Global Warming Policy Foundation | 13 Oct 2014
UK Manufacturers Sound The Alarm Over Rising Energy Costs
Britain will struggle to “keep the lights on” unless the Government changes its green energy policies, the former environment secretary will warn this week. Owen Paterson will say that the Government’s plan to slash carbon emissions and rely more heavily on wind farms and other renewable energy sources is fatally flawed. He will argue that the 2008 Climate Change Act, which ties Britain into stringent targets to reduce the use of fossil fuels, should be suspended until other countries agree to take similar measures. If they refuse, the legislation should be scrapped altogether, he will say. Mr Paterson will deliver the lecture at the Global Warming Policy Foundation, a think tank set up by Lord Lawson of Blaby, a climate-change sceptic and former chancellor in Margaret Thatcher’s Cabinet. –Christopher Hope, The Sunday Telegraph, 12 October 2013
It is safe to predict that no speech made by a British politician this week will be more surprising or significant than that to be delivered by Owen Paterson, a senior Conservative, who was sacked from the Cabinet last July for being too good at his job. –Christopher Booker, The Sunday Telegraph, 12 October 2014
The high cost of energy could drive companies out of the UK, according to the EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation. The EEF claims that the projected 50 per cent rise in electricity prices by 2020 would harm British manufacturing. The warning follows research from the EEF which shows that rising energy costs would lead to a quarter of manufacturers considering investment overseas. —Yorkshire Post, 13 October 2014
The very idea that an advanced economy such as ours faces an energy crisis within the next few years should attract the most urgent attention of our political leaders. Yet we appear to be drifting into a situation of great seriousness because they are all wedded to unrealistic decarbonisation targets that none seems willing to revisit. Owen Paterson has begun a debate that cannot be shut down simply because it raises some difficult political questions. If this is not gripped now, then the next government, of whatever stripe, will need to explain to the country why they could have prevented the lights going out, but didn’t. –Editorial, The Sunday Telegraph, 12 October 2014
EU leaders face difficult negotiations to agree a package of climate change targets for 2030 at an end-of-October summit, with coal-reliant Poland leading objections, sources said on Friday. “The European Council will agree on the 2030 climate and energy policy framework for the European Union,” said the draft prepared for the bloc’s 28 member state leaders. But the question of “burden sharing” is central to actually closing a deal, a European source said, with sharp differences between those dependent on fossil fuels, such as Poland, compared with France and Britain which favour nuclear, and Germany which is looking towards renewables. Poland’s new prime minister, Ewa Kopacz, said earlier this month that her coal-reliant country would not rule out vetoing the high carbon cuts. —AFP, 10 October 2014
Forget QE, surely the precipitous oil price decline in the last couple of weeks will finally give the down-trodden European economy the big boost it needs. After three years of prices north of $100 a barrel, surely a big cut in Europe’s energy bill will provide a stimulus effect that Mario Draghi could only dream of? I’m afraid not. Why? Europe is overwhelmed by taxation, subsidy, over-capacity and green incentivisation plans that have conspired to make hydrocarbons a dirty and expensive source of energy. –Steve Sedgwick, City A.M., 7 October 2014
1) Owen Paterson To Call For Suspension Of UK Climate Change Act – The Sunday Telegraph, 12 October 2013
2) UK Manufacturers Sound The Alarm Over Rising Energy Costs – Liverpool Echo, 13 October 2014
3) UK Energy Policies ‘Must Be Reviewed’, EEF Warns – Yorkshire Post, 13 October 2014
4) Editorial: Britain’s Energy Policy Makes Little Sense – The Sunday Telegraph, 12 October 2014
5) Christopher Booker: Can Owen Paterson Help Britain To Keep The Lights On? – The Sunday Telegraph, 12 October 2014
6) EU Struggles To Agree 2030 Climate Targets For October Summit – AFP, 10 October 2014
7) Green Lunacy, Or Why Europe Won’t Gain From Oil Price Slump – City A.M., 7 October 2014
1) Owen Paterson To Call For Suspension Of UK Climate Change Act
The Sunday Telegraph, 12 October 2013
Christopher Hope
The Climate Change Act 2008, which ties Britain into stringent environmental measures, should be suspended – and then scrapped – if other countries refuse to agree legally binding targets, says Owen Paterson MP
Britain will struggle to “keep the lights on” unless the Government changes its green energy policies, the former environment secretary will warn this week.
Owen Paterson will say that the Government’s plan to slash carbon emissions and rely more heavily on wind farms and other renewable energy sources is fatally flawed.
He will argue that the 2008 Climate Change Act, which ties Britain into stringent targets to reduce the use of fossil fuels, should be suspended until other countries agree to take similar measures. If they refuse, the legislation should be scrapped altogether, he will say.
