California emissions, carbon neutrality plan draws criticism

Los Angeles, CA

Desperately seeking ‘carbon’ capture. One of the obvious problems of course is that it’s energy-intensive, and that energy has to be generated by non-fossil sources to qualify as suitable for the job, in the eyes of climate obsessives. Ignoring other practical difficulties (storage etc.), where is all the extra power supposed to come from? If wealthy California can’t resolve such issues, most other climate-obsessed regions (excluding those with lots of hydro-power) will surely also struggle to do so, and it all has to be paid for. For ‘ambitious’ read ‘unworkable’?
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California air regulators are likely to hear a barrage of criticism Thursday on a plan to slash fossil fuel use and reach carbon neutrality by 2045, a proposal that would require a sweeping shift in how the state powers its massive economy in the face of climate change, says Phys.org.

It will be the California Air Resources Board’s first public discussion of this year’s draft scoping plan, which is updated every five years and lays out a roadmap for the state to reach its climate goals.

The 2045 goal is among the most ambitious in the nation, but the proposal has many critics beyond the oil industry, which says the strategy has too many bans and mandates.

Welsh family farms threatened by corporates pursuing ‘carbon offsetting’ schemes

Sheep farming in Wales [image credit: BBC]

Another example of unintended consequences caused by the irrational pursuit of climate obsessions by governments.
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A fifth of Welsh farms are running at a loss and there is a risk that farmers will be priced out of agriculture by big corporations buying up farmland for carbon offsetting schemes, according to a new report on family farms in Wales.

The findings of an inquiry by the Welsh Affairs Select Committee published today (7 April) paint a concerning picture for Welsh agriculture, an industry where the average farm size is just 48ha, compared to 87ha in England, says TW News.

From pressure on incomes and land availability to a lack of opportunity for new entrants, the report highlights some of the key concerns and sets out a series of recommendations to governments to address the issues.

Nicola Scafetta: Advanced Testing of Low, Medium, and High ECS CMIP6 GCM Simulations Versus ERA5-T2m

In this new research paper the leading climate models turn out to be either too inaccurate (higher sensitivity) or unalarming (lower sensitivity).
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Plain Language Summary

The last-generation Coupled Model Intercomparison Projects (CMIP6) global circulation models (GCMs) are used by scientists and policymakers to interpret past and future climatic changes and to determine appropriate (adaptation or mitigation) policies to optimally address scenario-related climate-change hazards. However, these models are affected by large uncertainties. For example, their equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) varies from 1.83°C to 5.67°C, which makes their 21st-century predicted warming levels very uncertain. This issue is here addressed by testing the GCMs’ global and local performance in predicting the 1980–2021 warming rates against the ERA5-T2m records and by grouping them into three equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) classes (low-ECS, 1.80–3.00°C; medium-ECS, 3.01–4.50°C; high-ECS, 4.51–6.00°C). We found that: (a) all models with ECS > 3.0°C overestimate the observed global surface warming; (b) Student t-tests show model failure over 60% (low-ECS) to 81% (high-ECS) of the Earth’s surface. Thus, the high and medium-ECS GCMs do not appear to be consistent with the observations and should not be used for implementing policies based on their scenario forecasts. The low-ECS GCMs perform better, although not optimally; however, they are also found unalarming because for the next decades they predict moderate warming: ΔTpreindustrial→2050 ≲ 2°C.

The great climate backslide: How governments are regressing worldwide

Wyoming coal trains [image credit: energycatalyzer3.com/

A cold blast of reality is upsetting the fragile dreams of climate obsessives, who like to think humans can make the weather cooler by spending fortunes on expensive and often inefficient technologies. Renewables will never get anywhere near meeting global energy demand, which always rises.
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At the conclusion of the UN climate summit in November, COP26 President Alok Sharma praised the “heroic efforts” of nations showing that they could rise above their differences and unite to tackle climate change, an outcome that “the world had come to doubt.”

It turns out that the world was right to be skeptical, says the Taipei Times / Bloomberg.

Three months later, political intransigence, an energy crisis and economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic have cast doubt on the progress made in Glasgow, Scotland.

If last year was marked by optimism that the biggest polluters were finally willing to set ambitious net-zero targets, this year threatens to be the year of global backsliding.

For many Europeans, the electric vehicle revolution is a mirage

Teslas in Norway [image credit: Norsk Elbilforening (Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association)]

Usual problems: high cost, range anxiety, lack of charging points, battery life, maybe resale value. Not much incentive for less well-off private buyers, even with subsidies. Corporate fleets seeking tax breaks more to the fore.
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The view from Brussels policymakers is clear: the electric vehicle revolution is firmly underway. But a EURACTIV investigation reveals serious barriers to electric vehicle acceptance across eastern and southern Europe.
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Listen to EU policymakers and you will come away convinced that the electric vehicle revolution is firmly underway, says EURACTIV.

