No change
Last week with very little fanfare the Climate Change Committee warned that the UK will not reach its net zero targets. Why? Because the government is failing to enact the policies needed to achieve the goal. The CCC also voiced fears ministers may go back on the legally binding commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
This week the country’s motorways were brought to a standstill by protests, not by climate change campaigners, but by those protesting about high fuel prices.
Expect the government to fold immediately on this one, they remember Tony Blair and the fuel protests of 2000. Fuel duty has been kept down for decades because of those protests, keeping up demand and use of carbon emitting fuels.
At least, these ultra high prices may help the uptake of electric vehicles but the government should have spent 20 years insulating homes and building bike lanes, it has done nothing like enough.
It is all encouraged by the climate change deniers, who pour poison into politicians ears every day. “Let the next government take the blame”, “too early to tell”, “not happening”, “a conspiracy of sandal wearing nutters”, “too expensive”.
As a result it is best to just ignore the climate conferences and their targets, the greenwashing of firms products, the government press releases.
No one is going to act until it is too late, the current system wins votes and makes profits.
So farmers will continue to pollute, it pays.
Water companies. fail to invest enough, it pays.
Oil and gas companies will continue to drill new wells, it pays.
The government will save money on insulation and green projects, it pays
Fuel tax will be cut, it wins votes.
Voters will do nothing to punish them, they like cheap energy.
Let’s face it climate change is happening, no one and no government is doing enough to stop it, short term expediency trumps long term policies to save the planet and the next generation. Full stop.
Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.