The speech will be Mr Paterson’s first significant intervention in the green energy debate since he was sacked as environment secretary during this summer’s Cabinet reshuffle.
In his address, he will set out an alternative strategy that would see British homes serviced by dozens of small nuclear power stations.
He will also suggest that home owners should get used to temporary power cuts — cutting the electricity to appliances such as fridges for two hours at a time, for example — to conserve energy.
Mr Paterson will deliver the lecture at the Global Warming Policy Foundation, a think tank set up by Lord Lawson of Blaby, a climate-change sceptic and former chancellor in Margaret Thatcher’s Cabinet.
In the speech, entitled “Keeping the lights on”, he will say that Britain is the only country to have agreed to the legally binding target of cutting carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.
see also: Owen Paterson To Deliver 2014 Annual GWPF Lecture
2) UK Manufacturers Sound The Alarm Over Rising Energy Costs
Liverpool Echo, 13 October 2014
A projected 50% hike in electricity prices by 2020 would damage UK manufacturing, says a report by manufacturers’ organisation EEF, today.
It says it would hit investment, margins and competitiveness.
The warning follows research showing that rising energy costs would see 25% of firms considering investment in facilities outside the UK.
Darrell Matthews, North West EEF director, said: “The tension between the pursuit of low carbon policies and Britain’s ambitions for a better-balanced economy must be resolved.”
Today’s report reveals that 73% of manufacturers say the projected rise in electricity costs would have a noticeable impact on profit margins – 53% say it would hit their competitiveness.
Energy already accounts for 6% or more of turnover for 27% of firms, and affordability is a key concern for 83% of companies.
And while 32% of manufacturers say the UK’s lead in setting ambitious climate targets drives innovation, 41% say it risks undermining competitiveness.
So, EEF is calling on the next Government to ensure that energy policy supports ambitions for a better-balanced economy.
Mr Matthews said: “This is a wake-up call that the tension between the pursuit of low carbon policies and Britain’s ambitions for a better-balanced economy must be resolved.
“Failure to do so could hit investment, margins and competitiveness, putting the brakes on growth and leaving our economy stuck in the slow lane.
“It’s time for a fresh approach. Low carbon is rapidly becoming synonymous with anti-competitive, which is why we are urging all parties vying for government to commit to review and reform current policies and mechanisms.
3) UK Energy Policies ‘Must Be Reviewed’, EEF Warns
Yorkshire Post, 13 October 2014
The high cost of energy could drive companies out of the UK, according to the EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation.
The EEF claims that the projected 50 per cent rise in electricity prices by 2020 would harm British manufacturing. The warning follows research from the EEF which shows that rising energy costs would lead to a quarter of manufacturers considering investment overseas.
Andy Tuscher, Yorkshire region director at EEF, said: “This is a wake-up call that the tension between the pursuit of low carbon policies and Britain’s ambitions for a better-balanced economy must be resolved. Failure to do so could hit investment, margins and competitiveness, putting the brakes on growth and leaving our economy stuck in the slow lane. Low carbon is rapidly becoming synonymous with anti-competitive, which is why we are urging all parties vying for government to commit to review and reform current policies.”
4) Editorial: Britain’s Energy Policy Makes Little Sense
The Sunday Telegraph, 12 October 2014
The very idea that an advanced economy such as ours faces an energy crisis within the next few years should attract the most urgent attention of our political leaders. Yet we appear to be drifting into a situation of great seriousness because they are all wedded to unrealistic decarbonisation targets that none seems willing to revisit.
As Owen Paterson, the former environment secretary, is going to say in a speech this week, the country will “struggle to keep the lights on” unless something is done soon.
Much of the current problem stems from mistakes made by the last government. Labour effectively scrapped the UK civil nuclear programme until, far too late in the day, it tried to revive it as part of this country’s commitment to lower CO2 emissions.
But much of the momentum and technical expertise had been lost; and although the EU gave the go ahead last week for the first of a new generation of heavily subsidised nuclear power plants at Hinkley Point, it will not be ready for years.
In the meantime, the 2008 Climate Change Act, which all the major parties supported, tied Britain into the most stringent targets in the world for the reduction of fossil fuels and the expansion of renewables, such as wind farms. This was motivated more by a desire to demonstrate “green” credentials than by any rational approach to the energy requirements of a major industrial nation.
It means that we are closing down coal-fired power stations just as the fuel is at its cheapest because of a glut on the world market from shale-rich America. Germany, meanwhile, is actually opening new coal plants and burning more fossil fuels because it has turned its back on the nuclear option. How does it make sense to risk British energy security so that the Germans, who are heavily reliant upon Russian gas in any case, can burn more coal? Moreover, the cost of oil has also been falling, which should provide the opportunity for cheaper energy – were we not in thrall to Labour’s ill-considered legislation.
