{"id":258489,"date":"2023-05-21T17:29:50","date_gmt":"2023-05-21T15:29:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=258489"},"modified":"2023-05-21T17:29:54","modified_gmt":"2023-05-21T15:29:54","slug":"lord-frost-warns-hurtling-towards-net-zero-at-any-cost-will-be-a-mistake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=258489","title":{"rendered":"Lord Frost warns: Hurtling towards net zero at any cost will be a\u00a0mistake"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Paul Homewood<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If only we had more guys like David Frost with a bit of common sense:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With 800,000 British car-making jobs on the line because we\u2019re not making enough batteries for electric vehicles, leading motor manufacturers are demanding renegotiated trade rules with the EU to give us more time to catch up.
Lord Frost, Britain\u2019s chief negotiator for Brexit from 2019 to 2021, is clear where the fault is.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cThe underlying problem is that we\u2019re rushing at electrification of cars far too fast for the technologies we\u2019ve got,\u201d he insists.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cWhat it shows is that the expectation we had in the trade agreement when we negotiated it was that things would have moved by 2024, and that is not true.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Vauxhall\u2019s parent company, Stellantis, told MPs earlier this week that it would be unable to keep a commitment to make electric vehicles in the UK without changes to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


From next year, under the agreement, 45 percent of an electric vehicle\u2019s parts should originate in the UK or EU to qualify for tariff-free trade between the two.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Without meeting the requirements, cars made in the UK would face a 10 percent tariff if sold in the EU \u2013 \u00adrendering them uncompetitive. Electric car batteries are mainly sourced from Asia and can be up to 50 percent of a car\u2019s value.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


But it\u2019s not only car manufacturing, Lord Frost believes, but that is also under intense pressure from the rush to achieve net zero \u2013 a government commitment to ensure the UK reduces its greenhouse gas emissions by 100 percent from 1990 levels by 2050.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


In an exclusive interview with the Daily Express, Lord Frost insists: \u201cEveryone can see we\u2019re not ready. The [electricity supply] grid is not ready, the costs are too high; all we\u2019re doing is needlessly causing problems for our own industry.\u201d
Not only that but the poorest are hit hardest by the transformation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cWe are told constantly that net zero 2050 is not only something that must be done, but it\u2019s also something that\u2019s going to be good for you and is going to increase economic growth and everyone\u2019s going to be better off,\u201d he says.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cI don\u2019t think that is true. We are replacing a lot of perfectly good ways of generating electricity with gas and nuclear for bad ways of generating it with wind and solar, so why would you not expect costs to go up?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cIf we\u2019re requiring poor technologies like heat pumps to be installed then that\u2019s going to hit the poorest worst. If it\u2019s good technology, people will install it anyway.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cIf it\u2019s bad and expensive technology, the Government has got to make people do it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Once dubbed the \u201cgreatest Frost since the Great Frost of 1709\u201d by Boris Johnson, the 58-year-old is considered by many Tories to be a leading voice of common sense and even a potential future party leader.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


A \u00adformer diplomat, civil servant and Minister for State, he will be giving the annual lecture next week at the Global Warming Policy Foundation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


He strongly believes the Government\u2019s policy of net zero going too fast will cause considerable damage to the UK economy, making us all poorer, especially the less well-off.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Lord Frost does not dispute that climate change is happening. Nor is he repudiating the need for green policies to combat global warming.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cBut that\u2019s not the same as saying we\u2019re in climate crisis or emergency, and it\u2019s not the same as saying the only choice we have is to do net zero by 2050,\u201d he says.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cThose are political choices \u2013 they\u2019re not scientific choices. And with all political choices, you\u2019ve got to weigh up the pros and cons; the costs against the benefits. And that\u2019s what we\u2019re not doing. You don\u2019t have to deny science to say we need to look at the way we\u2019re going about this and whether it makes sense.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Lord Frost says what\u2019s especially frustrating about this debate is that many people assume if you\u2019re sceptical about net zero then you\u2019re not interested in protecting the environment. \u201cThey\u2019re not the same thing at all,\u201d he insists.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cWe all want a cleaner environment. That has nothing to do with the net zero ideology. When this country was first industrialising, the environment was much more polluted than it is now. What has enabled us to improve the environment is economic growth; more efficient ways of doing things. When we get richer, we can spend on clearing up pollution.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


With China set to dominate the electric car market in Europe, and the US supplying us with shale gas, the former minister is incensed we are making other countries richer while making ourselves poorer.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cIt obviously makes no sense as a policy,\u201d he says. \u201cAs a country, we\u2019re [responsible for] about two per cent of global emissions. We could shut down the British economy tomorrow and it would make no difference to the nature of the problem.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cWe are helping [China] by off-shoring our own production and making energy more expensive. We\u2019re going along with that and making ourselves weaker. It makes no sense in a world that\u2019s got more dangerous.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Energy security has to be a prime concern for Britain, especially as we import so much of our energy from unreliable foreign nations.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cMore than ever now, since the Ukraine War, we need an energy system that is productive,\u201d says Frost. \u201cOne that we can rely on and we have control over. We\u2019re going in the other direction. We\u2019re installing unreliable technology that has to be backed up. The wind doesn\u2019t blow all the time so you need a back-up to fill the gap. Well, why would that not be more expensive?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cWhy not just have the back-up and forget about the wind farms? With our current state of technology, the idea that renewables are going to make us more secure seems to be a total fallacy.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


