeneration, using solar panels, small wind turbines and combined heat and power units to make buildings net generators of electricity reducing reliance on the centralised and relatively inefficient system of major power stations. The EU should lead too, with a much tougher Emissions Trading Scheme. Reducing emissions from transport is also an urgent priority, where we must improve public transport, reducing the environmental impact of motor transport and aviation, and reducing the need to travel in the first place.We should also be prepared to look at even more radical measures, from personal carbon allowances to new international agencies with teeth, from a global emissions trading system to new WTO rules that link free trade and carbon reduction. The tough international challenge is to tackle climate change whilst making poverty history and that will require leadership that is consistent, principled and prepared to say tough things to friendly and less friendly countries alike.
3: Just as Government must lead the debate and lead by example, that’s what all MPs who believes this is serious should be doing. Personally I’ve done some of the easier things. I’ve written about it, delivered leaflets about it, spoken about it and had high street stalls to campaign on climate change. I’ve got energy efficient light bulbs, have good loft insulation, have a LPG car and use the train to work. I now have to take this forward and urge the local council in showing leadership in our community.
Tallbloke's Talkshop 
Thank you Mr Davey – turn the lights out as you leave – it appears your audience has left.
Is this really from Ed Davey our DECC minister? I cannot believe he has sent something like this out; it is barley literate in places and then he repeats himself word for word from 1) to 3) in places. If this is the quality of thinking at the top of the department we are truly stuffed.
Not sure were the LPG argument really comes in for his car, I converted mine years ago due to cost considerations, its still only 62 pence a liter where I get mine from. It is I suppose greener, a bit less CO2 and substantially less in the way of particulates, but no one converts a car on that basis, its about the cost of running it.
Is he deluded or just an idiot? Perhaps both.
Hoist by my own petard! That should of course have read “it is barely literate”.
Daedalus
Daedalus says:
March 28, 2013 at 4:25 pm There is a difference between a typo and literacy and you were correct about that piece being barely literate in places.
The man is very sad, I wonder how he feels now that it is all unraveling, the MSM in Germany is rally beginning to question the science, as are some of the UK MSM.
How much longer can the US MSM avoid it?
‘new WTO rules that link free trade and carbon reduction.’
Banning the import of Chinese goods because their government don’t agree with EU policy on carbon reduction!!!!
This boy is living in la-la land.
“We need to promote actively a decentralised energy system based more on microgeneration, using solar panels, small wind turbines and combined heat and power units to make buildings net generators of electricity reducing reliance on the centralised and relatively inefficient system of major power stations.”
This is a sure way to make the lights go out and turn back the clock 200 years. We can all huddle round the single flickering 1 kw electric fire at the eco-centre at the end of the street. Perhaps we can depend on aid and food parcels from wealthy visiting Indian and Chinese tourists.
Typos were my fault. New mobile blogging platform which I’m not used to yet. This is from statements made just after the CCA was passed in 2008.
Ed Davey now has Fallon to take on board. This will shake things up at DECC, because Fallon is more real world business orientated. DECC’s biggest single monthly outlay is nuclear decommissioning.
He may have done all of those things but has he ordered that Government buildings and offices be turned down to the heating levels that are endured by the poorer members of society?
Like the many OAP’s that huddle over a single bar fire which is switched on and off periodically through the day because they can’t afford to pay the price demanded to salve his misinformed conscience?
Is he even vaguely aware of the economic downturn that is evidenced today by the diminishing footfall in the shopping malls and foodstores, a direct result of his green taxes lavishly levied whilst winter extends it’s grip into a cooling spring?
Well, today I have been in the super heated offices, seen my OAP neighbours huddle and have just returned from superstores where the staff outnumber the customers very few of which are toting carrier bags.
The man is a complete fool.
If this is from Mr Davey, it demonstrates incredible ignorance of the facts behind this junk science. I say junk science because there are 13 mistakes in the physics and to correct these I have had to develop some new physics which shows key parts of the observations have been misinterpreted.
1. The real net IR emissions have been determined accurately. However, they have been misinterpreted. Thus surface IR absorbed by the atmosphere is 23 W/m^2 is by non self-absorbed GHGs. There is no self-absorbed GHG emission – it’s all annihilated. 40 W/m^2 to space via the atmospheric window is correct..OLR is self-absorbed GHG emission – water vapour and CO2 plus 0.9 emissivitu of surface IR in the AW with the rest trace gas (non self-absorbed) emission. On top of this we have O3 which like CO2 is a dip plus a spike. The dip is self-absorbed so well below black body. The CO2 comes from ~260 °C where convection changes to radiation ~ 6 km. The spike is the stratospheric, non self-absorbed emission.
