Climate News Round-Up
A round-up of articles that may be of interest to people on our side of the fence.
“The endless data centre whine threatening to blight Britain’s countryside” – From piercing whines to persistent gurgling as external generators rev up, the noise pollution from Britain’s proliferating data centres is annoying nearby residents, writes Matthew Field in the Telegraph.
“We visit the Norwegian boom town getting rich selling us oil and gas” – Norway has rediscovered its love of fossil fuels and is growing rich supplying Britain with the energy it refuses to produce itself, says Jim Armitage in the Sunday Times.
“Streeting backs drilling for North Sea oil” – Health Secretary Wes Streeting has urged Labour to ramp up oil drilling in the North Sea to boost the economy, putting him on a collision course with Ed Miliband, according to the Telegraph.
“Labour ‘stopped rail firms buying cheap fuel before Iran war’” – The Department for Transport prevented rail firms from hedging their diesel purchases ahead of the Iran war because doing so risked being seen as “gambling with public money”, reveals the Telegraph.
“Zero prosecutions for water companies pumping sewage into waterways” – A Government “crackdown” to punish water companies for pumping sewage into Britain’s rivers, lakes and coast has failed to produce a single prosecution, says the Mail.
“Net Zero ‘Nimbyism’ destroying UK industry: foreign rivals cash in as Miliband’s green crusade cripples firms” – The boss of the UK’s last aluminium smelting plant says Ed Miliband’s Net Zero policies amount to a form of Nimbyism that is destroying British industry through high energy costs and green taxes while foreign rivals cash in, according to This is Money.
“Reform and Tory policies not enough to reverse Miliband’s Net Zero madness” – On Substack, David Turver argues that opposition parties will need to go far beyond cancelling AR7, eliminating carbon taxes and abolishing ROCs if they are to bring electricity bills down to bearable levels.
“God forbid a farmer wants a chicken shed” – How does it make sense that Ed Miliband can wave through a giant solar farm over the heads of local planners, yet a farmer faces years of red tape and expense just to extend a chicken shed? asks Minette Batters in the Mail.
“Ferrari and Jaguar show electric cars are destroying Europe’s auto industry” – Europe’s luxury auto makers have great brands. But when it comes to EVs their brains get scrambled, says Matthew Lynn in the Telegraph.
From the Climate Skeptic today:
“We don’t need Tony Blair to tell us the sky is blue” – Sir Tony Blair has called Ed Miliband’s Net Zero agenda a “quixotic fantasy” – but his own role in hollowing out British democracy rather undermines the lecture, says Ben Pile.