Net Zero, the true cost.

[sinkov]

"Two things in life are certain, death and the Government failing to understand taxes. Early in 2022, when the latest North Sea windfall tax was first being considered, both industry and think tanks warned of the certain consequences of slaughtering the golden goose.

As I said at the time:

“Politicians calling for new windfall taxes on the North Sea mislead the public by ignoring the windfall tax that already exists and the damage done to investment and taxes by previous efforts to raise it. The last time the rate was that high, from 2006-16, it caused a collapse in investment; from £16bn to £4bn a year by 20202. It yielded negative taxes for two years. The Government had to cut the rate and offer allowances to entice companies back. Raising £1.2bn as an election stunt will further put £43bn of pledged investment at risk. This is ‘golden goose’ politics. Every time the North Sea lays an egg, politicians try to kill it with higher taxes.” – City AM, May 2022

Lo and behold in 2023, amid an ongoing energy crisis and European war, with the new profit tax rates at 75% and the opposition calling for the rate to be even higher, firms are deserting the North Sea. The latest to do so is the largest. Harbour Energy, who employ 1,200 people in Aberdeen, plan to shed one-third of their staff. They signalled the danger in January, and again in early March, in the hope of some relief in the Spring Budget or ‘Powering Up Britain’ energy strategy. Relief was, however, not forthcoming.

The Government has had a year of similar warnings from Total, Ithaca, Shell, BP, and Brindex (who represent independents). OEUK, the trade body for large and diversified energy companies, claimed 90% of firms were cutting investment. Five hundred million barrels of oil have already been lost – akin to a year of the UK’s output – and production will fall 15% per year by 2030. It notes some positive shift to investments in offshore wind, but that it is held back by its own five-year 45% windfall tax on energy generators and the burdensome regulatory climate.

Despite promising ‘greater energy independence’, the Government’s policies have in practice delivered the precise opposite: greater dependence on imported fossil fuels, with those imports subsidised through the domestic energy price guarantee.

The hope was that domestic energy bills could be subsidised by windfall taxes – but again, in practice, revenues are set to collapse as production falls. This could be a classic case of the Laffer Curve: high taxes yielding lower returns to the Treasury. Only this is substantially faster and more permanent, given the parliamentary consensus for prioritising Net Zero virtue signalling over economic competence."

[The Bedlington Terrier]

I have read this issue fervently for the last four years.

We have got nowhere despite chucking billions at it.

Fossil fuels are still being burned to provide electricity to fuel electric and hybrid vehicles.

It's like watching a Jack Russell chase it's tail on Southport Beach.

Solar and wind are viable alternatives but of course how can you reasonably in all conscience tax the sun and wind?

[sinkov]

Just read yesterday that there's a bit of a panic on, because the number of charging points is not keeping pace with the increase in the number of EVs.

Well, hello..........

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Just read yesterday that there's a bit of a panic on, because the number of charging points is not keeping pace with the increase in the number of EVs.

Well, hello..........

I'm not certain about the veracity of this but one of my neighbours says he dare not travel out of his "Chargeable Comfort Zone" for fear of being unable to re-charge his electric SUV. He's just bought an additional petrol fuelled vehicle as "back up".

[sinkov]

I'm not certain about the veracity of this but one of my neighbours says he dare not travel out of his "Chargeable Comfort Zone" for fear of being unable to re-charge his electric SUV. He's just bought an additional petrol fuelled vehicle as "back up".

I can see why someone would buy one if they had a charging point at home and wasn't going to travel far from home, why anyone contemplating long journeys would buy one is beyond me.

[sinkov]

"WE HAVE Ed Miliband to thank for the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), the statutory body established under the 2008 Climate Change Act to advise the government on climate matters. It is supposedly independent, but is no such thing: it is a key part of the climate alarmist establishment.

The members have just thrown their toys out of the pram, complaining that the government has not been taking their warnings seriously. The BBC report: ‘England is not ready for the unavoidable impacts of global warming, the government’s advisers on climate change say in a new report. The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) said the government hasn’t achieved any of its targets and needed a policy ‘step change’ to avoid loss of life . . . Over the last couple of years, England has faced a series of extreme weather events, likely made worse by climate change.’

The claim about extreme weather is of course an outright lie; English weather is no more extreme than it has been in the past, and other then being slightly warmer the climate has barely changed at all.

So where is their evidence? The BBC offer a few examples, for instance a dry February this year: ‘Andrew Blenkiron’s 6,000-acre farm in Thetford, Norfolk saw just 2.4mm of rain in February compared to the local average for that month of 43mm. He has now been forced to cut back on plans to plant potatoes, onions, parsnips and carrots by around a fifth. He said: “Farmers are at the very forefront of climate change on a day-to-day basis . . . we are used to working with these issues, but we are concerned with the extremes we are now facing.” But he said that farmers needed more money from government to implement their climate plans, especially if they involved new infrastructure projects like reservoirs.’

February this year was very dry in East Anglia, though not as dry as 1891 and 1951. But much more significantly, this winter was actually slightly wetter than average, and winter rainfall has actually been increasing since the 19th century.

In other words, what Farmer Blenkiron, who just happens to be the NFU county chairman for Suffolk, is complaining about is weather, not climate change, which he is using as an excuse to extort money from taxpayers."

[Supersub6]

Abraham Lincoln was really well ahead of his time and was obviously aware of forthcoming events. His quote still sums up this whole fiasco:-

“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.”

[sinkov]

The Eco Loons strike again. This is what happens when you let lunatics run the asylum.

"Net zero fuel failure triggers train chaos across South West. Trains forced to run reduced timetable as algae produced by green fuels blocks engines".

"Green fuels have been blamed for almost cutting Salisbury and Exeter off from rail services to London. South Western Railway has been forced to run a reduced timetable after biofuels used to cut carbon emissions clogged up train engines’ fuel filters. Many diesel-powered trains have been run on biofuels as part of a push towards net zero in recent years. Biodiesel is a renewable, biodegradable fuel manufactured domestically from vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled restaurant grease. But it is understood that engines were blocked by algae, which forms “organic growths” in train fuel tanks. The algae forms if biofuel sits unused for a period of time and is not treated with chemical additives."

[The Bedlington Terrier]

Could you possibly make this $hit up Sinkov?

[sinkov]

Could you possibly make this $hit up Sinkov?

The latest one mon ami, is that because EVs, due to their batteries, are much heavier than conventional vehicles, they can be double the weight, all multi story car parks are at risk of collapse once they become full of them, they're all going to require checking, and possibly re-inforcing, because they weren't designed to withstand the load these monsters will place on them.

Although they aren't mentioned in the piece I do wonder if car ferries are going to be impacted as well. They must have a maximum load they can safely sail with, are they seaworthy if EVs double that load ?

"Car parks could collapse under the weight of electric cars. Electric vehicles are typically much heavier than petrol or diesel cars, with their batteries accounting for a lot of the extra weight"

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/202...ina%20Mark%201.

Just another day in the asylum.