2. The modelling cannot use the two-stream approximation atmospheric boundaries. Since most of the OLR comes from within the atmosphere, Kirchhoff’s law cannot apply at TOA. There is no back radiation, the potential flux to 0 °K which is all annihilated at the slightly warmer surface radiative physics’ equilibrium 101.To claim otherwise would mean we’d be a wisp of gas.
There can be no significant CO2-AGW. GHG absorption has been exaggerated 6.85x. This exaggerates evaporation in sunlit oceans.The temperature error is corrected by using double real low level cloud optical depth in hind-casting.
In conclusion Mr Davey, there can be no CAGW. There may be secindary issues, e.g. the real AGW is probably aerosols reducing cloud albedo but it is saturated.
I find this frightening.
The bloke’s obviously living in a dream world. Lot’s of feel-good statements and handwaving and obviously no idea of the practicalities.
“We must lead lead the debate and lead the action.”
Why exactly? What if we don’t lead the debate and lead the action?
Then we’ll be left behind.
So what?
Since Ed Davey last looked – however many years ago that was – the climate HAS changed. It’s no longer getting any warmer, even though man’s ’emissions’ are at a higher level than before.
No global temperature rise worth mentioning for a decade and a half, Ed. Do you not even know this?
I think the author is not a fool. He just hates humankind and civilization… and he wants to destroy both.
Officially from the Met Office:
March 2013 is coldest since 1962
http://www.vukcevic.talktalk.net/CET-March.htm
Met Office: Global warming means that the UK will have climate of the Costa del Sol.
Reality: UK’s climate at the moment is the ‘Costa del Svalbard’.
A face like a slapped arse and a mind to match- full of shit.
Let’s hope one of his energy efficient light bulbs comes on soon…
tallbloke says:
March 28, 2013 at 5:15 pm
Ed Davey now has Fallon to take on board. This will shake things up at DECC, because Fallon is more real world business orientated.
Don’t be so sure, Fallon is in favour of subsidised Windmills, enough said.
He’s clearly as mad as a box of frogs.
It appears to be some kind of Chinglish.
Tallbloke form the Telegraph,
“Mr Fallon said of his new job straddling two ministeries: ‘Both departments share a strong focus on business and the economy and I am delighted to be given the opportunity to build on their cross cutting work on this agenda.
‘This week has seen the launch of important industrial strategies for the nuclear and oil and gas sectors to secure future billions of investment, thousands of jobs and a diverse energy mix. A strategy for offshore wind will be completed in the coming weeks.
‘Energy policy has a key role to play in securing sustainable future growth in the economy, strengthening supply chains, keeping people’s bills down and tackling climate change.’
Greenpeace policy director Doug Parr said: ‘Britain is at a crossroads, with decisions being made now that will define how we get and use energy for the next 30-40 years.
‘As such, Michael Fallon has a real opportunity to clean up our power sector, capitalise on clean, home-grown energy and properly open Britain for green business.
‘In opposition he authored a law to drive investment in renewable energy, and as Deputy Chairman of the Conservatives he described the renewables sector as “the work force of tomorrow”.
‘We look forward to him putting this vision into practice and safeguarding green jobs and growth.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2300425/Cameron-promotes-self-styled-tough-cookie-minister-John-Hayes-reach-unhappy-Tory-MPs-party-greybeard.html#ixzz2OrbjFbi8
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
“
Tallbloke, sorry that was the Daily Mail.
Davey comes across as a frightened little man, and frightened people are dangerous when they have power.
Well mr Davey, I have some further suggestions (you seem to have made less sacrifices than I have so far in fighting your insanity.)
What I suggest you do now to prove your beliefs, is strip to a loin cloth (like Ghandi)…it’s getting warmer so don’t worry about temperature. Live in nothing grander or larger than a beach hut. Give up on electricity, other than can be provided by a solar panel and a very small and unobtrusive propeller on a stick. Avoid burning anything, wrap a blanket round you if you need it. Travel by horse if you still feel the need to be grand, but an ass or donkey is more appropriate. Eat raw vegetables, nuts and fruit (it will add years to your life, in your case particularly)…Grow them yourself of course.
But above all…..Stop preaching to others.
Another politician who is effectively controlled by the front page of the warmist mainstream press. Watch him change his tune over the forthcoming years as the newspapers increasingly switch to ice age hysteria.
