Welcome to the web version of Need to Know: Science & Insight, my personal newsletter that looks at what we Need-to-Know at this time of pandemic, existential crisis of climate change and unravelling of nature’s life supports.
Energy bills in the UK are nearly US $4 billion higher today because climate policies to reduce gas consumption were scrapped over the past decade. In November 2013 former Prime Minster David Cameron blamed climate policies for rising energy prices and vowed to “get rid of the green crap”.
Nearly 90% of the increase in energy costs in 2021 in the UK was due to the rising price of gas, which has more than tripled over the same period. Meanwhile the cost of electricity from renewables plunged.
Here’s some of the “green crap” the Conservative party cancelled between 2013 and 2015 according to analysis by Carbon Brief:
Cut spending on energy-efficiency improvement. The number of homes getting their lofts or cavity walls insulated plummeted by 92% and 74%
Ended subsidies for onshore wind and added strict planning reforms that were widely viewed as a “ban” on the technology.
Ended support for solar in 2015.
Scrapped the zero-carbon homes standard. A million new homes have been built since then with lower energy-efficiency standards – and higher energy bills.
The combined impact of these changes means UK energy bills are now around $4 billion higher than they would have been if the “green crap” had been kept in place.
Need-to-Know 1: Cameron’s conservative party made Russia’s Gazprom and Putin a lot richer.
In a similar fashion right-leaning leaders in the US, Canada and other countries have gleefully cancelled measures to reduce energy use. Here’s another example:
In 2020, the Trump White House rolled back U.S. fuel-efficiency standards. New vehicles would be averaging 55 miles to the gallon (mpg) in 2025 but now will only manage 40 mpg. With U.S. gasoline at $4 a gallon today, the Republican Party’s decision means the average car owner will pay an extra $368 a year for gas.
Based on annual new car sales, Americans will be handing over an additional $6.4 billion a year to big oil in 2025.
Since light-duty vehicles will be less efficient, transportation and delivery costs will be higher. There will be a cascade of additional costs including more air pollution and more carbon emissions.
The public ends up paying all of those costs.
There are countless examples of this kind of thing all over the world: Leaders who claim to be conservative or fiscally responsible, gut environmental protections and energy standards, resulting in enormous costs to the public. I’m sure many of you have other examples.
Despite what they say, who are our leaders really working for?
Need-to-Know 2: So-called conservatives always favour corporate interests over public interests.
Keeping that in mind, consider the conclusion from the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report:
Rapid decarbonization of energy production, transportation, buildings, and industry would create a fairer, more sustainable world and be far cheaper than the present path we are on.
Need-to-Know 3: Rapid decarbonization requires big increases in energy efficiency.
Energy efficiency, and a shift to renewable energy, will save all of us a lot of money, clean the air and protect our climate. It’s not just scientists saying this kind of thing.
Here’s what the eco-radicals at the Deloitte Economics Institute are saying:
Why now is the time for US climate action
There is much to gain with aggressive climate action numerous analysis show. The United States economy could gain $3 trillion if it rapidly decarbonizes over the next 50 years. This once-in-a-generation transformation could add nearly 1 million more jobs to the US economy by 2070.
If left unchecked, the economic cost of climate change in the United States alone could reach $14.5 trillion by 2070. Some 900,000 jobs could disappear each year due to climate damage.
Decarbonization brings higher quality economic growth — improvements in standards of living, human health and well-being, and environmental conditions— conclude Deloitte’s eco-radical accountants.
Need-to-Know 4: Decarbonization is the only path to a healthy, prosperous future.
Until next week, be well.
Stephen