The UK's Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) program, projected to cost £264bn by 2050, is criticized as a 'white elephant' that will increase emissions and costs. Experts argue it's driven by fossil fuel industry lobbying, not climate necessity, with alternatives like renewables and battery storage being more viable and cost-effective.
The UK government's climate policy is criticized for its authoritarian approach, failing to communicate effectively with the public and instead resorting to coercion, undermining trust and potentially hindering climate action.
Peter Hargreaves, a major Brexit donor, profited from the insecurity it created. The article argues that politicians who generate crises, like Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson, often benefit from public anger and a lack of accountability, contrary to democratic theory.
Scientists now believe there's over 50% chance the Atlantic circulation system (AMOC) will collapse by mid-century, causing catastrophic climate impacts across Europe, the Americas and Antarctica. Yet this existential threat remains underreported, as billionaire-owned media and climate models downplay catastrophic risks while promoting minimal climate action.
The US attack on Iran has made the need for renewable energy inarguable. Environmentalists are now being seen for the pragmatists that they areDonald Trump has done more to accelerate the energy transition than anyone else alive. Fossil fuel companies bankrolled his presidential campaign to stop the transition in its tracks. But when you back a volatile narcissist, unable to concentrate for more than a few minutes at a time, you shouldn’t expect to control the outcome.It’s not that the fossils are suffering yet. As prices have soared since Trump and Netanyahu attacked Iran, oil executives have been selling shares at gobsmacking prices: the CEO of Chevron, for example, has cashed $104m so far this year. Vladimir Putin has also received a massive boost to his Ukraine invasion budget. As promised, Trump has gutted clean energy rules and programmes, green alternatives and environmental science. A fortnight ago, he stated, with the usual quantum of evidence (zero): “The environmentalists, I mean, they are terrorists … I call them environmental terrorists.”George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist Continue reading...