“I think the move towards electric vehicles is moving much faster than anybody would have anticipated,” EU climate chief Frans Timmermans said earlier this year, expressing a widely held view in Brussels.

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen similarly assured Europeans that “change is already happening” in her 2021 state of the union address, pointing to Germany’s registration of more electric vehicles than diesel cars in the first half of 2021.

Not only are sales of electric vehicles surging, but Tesla, perhaps the world’s best known electric vehicle manufacturer, is now the most valuable car company on Earth.

The shift to e-mobility, it seems, is happening at pace, inexorably changing the driving landscape.

But a EURACTIV investigation into electric vehicle uptake across the continent challenges this narrative, revealing serious barriers to EV acceptance across eastern and southern Europe.

A poorly developed second-hand market for electric vehicles, confusion over subscriptions for charging services, and concerns over the degradation of batteries continue to hamper electric vehicle adoption, compounding frequently mentioned issues such as high upfront costs and a lack of charging infrastructure.

What emerges from EURACTIV’s reporting is a picture of an electric vehicle revolution that is bypassing less well-off Europeans.

Continued here.

Punishing Climate Policies to Fix What’s Not Broken

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‘The higher global warming, the more rainfall’, say climate alarmists — then complain about droughts causing wildfires. Confused? Yes they are. Here, Ben Pile looks at the case of the UK .

Science Matters

Ben Pile writes at Spiked Climate policy, not climate change, poses the biggest risk to our daily lives.  Excerpts in italics with my bolds.

Firstly, Ben provides evidence for a reasonable person to conclude the weather and climate is doing nothing out of the ordinary.  Drawing on this year’s UK State of the Climate report:

But how significant are these changes really? Take, for example, the claim that the UK’s temperatures have increased. Leaving aside the possibility that land-use change thanks to the UK’s economic development might influence temperatures, the report offers this chart depicting 140 years of anomalies in UK and global annual temperatures:

Though the chart clearly shows that UK temperatures have risen, there is substantial year-to-year variability – far greater in the UK than for the world as a whole – that might make us wonder how impactful this extra warmth really is.

The point is…

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Tory rebels vow to fight 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars

The GWPF has produced a 64-page Fair Fuel document. See the Chairman’s Summary on pages 56-58 for a flavour of the many present and future problems with the unplanned rush to EVs, which the ‘rebels’ fear is likely to be a disaster both for themselves and the motoring public. But they’re mixing up carbon dioxide emissions cuts with pollution, which is an entirely separate issue. Such confusion plays into the hands of the so-called ‘green’ activists.
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Tory rebels have vowed to fight the 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel cars, reports The Sun (via The GWPF).

Thirteen MPs urged the Government to think again or face public fury.

The Fair Fuel all-party parliamentary group today calls on ministers to publish a full-cost analysis of what it will mean for the economy to go electric, and how they will slash emissions.

Net zero must be fair, say MPs – some hope

Let’s see if the public can find fairness in being forced to switch to electric cars and pay a small fortune to change their home heating systems, when the time comes – which it quite soon will. All in the name of so-called ‘decarbonisation’ which won’t achieve anything positive for the climate anyway, but suits the aims of the catastrophists.

Any fairness to be found here: ‘The extra demand for electricity will overwhelm most domestic fuses, thus requiring homeowners to install new ones, as well as circuit-breakers and new distribution boards. Most will also have to rewire between their main fuse and the distribution network. In urban areas, where most electrical cabling is underground, this will involve paying for a trench to be dug between the home and the feeder circuits in the street.’? [Source: The Hidden Cost of Net Zero: Rewiring the UK].
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The government is criticised over its ‘insufficient’ public engagement practices around net zero, reports Energy Live News.

Fairness should underpin the UK’s transition to net zero.

That’s one of the recommendations of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee which urges the government to prioritise the Net Zero Review and Net Zero Strategy to increase engagement with the public, businesses and industry.

In its report named ‘Climate Assembly UK: Where are we now’, the committee suggests the government’s public engagement practices are insufficient.

GWPF welcomes Boris Johnson’s last-minute delay of gas boiler ban

Domestic gas central heating boiler

Government getting cold feet? Looks like it, after MP Steve Baker warned ‘if ministers don’t obtain the consent of the public for Net Zero’ the result could be a public revolt leading to ‘utter political fiasco’. Climate fear isn’t the weapon they seem to think it is.
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The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF) has welcomed the decision by Boris Johnson to delay the planned gas boiler ban which the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) planned to announce next week.

