The EU must give green light to nuclear and gas or face disaster – Net Zero Watch

Sawing off the branch of the tree you’re sitting on seems an unlikely sort of energy policy. However, it’s now the approach being pursued in much of Europe and elsewhere due to an obsession with the output of failing climate models.
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London, 22 December – Net Zero Watch has warned EU leaders to reject last ditch attempts by campaigners to prevent the EU’s planned green taxonomy for gas and nuclear energy or face a political and economic disaster.

Despite Europe facing its worst energy crisis since the Second World War, campaigners are trying to prevent the EU from easing and encouraging the investment in desperately needed new natural gas and nuclear power plants and infrastructure, says Net Zero Watch.

Both low-carbon energy sources are included in the EU Commission’s proposed “taxonomy for sustainable activities” which is reported to be tabled at the end of the year.

EU countries struggle to agree approach to COP26 climate talks

EU countries can’t agree their best rate of economic decline due to expensive and damaging so-called climate policies that won’t have any measurable effect of the type they seek. Have they considered the possibility that there is no such rate?
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European Union countries are struggling to agree their negotiating position for the COP26 climate change conference, with rifts emerging over timeframes for emissions-cutting pledges, according to officials and documents seen by Reuters, says Euractiv.

The EU is drafting its position ahead of the November COP26 talks, where countries will attempt to finish the technical rules to put the Paris Agreement into effect.

One issue they will try to settle is whether countries’ climate targets under the 2015 accord should follow a “common timeframe”.

Critics warn carbon price proposal would exacerbate energy poverty

No surprise that cranking up the cost of essentials is a greater burden for people on low incomes than for others. But nothing can be allowed to stand in the way of overblown climate obsessions, it seems. Carbon dioxide must be demonised no matter how tenuous the evidence against its tiny 0.04% share of the atmosphere, much of which pre-dates the modern era anyway.
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Energy poverty could be exacerbated ad prices rise under the European Commission’s proposed revamped emissions trading scheme, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has warned, with other stakeholders raising similar misgivings.

Proposals under the European Commission’s Fit for 55 package include creating a new emissions trading scheme to impose a carbon price on road transport and buildings (ETS II), says Euractiv.

But stakeholders are warning that the move would hit society’s most vulnerable.

Carbon border tax: Europe’s climate fortress endangers Germany’s strength, say press critics

Pointless EU climate ideology is going in the opposite direction to its economic success. Protectionist barriers tend to annoy the victims, with unknown but likely repercussions. Any idea that harmless carbon dioxide is ‘dirty’ is a bad joke, but makes endless work for meddling bureaucrats.
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The EU wants to impose a carbon border tax on Europe’s borders and thus protect domestic producers from dirtier (sic) producers from abroad, says Die Welt (via The GWPF).

Experts warn of a loophole that could hit German exporters seriously.

Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier met two Vice-Presidents of the European Commission when he visited Brussels on Friday: Margrethe Vestager, who is responsible for digital, and Valdis Dombrovskis, who is responsible for economic issues.

The CDU politician wanted to talk to both of them about the steel industry – and about how European steel producers can economically survive the tightening of EU climate targets.

The plans for a CO2 border adjustment tax are also likely to have been an issue. Because the work of the Commission on legislative proposals for such a CO2 surcharge at the borders of the EU are ready to go.

The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, which in Brussels is affectionately known as CBAM for short, aims to make imported products that are produced less climate-friendly overseas than in Europe more expensive at the borders of the EU.

This climate protection wall around the continent is intended to ensure that European producers with their higher energy costs and stricter environmental regulations remain competitive on their home market.

Full article here.

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.

EU project wants ‘Lifestyle changes to keep the world from warming up’

Money to burn?

The supposed model citizen of the future will have a prescribed minimalist lifestyle pattern to follow, using as few resources as possible and generally living small under various restrictions not seen today, if this kind of thinking – backed by EU finance – is anything to go by. All to be determined with the aid of ‘citizen thinking labs’.
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Scientists widely agree that we must limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius to avoid catastrophic climate impacts, claims Phys.org. [Talkshop comment – ignoring all the scientists that disagree with human-caused warming theories].

Environmental scientist Laura Scherer investigates how we should change lifestyles to achieve this temperature goal.

Her research is part of the 4.8-million-euro Horizon 2020 project EU 1.5° Lifestyles.

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.

Europe’s Green Deal in trouble as Biden administration warns EU against carbon border tax

European Union map [image credit: Wikipedia]

Call it the Grim New Deal. Everyone must dance to the EU’s climate-obsessive tune – they wish – or pay trade penalties. But opposition is already mounting.
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Europe’s Green Deal and its planned carbon border tax are in serious trouble as the Biden administration raises concerns about its potentially disastrous fallout on international trade and relations, says The GWPF.

