There may be no bitter pill for the average Brit this time, but there’s a very bitter pill for the rent-seeking “professionals” who benefit from over-regulation and government-devised market distortions of all kinds. They’re today’s miners, but infinitely more articulate and influential.
If only Kristian Niemietz were right about the potential for promoting a sane climate change energy policy. But the green dogma on climate change and fossil fuels is embedded deep in UK society, far beyond active campaigners. It looks as if millions of bright teenagers are fully committed to the belief that fossil fuel producers all evil profiteers, callously destroying the planet. Most academic experts in the field seem be members of the faith, Dieter Helm being one of the few trying to spread some evidence-based sanity.
The BBC seems to have been captured. Anita Anand, the generally excellent chair of Any Answers on Radio 4, last week had a caller who said calmly that allowing full commercial exploiting UK North Sea oil and gas would be an important contribution to GDP growth. This she instantly put down with “But there’s a climate emergency!”, although it would have no material effect on global GHG emissions. It might trivially reduce them. But it would go against the very poorly defined UK emissions target and appal a significant section of the electorate. It would be win-win for the economy, but tragically not for the government that allowed it.
There may be no bitter pill for the average Brit this time, but there’s a very bitter pill for the rent-seeking “professionals” who benefit from over-regulation and government-devised market distortions of all kinds. They’re today’s miners, but infinitely more articulate and influential.
If only Kristian Niemietz were right about the potential for promoting a sane climate change energy policy. But the green dogma on climate change and fossil fuels is embedded deep in UK society, far beyond active campaigners. It looks as if millions of bright teenagers are fully committed to the belief that fossil fuel producers all evil profiteers, callously destroying the planet. Most academic experts in the field seem be members of the faith, Dieter Helm being one of the few trying to spread some evidence-based sanity.
The BBC seems to have been captured. Anita Anand, the generally excellent chair of Any Answers on Radio 4, last week had a caller who said calmly that allowing full commercial exploiting UK North Sea oil and gas would be an important contribution to GDP growth. This she instantly put down with “But there’s a climate emergency!”, although it would have no material effect on global GHG emissions. It might trivially reduce them. But it would go against the very poorly defined UK emissions target and appal a significant section of the electorate. It would be win-win for the economy, but tragically not for the government that allowed it.