All our MPs except the 3 who voted against the climate change act are going to be looking very stupid in a few years time. There they are getting all alarmist about rising temperatures, only to find that temperatures go down instead. Well, one or two have since said they were wrong, a trickle that will become a flood.
I will much enjoy watching them scrabble to explain and excuse their warmist positions as they move to expressing concern about the cooling World.
Politicians are catastrophic to the peoples of the United Kingdom. Maybe we should reduce them instead?
Unfortunately, Fallon’s previous track record on listening may best be described as “selective deafness”. Speaking in the budget debate last year he challenged whether specific targets on climate change “are the best way of focusing our spending where it is most needed”. This will be unlikely to endear him to the six multinational technology leaders who recently wrote to the chancellor in support of setting a 2030 decarbonisation target before 2016. They made a robust business case, saying that “postponing the 2030 target decision until 2016 creates entirely avoidable political risk. This will slow growth in the low carbon sector, handicap the UK supply chain, reduce UK R&D and produce fewer new jobs.”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/28/michael-fallon-green-credentials
Is it time for a petition calling for the Department to revert to being a Department for/of Energy?
Surely even an idiot like Davey can understand that the UK, which produces 1.7% of the world’s CO2 emissions, is incapable of having a measurable impact on climate even assuming the IPCC’s worst case scenarios. So why have a ministry for something we have no hope of influencing?
Meanwhile we have to panic buy gas from tankers to keep the lights on, because of Miliband, Huhne and Davey’s insane fetish for wind power and the consequent dereliction of duty by successive governments. A Department of Energy might stand a chance of focusing on the real issues and encouraging the rapid development of our shale reserves. The Eagle Ford shale in Texas has gone from 0 to $61 billion in three years, enough to take an economy the size of ours comfortably out of recession.
The government should have a Department of Energy & Engineering instead of a Department of Energy & Climate Change. Advice from engineers would be more constructive and realistic than advice from Green political activists such as the WWF and greenpeace.
There only seems to be a Department of Climate Change, therefor we have idiotic CO2 reduction targets and a crippling energy policy. The public don’t seem to understand; every time there is a new Green Tax imposed on the Big Energy Companies (they despise for some reason) The Energy Companies have to also raise the price of energy consumers pay in order to protect share prices for their share holders. This is the reason “Big Energy” has seen huge profits even during a triple dip economic recession or “depression”.
Obviously, ministers have to be aware of this, I find it puzzling that their advice to the public is to upgrade to energy efficient appliances and fork out for insulation and solar panels while being hard hit by financially from all sides.
In my opinion; there’s a big circle of silly being implemented and only environmental political activists could dream this scenario up.
As Rog pointed out. This march is on track for being the coldest in 50+ years. winter deaths are up, 1 person dies every 5 minutes in the UK.
Getting the message through to bone-headed Ed http://theshotoverdiaries.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/roll-on-gas-outages-and-blackouts.html
Just as Government must lead the debate and lead by example, that’s what all MPs who believes this is serious should be doing.
=========
how about:
1) don’t buy any manufactured products produced with fossil fuel. This includes all plastics, metals, and concrete.
2) do not live or work in any building that was built using fossil fuels. This includes buildings that used fossil fuels to deliver the materials.
3) do not wear any clothing produced in any way using fossil fuels. This includes anything grown, produced or transported using fossil fuels.
4) do not eat any food that was grown with fossil fuel fertilizer or fossil fuel based pesticides, or harvested using fossil fuels, or brought to market with fossil fuels, or packaged using fossil fuels.
5) do not use any fossil fuel based power source. neither for transport, heating or light. this includes elevators or trains powered by electricity from fossil fueled power plants.
6) make sure that all your family members do the same.
100% chance you and your family will be dead within 1 month.
however, you will never have the courage to do this. instead you will pass a law to force everyone else but you to live this way, so that you can continue to live the way you do.
Solar and wind cannot cut the mustard.
I’ve no objection to domestic fossil fuel CHP, as long as it is not forced on people by artificially raising fuel prices (that smacks of ‘old-Labour’). But not everyone has as much disposable income as Ed Davey does to throw at these fancies. He does not come across as a person who thinks he has a significant duty towards the electorate beyond lecturing us. I wonder if he realises that he is embracing an ideology that is guaranteed to make almost the entire electorate poorer. Not good politics.
But the bit about “…even more radical measures, from personal carbon allowances to new international agencies with teeth” actually made my blood run chill. He can have no excuse for not being fully informed, so I must conclude that he chooses to ignore evidence contrary to his statements. But what is preventing him from seeing that he is acting like a person who has strayed too far from the shore on tidal mud-flats?