This is not to argue that the UK should play no part in reducing fossil fuel consumption or significantly improving energy efficiency. But this must be done in a more sensible and coherent way than through the pursuit of an arbitrary, unattainable and ultimately self-defeating targets.
5) Christopher Booker: Can Owen Paterson Help Britain To Keep The Lights On?
The Sunday Telegraph, 12 October 2014
It is safe to predict that no speech made by a British politician this week will be more surprising or significant than that to be delivered by a senior Conservative, who was sacked from the Cabinet last July for being too good at his job.
On Wednesday, as reported on our front page, Owen Paterson, our former environment secretary, will give the Global Warming Policy Foundation’s annual lecture. It’s entitled “Keeping the lights on”, and is focused on Britain’s energy policy.
And having seen the mass of expert research on which his lecture is based, I can only say, as someone who has been writing about energy for years, that it shows how the reality of the situation now facing us is even more alarming than anything I have reported on this subject before.
Mr Paterson will, for the first time, reveal clearly just what we have now been committed to under the two Lib Dem ministers, Chris Huhne and Ed Davey, who, since 2010, have presided over our energy and climate change policy. Most of this is hidden away in policy documents so obscure that few non-insiders have any idea of where we are heading. But Paterson will explain, first, what is really now being planned, and, second, why it cannot conceivably work. He will then set out what hard-headed technical experts believe to be the only practical policy that could save us from an almost unimaginable national disaster.
6) EU Struggles To Agree 2030 Climate Targets For October Summit
AFP, 10 October 2014
EU leaders face difficult negotiations to agree a package of climate change targets for 2030 at an end-of-October summit, with coal-reliant Poland leading objections, sources said on Friday (Oct 10).
European Union leaders face difficult negotiations to agree a package of climate change targets for 2030 at an end-of-October summit, with coal-reliant Poland leading objections, sources said on Friday (Oct 10).
Plans to cut greenhouse gases by 40 per cent, make renewables account for 27 per cent of energy use and set an energy savings target of 30 per cent appear in draft guidelines for the summit conclusions, seen by AFP.
The European Union (EU) had wanted to have an agreement on the targets, among the world’s toughest, in place ahead of a summit in Paris in 2015 at which a new UN-backed global treaty on climate change will be agreed.
“The European Council will agree on the 2030 climate and energy policy framework for the European Union,” said the draft prepared for the bloc’s 28 member state leaders.
But the question of “burden sharing” is central to actually closing a deal, a European source said, with sharp differences between those dependent on fossil fuels, such as Poland, compared with France and Britain which favour nuclear, and Germany which is looking towards renewables. “It’s extremely difficult. Every country says its situation is special,” the source said.
Poland’s new prime minister, Ewa Kopacz, said earlier this month that her coal-reliant country would not rule out vetoing the high carbon cuts.
7) Green Lunacy, Or Why Europe Won’t Gain From Oil Price Slump
City A.M., 7 October 2014
Steve Sedgwick
Forget QE, surely the precipitous oil price decline in the last couple of weeks will finally give the down-trodden European economy the big boost it needs. After three years of prices north of $100 a barrel, surely a big cut in Europe’s energy bill will provide a stimulus effect that Mario Draghi could only dream of? I’m afraid not. It appears there will be no energy-induced bonanza as, like many other peculiar aspects of Europe’s economy, consumers will hardly see the benefits of market falls in commodity prices.
The likes of Opec are only getting circa $90 per barrel for their oil nowadays, compared with around $107 per barrel as recently as June this year. So you could be forgiven for thinking that, if the producers are getting less bang per barrel, then the consuming nations of Europe would be a major beneficiary. That’s not quite the case.
Yes, the headlines talk of a “couple of pence per litre” off pump prices, but the major benefits will never come our way in Europe. Why? Europe is overwhelmed by taxation, subsidy, over-capacity and green incentivisation plans that have conspired to make hydrocarbons a dirty and expensive source of energy.
Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, is at the heart of the issue in its noble pursuit to reduce greenhouse gases. It’s a great ambition, but stunningly expensive. By 2050, the Germans want to have 60 per cent of their energy coming from renewables. This will be an impressive feat but may well seriously dent European competitiveness further.
Daniel Lacalle of Ecofin is worried, pointing out on SquawkBox Europe: “Since the beginning of the crisis in 2008, average European power prices are up 38 per cent, whereas wholesale prices have actually fallen. The problem is that we don’t see any of the benefits in Europe of lower oil prices, as we subsidise too many energy industries. We have oversupply and subsidies. In addition, there are so many green taxes that gasoline prices have been going up instead of down.” According to Lacalle, German SMEs are now paying twice the price for energy as their US counterparts.
