{"id":258561,"date":"2023-05-22T09:47:29","date_gmt":"2023-05-22T07:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=258561"},"modified":"2023-05-22T09:47:32","modified_gmt":"2023-05-22T07:47:32","slug":"the-uks-net-zero-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=258561","title":{"rendered":"The UK\u2019s Net Zero Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"542\" data-attachment-id=\"258564\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=258564\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/020181021_194518.webp?fit=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1024,768\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"020181021_194518\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/020181021_194518.webp?fit=723%2C542&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/020181021_194518.webp?resize=723%2C542&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-258564\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/020181021_194518.webp?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/020181021_194518.webp?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/020181021_194518.webp?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/020181021_194518.webp?resize=800%2C600&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/020181021_194518.webp?resize=400%2C300&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/020181021_194518.webp?resize=200%2C150&amp;ssl=1 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From <a href=\"http:\/\/cliscep.com\/2023\/05\/21\/the-uks-net-zero-policy\/\">Climate Scepticism<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/cliscep.com\/author\/guenier\/\">ROBIN GUENIER<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"324\" data-attachment-id=\"258565\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=258565\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/00shutterstock_495170521-780x350-1.jpg?fit=780%2C350&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"780,350\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"00shutterstock_495170521-780&amp;#215;350-1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/00shutterstock_495170521-780x350-1.jpg?fit=723%2C324&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/00shutterstock_495170521-780x350-1.jpg?resize=723%2C324&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-258565\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/00shutterstock_495170521-780x350-1.jpg?w=780&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/00shutterstock_495170521-780x350-1.jpg?resize=300%2C135&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/00shutterstock_495170521-780x350-1.jpg?resize=768%2C345&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1. It\u2019s unachievable.&nbsp;<\/strong>Many vehicles and machines (used for example in agriculture, heavy transportation, emergencies, commercial shipping, aviation, the military, mining and construction) and products (for example concrete, steel, plastics, fertiliser, pharmaceuticals, anaesthetics, lubricants, paints, adhesives, tyres and asphalt) essential to our lives and wellbeing require the combustion of fossil fuels or are made from oil derivatives; there are no easily deployable, commercially viable alternatives. Then (a) the complex engineering and cost challenges of establishing a reliable net zerogrid by 2035 (2030 for a Labour government) \u2013 not least the need for a huge increase in grid capacity \u2013 and (b) the vast scale of what\u2019s involved (immense amounts of space and increasingly expensive material are required because the \u2018energy density\u2019 of wind and sun is so low) make it unlikely that the UK will be able to generate sufficient renewable electricity for current needs let alone the mandated electric vehicles and heat pumps. In any case, the UK doesn\u2019t have enough technical managers, engineers, electricians, plumbers, mechanics and other tradespeople (probably about a million) to do the many tasks that would be essential to achieve net zero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2. It would be socially and economically<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>disastrous<\/strong>. That\u2019s especially so because the Government\u2019s all-renewable energy project doesn\u2019t include a fully costed (or indeed any) engineering plan for the provision of comprehensive grid-scale back-up when there\u2019s little or no wind or sun \u2013 meaning electricity blackouts that would cause damaging problems for millions of people, including serious health consequences affecting in particular the poor and vulnerable, and tip the UK\u2019s economy even deeper into decline, further blighting our already weakened industries. Moreover: (a) as China essentially controls the supply of key materials (in particular so-called rare earths) needed for renewables, the UK would increase its already dangerous dependence on it, putting its energy and overall security at serious risk; and (b) the vast mining and mineral processing operations required for renewables are already causing appalling environmental damage and dreadful human suffering, affecting in particular fragile, unspoilt ecosystems and many of the world\u2019s poorest and most vulnerable people; the continued pursuit of net zero would make all this far worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a><\/a><strong>3. Above all, it\u2019s pointless<\/strong>. Most major non-Western countries \u2013 the source of over 75% of CO<sub>2<\/sub>&nbsp;emissions and home to 84% of humanity \u2013 don\u2019t regard emission reduction as a priority and, either exempt from or ignoring any obligation to reduce their emissions, are focused instead on economic and social development, poverty eradication and energy security. As a result, global emissions are increasing and are set to continue to increase for the foreseeable future whatever the UK (the source of less than 1% of global emissions) may or may not do. It therefore makes absolutely no sense for Britain to pursue this unachievable and disastrous policy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many vehicles and machines (used for example in agriculture, heavy transportation, emergencies, commercial shipping, aviation, the military, mining and construction) and products (for example concrete, steel, plastics, fertiliser, pharmaceuticals, anaesthetics, lubricants, paints, adhesives, tyres and asphalt) essential to our lives and wellbeing require the combustion of fossil fuels or are made from oil derivatives; there are no easily deployable, commercially viable alternatives. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":258564,"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":[691818279,691818076,691818154],"class_list":{"0":"post-258561","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-blackouts","9":"tag-co2","10":"tag-net-zero","12":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/020181021_194518.webp?