Tag: EU rules

Norway’s electricity crisis is about to hit Britain

Kathryn Porter raises new issues concerning our reliance on electricity from Norway:

A scenic view of a tranquil lake surrounded by mountains, with autumn foliage reflected in the water under a soft sky.

From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

By Paul Homewood

h/t Philip Bratby

Kathryn Porter raises new issues concerning our reliance on electricity from Norway:

Headline reading 'Norway’s electricity crisis is about to hit Britain' by Kathryn Porter on a light background.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/08/31/norways-electricity-crisis-is-about-to-hit-britain/

We’ve known for a few months that Norway’s political parties are backing away from exporting power to Europe and the UK. When we are short of power, importing over the interconnector has the knock-on effect of pushing up prices in Norway, which the public there are naturally getting sick and tired of.

It has got to the stage where they are prepared to ignore EU rules.

Now there is another spanner in the works, as the Telegraph reports:

There is a real chance that Norway will run out of water this winter, meaning it will not be able to maintain electricity supplies to Great Britain. Norway could be forced to restrict exports under new powers which allow them to be restricted if there is a prospect of hydrological shortages. And not just once the shortages manifest.

With elections to the Norwegian parliament on Sept 8, this is a hot button issue – as low water levels lead to high prices for consumers.

Reservoir levels in southern Norway are now well below the 20-year average and heading towards 20-year lows. This is hugely concerning. Norway has almost no pumping capability which means that once the water has been used, it will not be replaced until it rains or the snow melts.

The south of Norway is the main region of tension. This is where the interconnectors to Britain and Germany land, and where the population is highest.

Since these two interconnectors opened in 2021, the region has seen higher prices. The issue of high and volatile prices has led to them becoming an issue of concern among the general public.

Earlier this year, the governing coalition collapsed when the Centre Party left over disagreements with the Labour Party over interconnectors and energy policy. The Centre Party opposed implementation of the EU 4th Energy Package which is a legal requirement, and wants to cancel the interconnector deals with Britain and Germany.

One point Kathryn makes is that Norway does not have any pumping capacity, so once the water has gone, it has gone.

I have repeatedly complained about Britain’s increasing reliance on importing power, which makes a mockery of Miliband’s claims of energy security.

Now the birds could be coming home to roost!

Labour set to align Britain with EU net zero laws

Sir Keir Starmer is poised to accept the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and align with EU rules to hit net zero.

From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT

By Paul Homewood

Labour to inflict yet more pain on households:

The Telegraph report:

Sir Keir Starmer is poised to accept the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and align with EU rules to hit net zero.

The Government wants to rejoin the EU’s Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) carbon market, which it left when Brexit took effect at the end of 2020.

But The Telegraph can reveal it will mean changing British rules to match EU laws, accepting decisions from a foreign court and pressure to stay in lockstep with Brussels’ net zero policies.

Britain set up its own UK ETS, which also aims to incentivise companies to pollute less, but its carbon price is much lower than the EU’s larger and more successful market.

Rejoining the EU ETS will increase the UK carbon price, making it more expensive to pollute and cutting emissions further and faster, which will help reach the net zero goal but could increase costs for consumers.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/labour-set-to-align-britain-with-eu-net-zero-laws/ar-AA1BW9xw

When the Telegraph says “could increase costs”, they are wrong. Costs definitely will increase.

Currently EU carbon prices are much higher than the UK’s, currently around £59/tonne, against the UK’s £42.

https://www.catalyst-commercial.co.uk/works/mar25-energy-market-brief/

Higher carbon prices will directly impact CCGT costs, thus increasing wholesale power prices, which are primarily determined by gas power.

Instead of aligning UK carbon prices with the EU, we should be abolishing the whole system, in turn reducing energy bills.

Australian government is coming for your Utes, SUVs and cheap fuel

Just before Christmas the government quietly put out new emissions rules they know Australians won’t like. “Tis the season for dropping press release bombs.

By Jo Nova

We elect an Australian government but get the EU rules

Just before Christmas the government quietly put out new emissions rules they know Australians won’t like. “Tis the season for dropping press release bombs.

Australia will adopt ‘Euro 6’ fuel standard by late 2025

Jacob Greber, The Australian Financial Review

Tough new petrol standards will be introduced at the end of 2025, potentially increasing the cost of fuel while expanding consumer access to leading-edge, mostly European, ultra-efficient vehicles.

By forcing Australians to buy expensive, unreliable cars prone to exploding, the government will stop families going on holidays, burn down a few homes, and keep friends from visiting each other, unless the nation of petrol-heads keep driving their old cars and Utes, Cuba style. For all this pain, the new rules will “slash 18 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions” which is equivalent to taking 280,000 imaginary cars off the road, or cutting 0.15% of annual emissions from China. i.e. nothing.

All Peter Dutton, the opposition leader in Australia needs to do to win the next election is to stand up for drivers in Australia.

Apparently Australians need to import more EU cars to save German industry or something:

…the government aims to spur greater imports of vehicles that car makers currently do not sell in Australia because the fuel is too dirty for their highly calibrated engines.

The press release reads like it was written by the EU aristocratic snobs, not the Australian Labor Party.

This is no place for an EV.

The government will force you to subsidize the EVs while pretending the manufacturers are doing it:

The trick in the new Command Economy is to make devious rules that force the market to come up with strange and expensive ways to satisfy communist rules.

The new rules mean cars and light commercial vehicles sold from December 2025 will need to meet so-called “Euro 6d noxious emissions standards”. Years in the making, they are separate to a push by the government to introduce a “fuel efficiency standard” that would force car makers to sell more EVs by imposing penalties on the sales of higher-emitting vehicles such as utes, SUVs and four-wheel-drives.

In other words, if the punters buy the cars they want, and not the cars the government wants, then the prices of the “limited” number of popular cars will rise. The penalties that will have to be imposed by the car makers are really subsidies in disguise. They will add thousands in costs to the popular cars so they can use the extra profits to sell the unpopular cars at discount prices.

The net result is that billionaires will keep buying whatever they want to buy, and if it’s an EV it will be subsidized by the workers, who will have to pay more for their own “higher emitting” cars that will still be able to drive as far as the outer suburbs, or God forbid, a country town.

This is a boilerplate policy  that been copied from overseas. It’s a blueprint of the global billionaire class. It would mean newer smaller petrol cars will subsidize bigger EV’s, and as Craig Kelly says, put lives at risk on country roads. The small car passengers will be more likely to die in crashes with cows, trees and heavier EV’s. Momentum always wins. Or our children will only be able to drive cheap Chinese-EV’s.

Any EV will be a car that the government and insurance companies can track, shut down, or spy on. (Read those plans here).

By golly, politicians can smoothly lie:

Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Catherine King said the changes would save lives.

“The changes, along with fuel efficiency standards are part of delivering cleaner, cheaper-to-run cars and tackling transport costs for Australian families and businesses,” said Ms King.

 Time Australians stood up and paid attention.

Those elected are not on our side,
And their contempt for us barely hide,
As the truth slowly dawns,
That these globalist pawns,
Are all to the doom cult allied.

— Ruairi

h/t to Ben Beatty and Craig Kelly

Roadkill in the Central Desert Highway | Both car photos by Jo either in the Great Victoria or the Gibson Desert.