27 June 2025

Robbing Peter to pay Paul

The headlines

UK

• Tinkering with the grid

• Against the ZEV mandate

• Fixing oil and gas

• Against zonal pricing

• Wilton cracker to close

• Gas prices plunge

International

• Applying the Net Zero brakes

• Aussie ranchers abandon Net Zero

Etcetera

• Media, op-eds and all the rest.

From the blog

• Miliband ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’

UK

Tinkering with the grid

Keir Starmer mooted the idea of removing green levies from electricity bills for intensive users, but only from 2027. Net Zero Watch pointed out that the cost still needed to be paid, so this move would just increase bills for everyone else (see blog section below).

Against the ZEV mandate

The Conservatives suggested they might do away with the Zero Emissions Mandate for electric vehicles. Like Saint Augustine they seem to want virtue, but not yet.

Fixing oil and gas

A global energy consultancy suggested that with a better regulatory and fiscal regime, North Sea oil and gas reserves would nearly double, to 7.5 billion barrels.

Against zonal pricing

The prominent energy economist Dieter Helm came out against zonal pricing, the latest gaslighting wheeze of the green energy lobby. We at Net Zero Watch agree – adding a new layer of complexity to an astonishingly badly designed system is a case of not being able to see the wood for trees.

Wilton cracker to close

Saudi petrochemicals giant Sabic announced that it will close its plant at Wilton on Teeside. High energy prices are hitting its European businesses hard.

Gas prices plunge

Having risen off the back of the turmoil in the Middle East, gas prices plunged this week as markets concluded that Iran couldn’t afford to close the Strait of Hormuz and then again as a ceasefire was reached.

International

Applying the Net Zero brakes

France is said to be leading a group of countries seeking to slow progress towards Net Zero. Here at NZW, we fear that this apparent outbreak of sanity comes too late to make any difference to the bloc’s economic demise.

Aussie ranchers abandon Net Zero

The Australian cattle industry announced that it was abandoning its attempts to hit Net Zero by 2030.

Etcetera…

Andrew was on GB News discussing a report that Net Zero technologies perform worse in hot weather.

Writing in Spiked! Spanish journalist Itsu Diaz suggested that his government is in denial about the risks its green energy obsession poses to grid security.

Further evidence of Dieter Helm’s shifting position on climate came in a fascinating episode of his podcast, called ‘The changing Net Zero Zeitgeist’. But why, we want to know, does he still think we should have some renewables on the grid?

From the blog

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