According to the European Commission the EU’s Green Deal and its 2050 Net Zero target are threatening the very survival of Europe’s industries unless a carbon border tax is enforced upon countries that are not adopting the same expensive Net Zero policies.

LEAK: EU considers expanding role of gas in green finance

Germany’s main gas supplier: Russia

Countries like Germany must know that once all their nuclear and coal plants have been closed (by order), their security of electricity supply would be heading towards zero without gas and imports. Saying it’s just a question of peak demand is nonsense, and they know that as well, but still pursue their delusional energy policies. What happens after 2050 when the gas is turned off is a mystery.
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The European Commission is reconsidering the position of gas in its sustainable finance taxonomy by recognising the fossil fuel’s role in keeping the lights on during peak electricity demand, according to a leaked document seen by EURACTIV.

The EU executive is currently drafting a rulebook for sustainable finance, drawing up a complete set of criteria defining what can be considered as a “green” investment in the European Union.

Europe’s unforeseen (?) renewables problem

Unforeseen? They must be joking. It has been painfully foreseeable for years to many of us, except maybe some of the more blinkered climate obsessives. The trouble is, as the article notes, ‘there is no silver bullet solution’ (except ones they don’t want to hear about).
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As the share of renewables in the EU energy mix increase, so do problems with grid overloads and blackouts, says OilPrice.com.

Earlier this month, something happened in Europe. It didn’t get as much media attention as the EU’s massive funding plans for its energy transition, but it was arguably as important, if not more.

A fault occurred at a substation in Croatia and caused an overload in parts of the grid, which spread beyond the country’s borders. This created a domino effect that caused a blackout and prompted electricity supply reductions as far as France and Italy.

Conform to EU’s ‘carbon’ obsession – or pay its trading price

H/T The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF)

How is this dogmatic ‘do as we do or else’ approach, of trying to impose narrow-minded climate views on the whole world, not going to stoke up a pointless trade war?
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If UN climate summit (COP26) fails to deliver, the EU will press ahead with unilateral carbon border taxes, EU official warns.

The European Union’s proposed carbon border charge is essential to the survival of its own industries and the bloc will impose the levy on non-EU competitors unless they commit to lowering their emissions, the bloc’s climate policy chief said on Monday.

The EU’s executive Commission is expected to propose its carbon border adjustment policy before the end of June as part of a broader package of climate laws aiming to cut emissions by 55% before the end of the decade.

8 January 2021: Europe just skirted blackout disaster

‘The donkey goes on to the ice until it breaks’ – German proverb [image credit: evwind.es]

European leaders are too fond of their so-called climate policies to take much notice of practicalities like engineering limitations. The fragility of the power supply can only get worse under existing policies, if these warning signals are ignored.
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On 8 January 2021, the European electricity grid only just missed a large-scale collapse, says The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF).

Around 13:04 p.m. there was a sharp drop in frequency that could have paralysed Europe. The cause was apparently a power failure in Romania.

According to the Austrian blackout expert Herbert Saurugg, it was the second most serious major incident in the European network to date.

EU budget: 30% of funds will go into ‘green investments’

Investments in what, exactly? Certainly not in reliable electricity supply – quite the opposite in fact. And where will all the retired turbines, solar panels, lithium batteries etc. go after their short lifetimes?
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30% of the EU’s €1.8 trillion budget and recovery plan for 2021-2027 will be made available for the green transition, reports Euractiv.

That amount is no longer up for negotiation and the focus must now shift to spending it well, said Kadri Simson, the EU’s energy commissioner.

“Naturally I understand the wish to have an even greater pool of funds available,” said Simson, who spoke at a EURACTIV event on Thursday (29 October).

“However, I think now it is important to have a rapid agreement on the recovery package and that the money is used well,” she added.

Germany hopes to make Australia one of its hydrogen suppliers

Nyngan solar plant, Australia [image credit: Wikipedia]

This sounds every bit as inefficient as the UK importing wood pellets from North America on an industrial scale, to generate electricity. How the hydrogen might be sent across the world in a ‘green’ way is not mentioned.
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A bilateral agreement aimed at increasing German imports of hydrogen produced from solar power plants in Australia could set a milestone in efforts to establish a global hydrogen market, says Euractiv.

Australia said it wants to become “a powerhouse in hydrogen production and exports” after signing what it described as “a landmark agreement” with Germany on 11 September.

The agreement initiated a joint feasibility study that will look into establishing a green hydrogen supply chain between the two countries.