According to a report in today’s Times, BEIS had been due to publish its heat and building strategy next week “but this is now understood to have been delayed, possibly until the autumn. At a meeting last week Boris Johnson was said to be concerned that it did not do enough to protect consumers and wanted further safeguards….”

EU leaders brace for clash over astronomical cost of Net Zero plans

‘All pain for no gain’ springs to mind. Will voters accept this pointless self-harm to their economic welfare indefinitely, or turn against it?
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As the astronomical cost of Net Zero plans are becoming more evident by the day, EU leaders face the prospect of growing discontent and revolt over the relentless rise in energy prices and consumer pain, say The GWPF & FT.

After years of assuring voters that renewable energy will make energy cheaper and Europeans better off, EU leaders are now forced to concede that these plans will actually hurt consumers very badly.

The EU Commission is proposing a series of far-reaching measures that will drive up the cost of running a car and heating homes.

If it goes ahead, households will have to shoulder not only rising energy costs, but also the rising cost of Europe’s record carbon price in their heating bills and fuel pump prices.

John Kerry: US climate envoy criticised for optimism on clean tech

 

[image credit: latinoamericarenovable.com]

Wishful thinking is the new climate policy for fantasy planet savers. John Kerry told the BBC technologies that don’t yet exist will play a huge role in stabilising the climate. But ‘Craig Bennett from the UK Wildlife Trusts told BBC News Mr Kerry’s remarks were “frankly ridiculous”.’ How much more worthless baloney do we have to endure from hypocritical globe-trotting alarmists?
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America’s climate envoy John Kerry has been ridiculed for saying technologies that don’t yet exist will play a huge role in stabilising the climate.

Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show, he said the US was leading the world on climate change – and rapidly phasing out coal-fired power stations.

But he rejected a suggestion that Americans need to change their consumption patterns by, say, eating less meat.

Electric cars may make driving too expensive for middle classes, warns Vauxhall chief

Vauxhall Corsa-E [image credit: carmagazine.co.uk]

Car makers are getting nervous about the high cost of electric cars compared to fuel burners. Sales figures for EVs aren’t impressive, and uncompetitive prices are just one of several negative factors. Being pushed around by climate-obsessed governments is causing problems, to say the least.
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Driving could become the preserve of the rich as Britain and other countries around the world impose bans on diesel and petrol cars and embrace electrification, the boss of Vauxhall owner Stellantis has warned. The Telegraph/Yahoo Finance reporting.

A global rush to go electric could make cars too expensive for the middle classes, said Carlos Tavares, chief executive of the world’s fifth-biggest car maker – and it may even fail to significantly reduce carbon emissions because the vehicles are so much heavier than petrol ones.

The comments are the most outspoken public criticism of electrification by any car boss and will likely cause consternation in Downing Street, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said new fossil fuel cars will be banned from 2030.

Germany sets more ‘ambitious’ climate goals after court ruling

German wind farm

‘More ambitious’ here means more expensive and more difficult, but just as pointless as before. Earth’s climate is way beyond any control by politicians, German or otherwise. Folk should be careful what they wish for.
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The German government said Wednesday it would set more ambitious targets to reduce CO2 emissions after a landmark ruling by the country’s top court declared a flagship climate protection law “insufficient”, reports Phys.org.

Under the new targets, the government expects to slash emissions by 65 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels, going further than the current 55 percent reduction target, Finance Minister Olaf Scholz said at a press conference in Berlin.

The cut will reach 88 percent by 2040, with the goal of bringing Germany to carbon neutrality by 2045, five years earlier than previously expected.

The 1.5-degree global warming ‘limit’ is not impossible—but it soon will be, doomsayers fear

Image credit: livescience.com

Perpetuating the myth of human ability to control the Earth’s climate, and comparing heavily ‘adjusted’ temperature data to a time when there were few records of it on a global scale to refer to. What could possibly be less than credible there?
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Limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees C this century is a central goal of the Paris Agreement, says The Conversation / Phys.org.

In recent months, climate experts and others, including in Australia, have suggested the target is now impossible.

Whether Earth can stay within 1.5 degrees C warming involves two distinct questions.

First, is it physically, technically and economically feasible, considering the physics of the Earth system and possible rates of societal change? Science indicates the answer is “yes”—although it will be very difficult and the best opportunities for success lie in the past.

Zero-carbon aviation ‘too slow’ to meet UK climate goals

London’s Heathrow airport

‘Denial within government over the ‘unpleasant truth’ of the need to curb demand’, summarises the Telegraph. Soundbites and targets are one thing, reality another – as usual where climate obsessives calling for ‘reduced demand’ are concerned.
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‘Jet Zero’ technology will not be ready in time to meet the Government’s climate targets, a leading aerospace engineer has admitted.

