1 November 2024

The headlines

UK

• Budget mayhem

• Promises are no longer golden

• Against decarbonisation

• No meat please, we’re British

• No oil please, we’re British

• Bureaucratic bunglings

• Spend and be damned

International

• Motoring mayhem

• UNreality

• Cost of Net Zero

Etcetera

• In the media

UK

Budget mayhem

The UK budget was as bad as expected.

• In the face of falling oil prices, the Chancellor announced an increase in the rate of the windfall tax on oil and gas companies. Apparently no windfall is required for a windfall tax.

• There is to be a new stealth tax on petrol and diesel cars.

• The budget for the energy department DESNZ will soar, from £6 billion this year to £14 billion in 2025-26.

• There was £2 billion in subsidies for green hydrogen projects. The background to this decision looks very murky indeed.

• The OBR revealed that environmental levies will soar in coming years.

Promises are no longer golden

The Conservatives tabled an amendment to the Great British Energy Bill, which would have forced Labour to stick to their promise to lower bills by £300 per year. The Government struck it down.

Against decarbonisation

A poll found that Labour’s target voters are firmly opposed to Net Zero targets.

No meat please, we’re British

The Climate Change Committee urged Britons to eat less meat. The Conservatives said that such foolishness – they want meat consumption to half – risked sparking unrest.

No oil please, we’re British

A North Sea oil and gas company launched a legal challenge to the Government’s decision to allow Total to decommission its Gryphon terminal in the North Sea. Meanwhile, North Sea operators again threatened to leave the UK.

Bureaucratic bunglings

There is to be yet another delay in the UK’s Small Modular Nuclear Reactor competition.

Spend and be damned

It was revealed that we are spending £200 million per year to buy in services to stabilise the electricity grid. In the olden days, this came with coal-fired power stations for free.

International

Motoring mayhem

The Mail reported that EV sales are slumping around the world. Volkswagen announced plans to close three factories in Germany. Thousands of jobs will go. A failure in the EV market has been blamed. Audi is to close its Brussels factory. Ford will close one in Michigan.

Meanwhile, a report called for EV battery sizes to be cut by a third, as raw material shortages bit.

UNreality

With much of the developed world already reeling after years of blows inflicted by the so-called ‘energy transition’, the UN’s unworldly response was to call for everyone to go further and faster.

Cost of Net Zero

Consultancy Wood Mackenzie said that the world would need to spend $78 trillion if Net Zero is to be delivered. From NZW’s perspective, their figure looks extremely low.

Etcetera

In the media

Ralph Schoellhammer says that the Mittelstand – the small companies that are the backbone of Germany’s economy – are in trouble. However, politicians have only responded by pouring more money down the eco-plughole.

Craig McKinlay was on the Farage show talking about our cost-benefit analysis of Net Zero from last week. Harry Wilkinson was on Mike Graham’s Talk show too.

At TCW, Paul Homewood noted that the promised millions of green jobs still haven’t materialised.

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