David Cameron’s remarks yesterday to the liaison committee of MPs about renewable energy might just play a big part in his downfall at the general election.
His comments were contradictory at best, they laid bare once again the monumental lie that was his promise to lead the greenest government ever, and – perhaps more importantly – ignored a growing tide of feeling in Britain that we need to properly tackle climate change and embrace renewable energy.
Cameron is really out of step with the country on green issues.
This is the year in which membership of the Green Party has doubled; the year in which the IPCC made it clearer than ever that we have to completely give up fossil fuels by 2050 or face catastrophic climate consequences; the year in which climate change made itself more than evident as temperatures in Europe hit their highest since the 1500s.
Despite this, Cameron spent much of yesterday propagating myths, ignoring the seriousness of the challenge we face, and peddling propaganda for the fracking industry.
There are “some myths we need to get over” about fracking, he says, while doing his best to prop up existing myths about wind energy.
One of the myths that Cameron so blithely peddled is that the majority of people do not want wind power. He must know that this is not true, because research by his own government has consistently demonstrated the opposite. DECC’s public attitudes tracker currently shows that 70% of people in Britain are in favour of wind, compared to only 29% for fracking. Have a look at any poll over the last few years and they will say the same.
The fracking myths that Cameron outlines are not the main issues at all either: he’s pushing the real issues under the carpet.
Ultimately, fracking is an unnecessary and expensive risk. The Committee on Climate Change (CCC) tell us that our power network should almost carbon free by 2030 to meet the UK’s legally binding climate targets, and should be no longer relying on conventional gas by 2050. So we’re not going to need a lot of gas, because demand will be diminishing and we already have enough in the North Sea to meet that demand. And that’s without even considering new forms of green gas. By the time any potential fracking would come online, it would only have a short period of use before we need to stop using it.
The contradictions came thick and fast from Cameron yesterday, like waste from a pipe. It was difficult to know where to start to address all of his wilful oversights, and I certainly don’t have space for all of them here.
“The way you tax a new industry is different to the way you tax an existing industry,” he said. Really? North Sea oil got a tax break last week and that’s hardly a new industry. The hedge fund industry has also benefited from a £145m tax cut from Cameron – hardly a new industry either. There are many other examples.
Wind power has to stand on its own two feet without subsidies, he said. Well, what about the subsidies for nuclear via the new Contracts for Difference system, which will run for 35 years at twice the current cost of energy? The public will pick up the cost of cleaning them up too: a colossal subsidy in itself. The Nuclear industry is itself hardly new, at over 50 years old. Why can’t nuclear be left to stand on its own two feet? That was another promise this government once made.
“My objection to the green groups is that they don’t want to hear any of these arguments, because they can’t bear any new carbon-based energy source coming on stream” Cameron said.
That this is patronising and deceitful is neither here nor there. The real problem for Cameron is that it’s not just green groups who want us to take climate change seriously and change the way we make and use energy in Britain – it’s a growing number of people in Britain. By playing to the UKIP gallery, Cameron is ignoring those people and taking his eye off the ball. And it will hopefully cost him the only thing that seems to matter to him – power.
the thing with Cameron is that every time he opens his mouth it becomes more and more obvious that he is not acting for the people of this country, but for his eton friends and the fossil fuel industry. #cameronout
It will be unnecessary and anti existing pledges to invest in a carbon causing industry. Follow Germanys lead and New Yorks and so not go near it.
When will British politicians wake up, and see what is plain to see, the Fracking industry is a dying industry, which will not only cost the tax payer millions, but will also harm the the environment, harm the health of British citizens, pollute the air that we breathe, pollute the water that we drink, and scar the landscape for generations to come, and who knows what other harms it will cause that have yet to come to light ?
Unfortunately they’ll ‘wake up’ shortly after they’ve made their millions (or billions). It has always been so, but we should still make our voices heard – the game IS slowly changing.
And again it will be the tax payer who has to pay for the clean up after the fracking industry has made it’s money and run. Probably off to the next hare-brained scheme.
Sounds like the renewable industry to me. Are you in the renewable industry?
If Cameron could achieve a popularity rating equal to that achieved by wind turbines in a poll I participated in today (http://metro.co.uk/2014/12/17/poll-are-you-fed-up-with-wind-farms-4990896/?ito=v-a) of 83% liked in his own party then he would not be so likely to be seen as a fool by attacking them.
His attempt to debase their popularity shows his weakness, not strength and unlike the vemonous spite of Farrage against Immigrants will not gain him any votes at all!
He is a failed idiot and the sooner that he and Clegg leave office the sooner the country can begin to recover from toxic toff supremacy culture, and corporate raiding of our NHS and nationally owned natural assets.
Curious to know what Cameron was saying to you in the above photo Dale. Empty promises and hot air perhaps?
Thank God you have provided us access to clean renewable energy through Ecotricity and you are investing the money we pay you to develop new sources of renewable energy and making it more widely available. I think we have gone beyond fighting and insulting those clowns at Westiminster, and instead we are now able to make conscious choices and put our money where our values are, and this, ultimately will dictate the future, NOT decisions made in Westminster, but by the way we spend our money and the choices we make. Thank you Dale!
I note that some people are saying the North Sea Oil Industry is close to collapse. Let’s hope that the people being laid off can adapt their skills to assist with the installation of off-shore wind farms. Perhaps this is the perfect time?
Who cares if the ‘majority’ don’t want wind turbines??
That implies that politics ignores facts (that wind turbines are currently the only answer) in favour of politiciams only caring about their skins and wanting to win the next election for themselves.
In any case surely the negative opinion is based on misinformation which members of parliament have pushed when interviewed by media, instead of the government producing educational materials that state facts about wind turbines.
One of the first things the coalition did was to stop the broadcast of climate change public innformation films, then lied about the reasons for doing so.
That sums up the coalitions term in power.
I know both liberals and conservatives who feel deeply betrayed by Mr Cameron’s government and false promises. His shattered ‘greenest government ever’ pledge mirrors his complete deception on ‘no top down reorganisation of the NHS’ (before implementing the biggest ever £3 billion re-organisation/privatisation drive in its history).
Apologies, I know I’m off topic. But it’s hard to keep your mouth shut when you’re this upset :'(.