German Government Report Names Pandemic Lockdowns as Precedent for Climate Policy
The German Advisory Council on the Environment is a body of experts convened by the Federal Republic of Germany to advise the state on matters of environmental policy. I’m grateful to @tomdabassman on Twitter for drawing attention to its recent and deeply creepy 200-page report on ‘The obligation of policymakers: facilitating environmentally friendly behaviour‘. It abounds in remarkable and revealing statement, and I’ve spent a good part of the day studying it for a longer post that I hope to write in the coming weeks.
For now, I want to draw your attention to the introduction, which is bad enough. Its authors depart from the premise that the state currently lacks “policy measures… targeting environmentally relevant behaviour”, and join others in affirming that it is the job of the state to nudge individual decisions in the right direction. Tellingly, both the pandemic and the sanctions-induced European energy crisis play a very large role in their thinking:
Although the key environmental crises, such as loss of biodiversity and climate change, are less directly visible and tangible than the energy crisis and the pandemic, environmental policymakers can learn from the sometimes painful but also important experiences of recent years: Behavioural changes in the population can be a part of the solution to crises such as these, and it is possible to adopt and implement policies aimed at changing behaviours.
For example, Germany introduced a series of measures in mid-2022 to alleviate the energy crisis. … These measures targeted the behaviour of citizens. In addition to general calls to save energy, building owners were obliged to optimise their heating systems, employees had to accept lower room temperatures at work and it was forbidden to heat private swimming pools. …. Earlier, Germany imposed far-reaching pandemic measures to contain the spread of Corona. For example, since 2020, the stated adopted and imposed various lockdowns and social contact limitations. Both highlight the contribution of behavioural changes, whether in energy consumption or social behaviour, to the project of combating a collective problem…
The aforementioned measures doubtless demanded a lot from people and in the specifics of the necessary extent of the restrictions, they proved controversial, as also in their unequal impact on different social groups. Nevertheless, the two crises show that political measures to carefully restrict the behaviour of citizens are possible if the threat is correspondingly great and the importance of the protected good – in these examples, health and energy – is recognised. The state has succeeded (even if not in every individual case) in devising measures such that it achieves its goal while maintaining proportionality. It is also clearly possible for these policies to be designed and communicated in such a way that the majority support them.
Emphasis mine. All of this speaks for itself, and I don’t have much to add, except to observe that the only way for restrictions to be “communicated” such that “the majority support them,” is by renewed forays into state media-fuelled mass panic and hysteria. Corona has taught our rulers that a great deal more is possible than they ever imagined, and they will spend the coming years exploring the limits.
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Another one to add to the list of Conspiracy Theories that are actually Conspiracy Facts.
Great minds and all that; had exactly the same thought before I saw your post
Looks as if East Germany ended up absorbing the western half, after all.
There comes a point where respect for democracy and for the rule of law will simply break down.
That would be something to see, in a land where people will wait for permission from the traffic lights to walk across a deserted road.
Please allow me to amend slightly:
‘.. the rule of law will simply have to break down.’
Thank you, Hux. People will have to become an archos – without leader. Most will find this impossible. Anarchy is not for everyone, it’s hard work. But at least you’re free.
đź‘Ť
“When Tyranny becomes law rebellion becomes duty” RESIST DEFY DO NOT COMPLY.
It seems that Germany didn’t learn from its behaviour between 39 and 45, and that there are many eager to repeat the mistake.I wonder how many other Western Governments ours included are watching and waiting for one of them, probably Germany to make the first move.
Schwab is German. Germany largely controls the EU and the EU still largely controls the UK. As part of the Brino “deal” the UK is signed up to the EU’s Environmental Regulations.
It won’t just be Germany.
First moves have been made:
deliberately engineered fuel price hikes, disruptions to all supply lines, deliberate collapse of health services, needless but engineered inflation, the enforcement of poisonous “medicines,” sexualisation of children, ghettoisation with 15 minute cities, ULEZ and criminal charges to stop us getting lung cancer (FFS).Everything has been deliberately manoeuvred to change behaviours.
We are living in a criminal world.
Sorry.
We already made the first move, back in 1988 when Margaret Thatcher (despite her intelligence and scientific training) made her speech on “Climate Change” to the United Nations.
Around the time of Senator Tim Wirth and Jim Hansen’s faked up Senatorial meeting, but Thatcher obviously carried more weight.
She saw the light, but was no longer in power and was ignored.
And the UK was first again when Blair, Brown, Veggie Benn and the Millibands made in legally enforced with the Climate Change Act 2008. Only 5 Tories voted against.
Not only Bunter felt the need to “Lead the World”.
The ruling caste of Germany – signficantly les than 5% of the population – was installed in the years from 1945 – 1949 by the same foreign powers, predominantly the USA, which are also pushing the so-called climate emergency nowadays. This makes territory of Germany and its unfortunate population a large and densely populated ground for putting experimental policy ideas of the US democrats into practice in a much more unrestricted way than this can be done (presently) in the USA because the so-called German constitution is nothing but paper document without any significance the so-called German governments can overrule by fiat as they see fit.
How about finally owning up to your own dogfood?
The French have stupidly ignored history again when it joined forces with Germany to form the EU. It’s probably too late for Macron trying to backpedal on Net Zero. German self-righteous extremism cannot be checked as it slowly regains momentum. The Germans will again end up in Paris; the only difference this time it will be in the form of extreme climate, censorship, financial & environmental laws.
“The state has succeeded (even if not in every individual case) in devising measures such that it achieves its goal while maintaining proportionality.”
So wrecking western economies; killing and injuring hundreds of thousands; destroying tens of thousands of small businesses and destroying millions of lives is, in their minds, “maintaining proportionality.”
These people are the direct descendants of the National Socialists: except they’ve now expanded to become International.
The socialist fascist state has been coming down the tracks since 1997; Blair’s Britain.
Citizens marched in their hundreds of thousands against the illiberal and inhumane Hunting Act and against the invasion of Iraq. It made no difference.
Socialist fascism was briefly stemmed by the Brexit vote and then the spineless Bunter sold the pass on lockdowns.
Vote for independents.
” if the threat is correspondingly great and the importance of the protected good – in these examples, health and energy – is recognised. “——————-The problem is ofcourse that it is government who decides both if the “threat is great” and what the “behavioural changes” should be. ————–This reminds me of that old bit of advice that said “never buy your medicine from the same doctor who diagnosed your malady”.
It’s not just Germany. We have our own tin-pot dictators here too. There’s a House of Lords report that also mentions replaying the Covid playbook to get us to conform to the Net Zero agenda. Plus there’s a Behavioural Insights Team report that wants to edit the consumer choice environment and influence TV drama and news output.
They really are trying to go full totalitarian on us.
https://davidturver.substack.com/p/net-zero-behaviour-change-mind-games