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-15gl","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":285731,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=285731","url_meta":{"origin":258561,"position":0},"title":"The UK\u2019s Net Zero Policy \u2013 an\u00a0Update","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/29\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Net Zero would be socially and economically\u00a0disastrous. From Climate Scepticism BY\u00a0ROBIN GUENIER 1. It\u2019s unachievable.\u00a0Many vehicles and machines (used for example in mining, agriculture, heavy transportation, emergencies, commercial shipping, aviation, the military and construction) and products (for example concrete, steel, plastics, fertiliser, pharmaceuticals, anaesthetics, lubricants, paints, adhesives, tyres and asphalt)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Blackouts\"","block_context":{"text":"Blackouts","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=blackouts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0_92667962_p04hyh4p.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0_92667962_p04hyh4p.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0_92667962_p04hyh4p.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0_92667962_p04hyh4p.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":276602,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=276602","url_meta":{"origin":258561,"position":1},"title":"Germany Falling Way Short Of Meeting E-Vehicle Targets\u2026\u201dMajor Problem With The Trend\u201d","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/31\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"New, internal combustion engine (ICE) cars are planned to be eliminated from German streets by 2030, when Germans will have to purchase electric vehicles when buying a new car. That\u2019s what the government plans.","rel":"","context":"In \"EV\"","block_context":{"text":"EV","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=ev"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-1131.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-1131.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-1131.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-1131.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-1131.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":247551,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=247551","url_meta":{"origin":258561,"position":2},"title":"A Fresh Start","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/14\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"A concluding thought. All the above advantages of abandoning net zero are clear and obvious. And the disadvantages?","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-403.png?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-403.png?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-403.png?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/image-403.png?fit=800%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":266446,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=266446","url_meta":{"origin":258561,"position":3},"title":"EV Revolution Winding\u00a0Down","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"07\/09\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Volkswagen\u00a0is so concerned about flagging sales that it has taken the extraordinary decision of\u00a0halting electric vehicle production at one of its biggest plants.\u00a0","rel":"","context":"In \"Britain\"","block_context":{"text":"Britain","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=britain"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/0electric-car-revolution.webp?fit=1200%2C1030&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/0electric-car-revolution.webp?fit=1200%2C1030&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/0electric-car-revolution.webp?fit=1200%2C1030&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/0electric-car-revolution.webp?fit=1200%2C1030&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/0electric-car-revolution.webp?fit=1200%2C1030&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":325518,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=325518","url_meta":{"origin":258561,"position":4},"title":"The Case Against Net Zero","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"05\/02\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In October 2008, Parliament passed the Climate Change Act requiring the U.K. Government to ensure that by 2050 \u201cthe net U.K. carbon account\u201d was reduced to a level at least 80% lower than that of 1990. (\u201cCarbon account\u2019 refers to CO2 emissions and \u201cother targeted greenhouse gas emissions\u201d.) Only five\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"climate alarmism\"","block_context":{"text":"climate alarmism","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-alarmism"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/0-Net-Zero.jpeg?fit=1200%2C761&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/0-Net-Zero.jpeg?fit=1200%2C761&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/0-Net-Zero.jpeg?fit=1200%2C761&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/0-Net-Zero.jpeg?fit=1200%2C761&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/0-Net-Zero.jpeg?fit=1200%2C761&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":268778,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=268778","url_meta":{"origin":258561,"position":5},"title":"New homes could be blocked unless Ulez-style schemes are agreed\u00a0first","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"07\/22\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"It is thoroughly devious for them to claim that their role is only to advise. As the article points out, any local authority who ignores this \u201cadvice\u201d is likely to face lengthy and expensive legal action, courtesy of Tony Juniper\u2019s friends in Greenpeace and the rest.","rel":"","context":"In \"clean air zone\"","block_context":{"text":"clean air zone","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=clean-air-zone"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image-645.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image-645.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image-645.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image-645.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/image-645.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258561","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=258561"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258561\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":258566,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258561\/revisions\/258566"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/258564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=258561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=258561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=258561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}