He stresses how it\u2019s all the more frustrating when we know what the solution is.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cIt\u2019s gas, moving to nuclear \u2013 that\u2019s the way of reducing emissions in a way that powers the economy,\u201d Lord Frost adds.
\u201cIt isn\u2019t reducing our capacity to produce energy, crushing the economy, and making people live in a different way. I don\u2019t think people are going to put up with that.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Lord Frost is exasperated by the current moratorium on shale gas exploration.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cWe have so much shale gas in this country that we could be tapping. A shale gas facility that\u2019s about the size of Parliament Square can produce the same amount of power as a wind farm 10 times the size of Hyde Park.
\u201cThis is not a disruptive technology unless your vision of the future is that we don\u2019t have any industry. All of us politicians have to care about voters but I think, in the interest of the country, you have to take on the argument.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


There\u2019s a suggestion that we have removed the shackles of the EU, only to replace them with net zero.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


\u201cYes, a lot of the net zero legislation is inherited through the EU and it is now in our hands to change it, but we don\u2019t seem anxious to do so,\u201d Frost says.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


“I think people have got captured by this ideology. They believe the messaging without thinking about it rigorously.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Full interview<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With 800,000 British car-making jobs on the line because we\u2019re not making enough batteries for electric vehicles, leading motor manufacturers are demanding renegotiated trade rules with the EU to give us more time to catch up.
\nLord Frost, Britain\u2019s chief negotiator for Brexit from 2019 to 2021, is clear where the fault is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":258494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818090,691818561,691818740,691818154],"class_list":{"0":"post-258489","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-climate-warning","9":"tag-eu","10":"tag-ev-batteries","11":"tag-net-zero","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/01c8fd8cd8eabbb3620584d8836078677.jpeg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-15fb","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":259644,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=259644","url_meta":{"origin":258489,"position":0},"title":"Lord Frost: Net zero route \u201cinevitably wasteful and\u00a0damaging\u201d","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"29\/05\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe battery storage technology does not exist, hydro storage can\u2019t be developed on anything like the right scale, and hydrogen remains costly and unproven. Moreover, it is surely obvious that renewables plus back up will be more expensive than just the back up.","rel":"","context":"In \"battery storage technology\"","block_context":{"text":"battery storage technology","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=battery-storage-technology"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/00Image-energy-efficiency.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/00Image-energy-efficiency.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/00Image-energy-efficiency.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/00Image-energy-efficiency.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/00Image-energy-efficiency.jpg?fit=1200%2C794&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":272157,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=272157","url_meta":{"origin":258489,"position":1},"title":"Lord Frost ridicules Whitehall renewables cost estimates","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/08\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Lord Frost has called on ministers and civil servants to come clean about the cost of wind power, echoing last week\u2019s statement by Lord Hammond. Frost\u2019s comments come after new renewables cost estimates from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero were widely ridiculed on social media.","rel":"","context":"In \"cost of wind power\"","block_context":{"text":"cost of wind power","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=cost-of-wind-power"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-273.png?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-273.png?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-273.png?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-273.png?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-273.png?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":212863,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=212863","url_meta":{"origin":258489,"position":2},"title":"Ex-Cabinet minister Lord Frost says there is no \u2018climate emergency\u2019 and Britain should end focus on \u2018medieval\u2019 wind power","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/08\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Lord Frost despaired at how Britons are told by climate activists to \u2018stop travelling, live local, eat less, stop eating meat, turn our lights out, and generally to stop being a burden\u2019.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-320.png?fit=668%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-320.png?fit=668%2C768&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/image-320.png?fit=668%2C768&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":289124,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=289124","url_meta":{"origin":258489,"position":3},"title":"Lord Frost calls for Bank of England climate role to go","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"29\/11\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"From Net Zero Watch The former chief Brexit negotiator Lord Frost has welcomed a Parliamentary report that called for the Bank of England to lose its remit to fight climate change. The report, from the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee, was published on Monday, and noted that numerous witnesses\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Bank of England\"","block_context":{"text":"Bank of England","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=bank-of-england"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/0NZW_Frost.png?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/0NZW_Frost.png?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/0NZW_Frost.png?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/0NZW_Frost.png?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/0NZW_Frost.png?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":196470,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=196470","url_meta":{"origin":258489,"position":4},"title":"Former minister warns Britons of risk of energy rationing","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"18\/04\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"49272934 - solar panels with wind turbines and electricity pylon at sunset. clean energy concept. Lord Frost was unimpressed by the UK\u2019s newly announced energy plan. Government bluster about hydrogen and biomass has minimal credibility. They believe the climate guff and all decisions flow from that. 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