Fresh from its staggering realization that neither the world nor its constituent parts are going to meet their Paris Agreement targets, Climate Home News bangs its head on China’s actual energy policy and reels back stunned. Coal coal everywhere, including almost five times as much new coal capacity as the amount they retired last year, and only the loosest of targets. As in “leaving space for “clean” coal growth alongside nuclear and renewables”. So is Communism bad? No. It’s all our fault. Naturally.
We actually think Climate Home News is doing a pretty good job of admitting problems in the actions taken by those who claim to believe man-made global warming is an imminent crisis. Which perhaps shouldn’t make it stand out though to some extent it does. Unfortunately they generally follow a fairly sound windup with a wild pitch and this piece is no exception. After conceding that “the latest government figures show China’s recovery from coronavirus to date has been anything but green” they ask “should we be surprised?”
To which the obvious answer is no, because China is a communist dictatorship bent on world conquest including a massive buildup of what their central planners think is economic might, powered by coal and high-tech industrial espionage. But CHN’s answer is no for a very different reason. “China’s rich neighbour Japan is still building coal plants. The US has no official coal exit plan, although market forces are doing much of the job. Germany is planning to burn coal until 2038.” And of course what western industrial democracies do, China does. Well, apart from allow a free press, have fair elections, not put people in concentration camps and a few other details of that sort.
Oh, and the thing where it tries to persuade others to destroy their economies to pave the way for its march to global domination. And sure enough, CHN goes on, “António Guterres continued his activist strain of UN leadership at this week’s Powering Past Coal summit with a call on G7 nations to commit to a 2030 end date for coal power generation.” As for China, well um uh that is… I know. I have it. We’ll do it instead.
This end of coal as we know it “is one area where the UK can set an example, having slashed coal generation from 40% to 5% of its electricity mix in five years (2013-18) and kept the lights on. Better things are possible.”
Yes. Including from you.
"This end of coal as we know it 'is one area where the UK can set an example, having slashed coal generation from 40% to 5% of its electricity mix in five years (2013-18) and kept the lights on. Better things are possible.'"
As Paul Homewood notes, this week saw us once again rescued by coal, natural gas and imports from our European neighbours. Lord knows what they think is going to happen when those last few coal plants close and gas is turned off.
As far as our political masters are concerned, I'm of the opinion a one-storey intellect is an over estimation.
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2021/03/08/wind-power-failed-again-last-week/
So, when Chinese and Japanese financing for industrial wind turbine projects in North America is arranged and prime farmland, roads and road allowances are used as collateral on projects with 20 year contracts, is this a potential land grab?
the west has a free press? china has concentration camps? seems as though you accept western media claims. makes one doubt the veracity of this article in general.
@ gregory Brown.
"the west has a free press? China has concentration camps? seems as though you accept western media claims. makes one doubt the veracity of this article in general."
With what, precisely, are you disagreeing? John's commentary or the article in Climate Home News?
As Ben Pile reports today at Spiked, our (UK) government is still ploughing ahead with Net-Zero without any understanding of how it's to be achieved; it's effect on the economy and the living standards of its residents – or, perhaps, they do and just don't care.
This isn't just media blurb; this is coming from a report recently published by the UK parliament's Public Accounts Committee.
https://www.spiked-online.com/2021/03/10/come-clean-about-the-cost-of-net-zero/
Antonio Guterres stated on Feb. 22 that 'white supremacy' is a rising trans-national threat...so he's reading pretty deeply from the 'Woke Playbook' and has zero credibility .....with me at least.
what western industrial democracies do, China does. Well, apart from allow a free press, have fair elections, not put people in concentration camps and a few other details of that sort."
Wait - which side does that? Cause I'm kinda seeing those things coming from China and the West.