Just after midday the National Energy System Operator issued a blackout warning to UK-wide electricity generators thanks to a reduced wind speeds and outages in nuclear power stations. The first time the notice has been issued since November 2022…
Wind and solar are meeting just 10% of the grid’s electricity each as the ‘capacity notice‘ warns a power demand spike in the late afternoon could overwhelm spare capacity. NESO insists the notice is a “standard tool used to remind capacity market providers of their obligations.” Just six days ago it boasted that “small-scale renewables” have much-reduced the risk of blackout warnings this winter. Low wind and the loss of every last coal power station in Britain have delivered a harsh dose of reality to that one…
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has proudly unveiled its board of commissioners for the “2030 Clean Power Mission.” Cue a long list of people with decades of experience “fighting climate change” in wind energy, technology, reducing emissions and preserving wildlife…
Given the song and dance Labour made about building nuclear power plants in their manifesto – literally under the section “Clean Power by 2030” – you’d think they’d at least have someone who knows a thing or two about nuclear energy on the board. Not so. In fact one of the board members, Juliet Davenport, even founded an energy service company that set out why it “doesn’t want nuclear power in the UK” because it’s a “bad match for renewables” and “benefits the few, not the many”. Davenport was still CEO when that article was published…
Labour’s climate zealotry is pushing Britain to jeopardise its foreign policy and global standing with a plan to burn biomass imported from North Korea’s dictatorship and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Putting their climate crusade above all else…
Naturally, Nigel Farage blasted the idea as “completely nuts”. In a push for biomass to play a “significant role” in decarbonising all sectors of the economy, a resource model published late this summer sets out a list of overseas sources of bioenergy, which includes a list of “improbable” – though not impossible – countries like North Korea, Afghanistan, Bhutan, and the Maldives. The Director of the Partnership for Policy Integrity Mary Booth slammed the “bonkers” scheme, pointing out the absurdity of potentially relying on these nations as major suppliers of agricultural and forestry biomass. Bending the knee to dictators in the name of Net Zero zealotry while Brits pick up the tab…
In a galaxy far, far away—or rather, in Whitehall—someone’s taken leave of their senses again. In the latest episode of out of this world government spending, £200,000 of taxpayer money is being used to fund research that aims to tackle climate change…through Star Wars. This is not a Sith trick…
UK Innovation and Research, a state-funded body, has handed over the money to Open University for a project titled “Using Star Wars to Improve Sector Sustainability Practices.” The study aims to draw parallels between environmental challenges in the Star Wars universe—such as the destruction of Alderaan—and real-world climate issues. Apparently, we’re supposed to learn something about tackling global warming by reflecting on a fictional planet blown to bits by the Death Star…
Joanna Marchong, investigations campaign manager of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said:
“Taxpayers will think that likening the Death Star to global warming is totally absurd. Funded research should focus on actual science, not sci-fi fantasies.”
The study will also helpfully dive into the “ecological impact of making props for the Star Wars films.” The force is clearly not strong with whoever thought this was a good use of public money…
Left-wing commentators continue to bask in the glory of Starmer and Lammy handing away the British Indian Ocean Territory. The Guardian sneers that “Suddenly, All MPs Know Where the Chagos Islands Are and What’s Best for Them”…
While Lammy prepares to head to China next week for ‘reset’ talks no doubt made chummier by the handover, environmental campaigners are aghast at the UK’s decision. Most people aren’t aware of how important the Chagos Islands are for the environment:
After years of campaigning, scientists managed to have the British government institute a protected zone of 250,000 square miles in which no fishing would be permitted. The Mauritian government has been trying for many years to destroy the UK’s progress in protecting Chagos biodiversity. In the last decade it has launched numerous legal challenges in international courts to have the protected area removed. The Mauritians were counselled by – you guessed it – Mauritius’ chief legal adviser Philippe Sands KC. Starmer’s close mate…
Mauritius, which does not care about the environment, now has control over Chagos and has announced its intention to settle Mauritians – not Chagossians – on the isolated islands. Meanwhile, over half of Mauritian lagoons are now dead and octopus and reef fish numbers have dropped by 75% in the last few decades. The Mauritians will doubtless be rubbing their hands with glee now they can go plundering Chagos too…
A spokesman from the Friends of the British Overseas Territories charity tells Guido:
“What makes the Chagos Islands so unique and important is the complete absence of economic activity and limited human presence. Any change to this would have disastrous effects on the environment. The UK Government were elected just months ago on a manifesto which had no mention of handing over British territory, but did commit to ‘deliver for nature’. Sadly, the Government now seem eager to give away the largest jewel in the UK’s environmental crown, to a country which clearly cannot be trusted to take care of it.”
Dark days for Gaia…
It must have been a shock for left-wing luvvie Dale Vince to see union workers protesting outside his own firm’s HQ. Yesterday afternoon Unite workers and supporters staged a demonstration outside the Stroud offices of Vince’s energy company Ecotricity, calling for the reopening of negotiations for union recognition. It’s also part of the union’s wider campaign to renationalise the entire energy sector…
In a round robin email Unite urged people to attend the protest with a pointed attack on Vince:
“Dale Vince, the owner of Ecotricity, has an estimated wealth of £107,000,000 yet refuses to negotiate a deal for Ecotricity workers allowing for them to have a say in their pay and conditions.”
Meanwhile Vince appears on television and radio to agitate for higher taxes and wealth redistribution across the UK. Unite says he keep to his own patch first…