He is also heading a department that shouldn’t exist. At least not the ‘climate change’ bit, and now I want him as far away as possible from the energy bit.
I thought the UK was waking up. I guess some Brits are waking more slowly than others.
“1: Climate change is the most important issues facing us today and has been for some time. ”
When he says “us” does it mean the fine people of Kingston & Surbiton, the people of the world,
or those people which are helping him most in getting elected.
If the world, why does he think he can actually speak for these people- particularly if he going to say such stupid things?
It would seem a far more important thing would be, oh, say, the education of children.
And there many things the government and it’s people do which are rather important,
sanitation, transportation, law enforcement, health care, etc, etc, and have very
immediate consequence if people aren’t doing them.
Perhaps what he meant was that in the “to do list” new things one could do, which climate
change is most important. Which is interesting point of view, which wonder if shared
by the people he represents.
Perhaps it is, but for most people in the world it’s far more reasonable they have more important things they like to have changed, so that for and their children it will be a better future.
One thing which might be common and is rather important is electing people who adequately represent their interests.
The UK of course does not contribute much to global human CO2 emissions, and to imagine the UK as being in the driver seat on this issue requires a vast amount folly- even more foolishness
than imagining that the US is in the driver seat. Or absurd idea of the UN is providing a noticeable amount direction in this regard. If UN was at capable, one could imagine they might want to do
something about the civil war occurring in Syria [as an example], though perhaps thousands of people getting killed is not too important.
But if one were to consider climate change were the most important issue. Meaning of course that such things as over population and future energy shortages would have to be less important, and such things as the Middle East arming itself with nuclear weapons, millions dying from preventable causes, and a laundry lists of other things are also less important. And doing stuff that could encourage significant lower costs things college education are not even worth any consideration
of important things.
So again, the thing UK can do little about, if is actually the most important issue- what could be done?
It seems rather obvious that wind power and raising taxes and fees on UK citizens is incapable of doing in this regard. Nor has anything the UK has done so far in this regard has done anything significant. So would say the first thing the UK should focus on is getting smarter people elected.
Enough already of the madness. Time to boot the CC out of DECC, and go back to DOE.
‘decentralised energy system’…’reducing the need to travel’…’personal carbon allowances’
Imagine an American president saying any of that.
Ed Davey uses LPG? LPG has a lower energy density than either petrol or fuel-oil, so the equivalent fuel consumption is higher.
Last time I rode in a car that used LPG was Cambodia. Lovely place it is too apart from rampant poverty.
So is Cambodia the model for the future UK?
And if it doesn’t work the first time you try it, do it twice as much the second time around [rinse, repeat]. Any old geezers who freeze in the meantime will only make our goals more achievable, and besides they can’t afford the carbon tax anyway they are on fixed income, don’t commute anymore, don’t travel far and don’t use the airline, simply not much to be gotten from them, so it’s really like killing two birds with one stone [sorry, unfortunate choice of words]. Children if they happen to freeze are a regrettable but very valuable means of achieving our goals, they represent entire generations of carbon producers who will never be born – of course their parents, who CAN pay the carbon tax, are likely to be upset that since the decay of our pension system their personal security in retirement will be diminished, which is why we also desperately need the linkage to immigration reform so we can import brown and yellow colored babies, or maybe more cute white babies from Eastern Europe to take care of us in our dotage. I know I will enjoy the diversity that their company represents here in Surbiton, of course they won’t actually LIVE in Surbiton – how could we afford to pay them at all if they did? – they’ll just have to commute.
I simply do not understand people’s resistance to the program. As a government minister I personally have done some of the easier things. I’ve written about it, delivered leaflets about it, spoken about it and had high street stalls to campaign on climate change. I’ve got energy efficient light bulbs, have good loft insulation, have a LPG car and use the train to work from my affluent suburb, which happens to be well serviced [London Waterloo in fifteen minutes can you believe?] and leads straight to my office at the ministry. It all really very easy, the easy parts. Everyone should be an MP.
W^3
The only empirical evidence that anthropogenic CO2 has any effect is that it causes politicians to act like idiots.
DECC should be disbanded and replaced by a Department of Energy.
DECC should be disbanded ad replaced by the Ministry of Silly Walks.
How is it that idiots keep getting elected or appointed to high level posts?
Gallopingcamel, maybe it is because the masses are mainly apathetic, ignorant, too trusting, and are therefore too easily led along by fine sounding propaganda.
Whom the gods would destroy, …