Australia’s partnership with Germany came in addition to similar deals on green hydrogen made with other countries like Japan, South Korea and Singapore, the Australian trade minister said in a statement.

EU report about vanishing beaches was alarmist and wrong, scientists say

Tropical beach

Another day, another false climate alarm bites the dust – or sand. It’s ‘flawed computer models’ time, again.
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Sandy beaches are much less vulnerable to rising seas than was claimed in a recent European Commission study which caused “unnecessary alarm”, research has found.

Beaches will survive by migrating landwards as the sea level rises as long as they are given space to move and not impeded by sea walls and other structures on the coast, the research shows.

The new findings contradict claims made in March in a study by the commission’s joint research centre, which supplies scientific evidence to guide EU policy, reports The Times (via The GWPF).

The study was publicised with a press release headlined “Climate Change: Life’s a (disappearing) beach”.

EU to pass law to change the weather, they hope

Money to burn?

EU leaders may flatter themselves that they’re doing something that matters, but it’s wildly optimistic to think the climate could be changed – at vast expense – by passing laws based on unproven shaky theories. What planet are they on?
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European Union environment ministers meet in Luxembourg on Friday to seek a deal on a landmark climate change law, but they will leave a decision on a 2030 emissions-cutting target for leaders to discuss in December, reports Yahoo News.

The climate law will form the basis for Europe’s plan to slash greenhouse gas emissions, which will reshape all sectors, from transport to heavy industry, and require hundreds of billions of euros in annual investments.

It will fix in law the EU target to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and define the rules for how future EU climate targets are decided, if new scientific evidence requires more ambitious aims.

Ministers, who take decisions by majority, will seek a deal on these parts of the law on Friday.

Ecologist journal: The unsustainability of the electric car

The only viable option for carbophobes is significant degrowth (their term) according to this article. With present delusional plans to control global warming the numbers just don’t add up for ‘greenhouse gas’ obsessives, so even greater futile sacrifices are demanded.
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Shifting to electric vehicles while maintaining current travelling habits will not deliver emissions reductions required by the European Green Deal and Paris Agreement.

The European Green Deal sets ambitious targets for decarbonising the European economy.

This includes a European Commission proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030, with the European Parliament’s Environment Committee demanding a more ambitious 60 percent cut.

The EGD also calls for the EU to become carbon-neutral by 2050.

Brussels shoots down Dutch plan to subsidize hydrogen to replace fossil fuels

Irrational fear of a minor trace gas in the atmosphere, largely based on the output of failing climate models, continues to disrupt national energy policies. EU leaders add to the chaos and confusion.

The European Commission turned down Dutch plans to support hydrogen production with subsidies, reports the NL Times.

The government of the Netherlands wants to use hydrogen instead of other fossil fuels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but because the Dutch plans got shot down, this will not be continued, Climate Minister Eric Wiebes told the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Parliament, on Monday, according to FD.

The government saw possibilities to replace oil, natural gas and coal by hydrogen, especially within heavy industry.

EU’s stricter CO2 targets “impossible”, say automakers

Money to burn?

The EU pushes ever further into its climate fantasy land, where so-called targets can be raised at will and the victims of them miraculously obey, regardless of any real world obstacles like actually selling cars. It prefers noises made by teenage ‘activists’ to anything said by the wealth-creating vehicle makers. The bill for this insanity is now expected to top a trillion euros every three years. Where are such gigantic sums supposed to come from?
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The EU’s target to reduce its industrial emissions by 2030 should increase from 40% to “at least 55%”, European Commission (EC) president Ursula von der Leyen said in her State of the Union address.

That would seriously burden Europe’s auto industry, says Fleet Europe.

The cause of decarbonisation is better served by better policies rather than stricter targets, ACEA counters.

Brexit: Ireland’s land bridge to the continent boosts UK ’emissions’

Dublin-Holyhead ferry link [image credit: Stena Line]

The report below refers to air pollution but ignores carbon dioxide emissions, which are *supposed to be* a much bigger problem according to climate obsessives.
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A no-deal Brexit could cost up to 5,000 jobs in Ireland’s fisheries, but it’s not just access to the UK’s coastal waters that the country is hoping to hold on to in any post-Brexit arrangement, says The Conversation @ Phys.org.

Perhaps more important to Ireland is the UK’s motorway network.

Every year, more than 150,000 trucks transport over 3 million tons of freight to and from Ireland to the rest of the single market across the UK land bridge.

One route involves goods being shipped from Dublin to Holyhead by ferry and then by road to Dover before being shipped to Calais.

It’s difficult to overestimate the importance of this land bridge for Ireland.