Emissions from international aviation were included in national targets for the first time this week as the Government pledged to reduce greenhouse gases by 78 per cent from 1990 levels by 2035.

Its strategy relies on the development of new technology, which it is supporting through its Jet Zero council, which has the ambitious target of creating the first zero-emissions commercial flight.

But Guy Gratton, who sits on one of the Jet Zero sub committees and leads cutting-edge research into low carbon aviation at Cranfield University told the Telegraph that “the unpleasant truth” was that this would not be enough and air travel would have to be limited to meet emissions targets.

Are The Texas Blackouts A Preview Of Biden’s Coming Green New Deal?

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Yes — if it ever gets implemented as planned, and people are willing to accept the inevitably unpleasant consequences.

PA Pundits - International

By Adam Houser and Craig Rucker ~

“Don’t mess with Texas!”

Unfortunately, “messing with Texas” is exactly what so-called “renewable” energy recently did with Lone Star residents.

In mid-February, extreme cold temperatures rocked the state, as well as much of the nation.

Yet, unlike the rest of America, Texas was also hit with widespread power outages leaving millions shivering in the cold. It is believed that dozens have died in the tragedy.

Texas gets approximately 24 percent of its energy from wind and solar, which is significantly more than the rest of the nation. The national average is only 3 percent from wind and solar. As the record cold hit Texas from February 8 to February 16, renewable power generation dropped from 24 percent to an abysmal 8.3 percent as turbines froze and solar panels were covered with snow.

In the weeks that followed, Leftist politicians and the media have…

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German climate court ruling to have major impact – media commentators

According to AP: ‘Additionally, the court supported the idea that severe restrictions on freedom are acceptable when related to efforts to prevent climate change.’ Severe! You have been warned. 
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Clean Energy Wire reports:

Germany’s Constitutional Court ruling that the government’s climate policies are insufficient will have a major impact on the country’s election campaign and beyond, media commentators say.

“The political impact of the ruling is likely to be enormous,” writes Jakob Schlandt in Der Tagesspiegel. “The judges leave no doubt at all that there is a robust, actionable scientific consensus on man-made climate change,” which results in an obligation for politicians to act, Schlandt writes.

Europe’s heavy industry unlikely to survive Net Zero

Irsching 4 gas power plant, Bavaria [image credit: E.ON]

Government interfering in commercial markets for ideological reasons may well work out badly, and this looks like an obvious example. Bowing down to climate dogma doesn’t do anybody any favours.
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It is becoming ever more evident that much of Europe’s heavy industry is unlikely to survive the EU’s unilateral Net Zero policy, says The GWPF & Financial Times.

The EU’s carbon price reached a new record high of 45 euros ($54) a tonne on Tuesday.

As the carbon price is expected to increase much further in the next few years, European industrial groups are desperately calling for the introduction of a carbon border tax, hoping that it will save them from international competitors that are able to produce much cheaper.

Climate mania: California says it’s time for giant carbon vacuums

Photosynthesis: nature requires carbon dioxide

Climate mania is now in full swing as catastrophism takes over. What difference its supposed remedies will make to the climate remains to be seen – or not seen. At vast cost and effort, greenhouse gas theories of climate modellers are being assumed to be broadly correct, despite consistent failure to predict even current conditions.
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Solar panels, wind turbines and electric cars will go far in helping California and the Biden administration meet their aggressive climate goals—but not far enough, claims Phys.org.

As time runs short, scientists and government officials say the moment to break out the giant vacuums has arrived.

The art of industrial-scale carbon removal—sucking emissions from the atmosphere and storing them underground—has long been an afterthought in climate-action circles: too expensive, too controversial, too unproven.

Africans Deflect Biden’s Demand To End Fossil Fuel Use

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Climate dogma and economic reality are not compatible. If one wins, the other loses.

PA Pundits - International

By Duggan Flanakin ~

As the merger of climate change and COVID panic materializes in front of our eyes, “global leaders” have found plenty developing world voices to join the crusade to “save the planet” from carbon (dioxide) “pollution.” But like their Chinese and Indian counterparts, many Africans, from heads of state to captains of industry and beyond, intend to expand, not shrink, reliance on fossil fuels to build their economies.

According to Oxford University researcher Galina Alova, “Africa’s electricity demand is set to increase significantly as the continent strives to industrialise and improve the well-being of its people,” but those who hope for rapid decarbonization in Africa will likely be disappointed.

Alova’s research found that Africa is likely to double its electricity generation by 2030, with fossil fuels providing two-thirds of the total, hydroelectric another 18 percent, and non-hydro renewables providing less than 10 percent.

Such an energy…

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