{"id":297073,"date":"2024-01-19T11:03:41","date_gmt":"2024-01-19T10:03:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=297073"},"modified":"2024-01-19T11:03:43","modified_gmt":"2024-01-19T10:03:43","slug":"status-report-from-another-would-be-climate-leader-the-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=297073","title":{"rendered":"Status Report From Another Would Be “Climate Leader,” The UK"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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

From The MANHATTAN CONTRARIAN<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Francis Menton<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At any given moment in the course of human events, not everyone can be the leader. And thus can the world only have a small number of \u201cclimate leaders\u201d to light us the way to the Great Green Energy Nirvana of the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among that select group of \u201cclimate leaders,\u201d New York is definitely one. We know that because New York enacted its Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act in 2018, announcing its \u201cclimate leadership\u201d to the world for all to envy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there are a handful of jurisdictions out there that are not to be outdone in the competition for the title of \u201cclimate leader.\u201d One of those is the UK. Ten years before New York even entered the competition, the UK had enacted its Climate Change Act of 2008, setting an initial round of legally-binding emissions reduction targets<\/a> (80% below 1990 levels by 2050). Then, in 2019 the UK upped the ante, committing by statute to \u201cnet zero\u201d greenhouse gas emissions for its entire economy by 2050<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know from my last post<\/a> how things are going with this \u201cclimate leadership\u201d thing in New York: five years into the competition, New York\u2019s greenhouse gas emissions have actually increased substantially, as two large new natural gas power plants have replaced electricity generation from two prematurely-closed emissions-free nuclear facilities, while generation of electricity from wind and solar has barely budged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has the UK been any more successful? Rupert Darwall, writing under the auspices of the Real Clear Foundation, has produced a comprehensive update, with a date of December 2023. The title tells you all you need to know: \u201cThe Folly of Climate Leadership: Net zero and Britain\u2019s Disastrous Energy Policies.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The short summary of Darwall\u2019s Report is that there is nothing but bad news for Britain. By contrast to New York, the UK has actually moved forward with massive construction of \u201crenewable\u201d facilities to generate electricity, mostly in the form of wind turbines. What it has gotten for its efforts is far more nameplate capacity of facilities for generation, but far less electricity actually generated. Costs that were predicted by advocates to decrease substantially have instead increased steadily. The percent of electricity generated from the \u201crenewables\u201d has gotten to around 35%, but has stalled out at that level, and the latest round of offers of acreage for offshore wind development attracted no bidders even at prices a multiple of what additional natural gas facilities would cost. In short, the UK appears stuck, with its consumers paying higher costs for power indefinitely, but with no path forward from here to the promised net zero utopia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Darwall compares trends in electricity prices charged to commercial and industrial business in the UK and U.S. over the period from 2004 to 2022. The UK prices have steadily pulled away as the percent of electricity generation from \u201crenewables\u201d has increased. Here is Darwall\u2019s chart from page 51 of his Report:<\/p>\n\n\n

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

Darwall attributes the growing divergence in prices mostly to divergence in fossil fuel production. In the UK, fracking for natural gas has been completely blocked by environmental regulations. Meanwhile, in the U.S., Darwall writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 2009, natural gas output had increased by 14.3 percent from its trough, reaching its highest level since 1974. In the next 10 years, US natural gas output surged a staggering 64.4 percent, to 33,899 billion cubic feet (bcf), 56.0 percent higher than its previous peak of 21,731 bcf in 1973.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In return for greatly increased electricity generation from wind and solar, the UK has dug itself into the perverse situation of ever-increasing nameplate generation capacity, but simultaneously falling output of electricity. Darwall:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between 2009 and 2020, . .<\/em> . a 15.5 percent increase in nameplate generating capacity produced 21.6 percent less electricity. In 2009, 1 MW of capacity produced 4,312 MWh of electricity. In 2020, 1 MW of capacity generated 3,094 MWh, a decline of 28.3 percent.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Has the UK at least made some progress in \u201csaving the planet\u201d? Here is my favorite chart from the Report, found on page 28:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

The UK has gone a long way toward destroying its industrial base, but its emissions reductions are so small as to be barely noticeable in the overall world picture, and totally swamped by increases elsewhere, mostly from China. The rest of the world is getting a good laugh at Britain\u2019s expense. As Darwall states, \u201cThe metric of leadership success is followship.\u201d<\/em> By that metric, as well as every other, Britain\u2019s \u201cclimate leadership\u201d is a total disaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At any given moment in the course of human events, not everyone can be the leader. And thus can the world only have a small number of \u201cclimate leaders\u201d to light us the way to the Great Green Energy Nirvana of the future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":297079,"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":"At any given moment in the course of human events, not everyone can be the leader. And thus can the world only have a small number of \u201cclimate leaders\u201d to light us the way to the Great Green Energy Nirvana of the future.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"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":[691826387,691826386,691818154,691819094],"class_list":{"0":"post-297073","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-climate-leaders","9":"tag-green-energy-nirvana","10":"tag-net-zero","11":"tag-renewable-green-energy","13":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/image-316.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1fhv","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":218040,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=218040","url_meta":{"origin":297073,"position":0},"title":"New-Age Cargo Cult: Why Wind & Solar Push Continues to Deliver \u2018Green\u2019 Elephants","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/09\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"A new cargo cult is wedded to the notion that sunshine and breezes is all we need for peace and prosperity.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/0Screenshot-2022-09-09-101618.png?fit=919%2C671&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/0Screenshot-2022-09-09-101618.png?fit=919%2C671&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/0Screenshot-2022-09-09-101618.png?fit=919%2C671&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/0Screenshot-2022-09-09-101618.png?fit=919%2C671&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":371373,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=371373","url_meta":{"origin":297073,"position":1},"title":"Trump\u2019s Energy Secretary Offers Africa Freedom from Biden\u2019s Climate Imperialism","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"22\/03\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright has\u00a0signaled\u00a0a change that could mean the difference between life and death for millions in Africa. 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