Miliband Decrees Imported Electricity is ‘Clean’ Even When it Comes From Coal and Gas
Ed Miliband has decreed that imported electricity will count as being as ‘clean’ as wind and solar even when it comes from burning coal and gas, in a move critics have branded “cheating” and “bonkers”. The Telegraph has the story.
Ed Miliband faces cheating accusations over plans to exclude emissions generated in foreign gas-fired power stations from UK totals.
He has pledged to make the grid 95% gas-free by 2030 – but 15% of UK power comes from neighbours like Belgium, the Netherlands and France, which have coal and gas-fired power stations.
Miliband has ruled that all such imported power is be classed as zero-carbon – making it look as green as wind or solar – because the emissions occur outside UK borders.
The decision will bring his target of a “95% gas-free” grid by 2030 within much easier reach because it means electricity generated overseas will all be deemed to be carbon-free – even if it comes from burning coal.
Miliband’s approach was described as “cheating” by Kathryn Porter, an energy analyst at Watt-Logic. …
Britain is increasingly reliant on energy imports, especially when wind and solar output plummets.
On such days the UK’s reliance on imports surges to more than 20% – pushing up CO2 emissions. If overseas emissions incurred in generating power for the UK were included, it would potentially undermine the 95% carbon-free target.
Omitting foreign energy supplies from UK carbon accounting is widely deployed.
Last week, the National Energy System Operator (Neso) said that the UK’s combined solar, wind and nuclear fleet had reduced gas-fired generation to just 2.3% of UK power.
The announcement omitted to mention that Britain was also getting more than 12% of its electricity from overseas – potentially including foreign coal and gas-fired power stations.
It also omitted the contribution of Drax, the UK’s most controversial power station, which is powered by burning wood chips imported from forests in North America. It typically generates 4% to 5% of UK electricity. …
Claire Coutinho, the Shadow Energy Secretary, said carbon accountancy was destroying jobs.
“This is the problem with our carbon accounting, it counts carbon emissions for things we make in the UK but not for foreign imports. That means we offshore our emissions alongside jobs, tax revenue and our energy security. It’s bonkers.”
Worth reading in full.
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I am going to build 50GW of coal generation in Ireland, and lay some big HVDC lines to Britain.
Milibrain gets his zero emissions leccy, as the flue is in a different country so that doesn’t count of course because of reasons, and I get to make loadsa money.
Who’s with me?
(Hmmmm, it might be better to build the power stations in Britain, then pipe the exhausts to another country or even international waters. Et voilà, zero territorial emissions which is shurely fine because of reasons.)
How do we expect the bloke to achieve his targets if he doesn’t cheat?
Its not like he actually understands (or believes) any of the BS he spouts!
We offshored all of our heavy industry (such as it was) so we can claim we’re hitting our emissions targets, then buy back what we need, at vastly increased cost, from often “highly polluting” nations – it makes perfect Economic sense – if you happen to be a clueless Moron, which luckily Milbrain is!
Nahh, you’re still thinking small. This. Is. Net. Zero! (as Leonidas didn’t exactly say).
Your budget, for demented projects which look NetZero-y (though they involved vast expenditures of energy, money and non-renewable resources), is basically infinite. That’s simply because, if you need more money, we’ll just screw more out of the cash-cows who used to call themselves British citizens.
Let’s get Big. Let’s get Net. Let’s Get Zero. What we need to do is:
Build a gigantic extractor fan over the whole of the UK. It’ll suck up all the nasty CO2/cow farts/hurty words, pipe them under the Atlantic, and release them into the atmosphere… in Washington DC. Voila! Instant Net Zero for the UK, and one in the eye for BadOrange Man!
So by the same logic anything made in (say) China using coal-fired power and shipped using any fuel is also ‘clean’. Every import is even clean of slave labour because we didn’t have slaves working on these islands.
The man is a moron.
Yes indeed. Anyone who thinks solar panels and wind turbines are “clean” needs to have a wee peek at the mining and refinining operations thousands of miles away.
It is not nice.
A tad disrespectful to morons.
Calling him a moron is a mistake. He is a fully bought and paid for economic terrorist.
I don’t believe he’s a moron.
He’s managed, somehow, to get himself into a position to implement his plan which, as I recall, he originally put forward in 2013 and which was later adopted by May’s Conservative government and then the, umm, ‘struck’ Johnson who pushed it even further, with bells, at the behest of his piece of totty at the time.
If there are morons involved, it’s us, for letting these people attain positions where they can implement these policies…
Similarly Miliband thinks that gas and oil from overseas are “cleaner” than gas and oil from the North Sea, which is why he won’t allow increased North sea production.
Everything he does is just organised lying. No part of it makes any sense – unless he just wants to harm Britain.
I think you’ve hit the salient point in your last sentence…
He’s a megalomanic, looking to build a ‘legacy’, which he will, but just not the one he believes he has. Think of the mad criminal in films playing random music on an organ 😁
I thought “renewables” meant we did not have to rely on foreign electricity?
He’s a psychopath therefore applying the rationale, logic and knowledge of sane people to his behaviour is futile.
I believe they already do this with Drax, as the Carbon footprint is allocated to wherever the trees come from, in the Americas, and is therefor zero at the chimney… despite the total carbon output actually being higher than when it used coal, from the coal mine it is literally sitting on top of.
Drax & Lynmouth (in Northumberland). Both on top of coal measures, ISTR. It is a sleight of hand to classify trees grown in recent years as renewable – it depends how far back we look, after all.
Clearly the product of a deranged mind.
Energy laundering? Sounds a bit like money laundering. Not that the Milibands are into anything like that…
None of this is relevant of course, because the industrial output of specifically CO2 is not in any way to harmful the biosphere, the climate or human health. Far, far higher a proportion of atmospheric CO2 comes from the relative absorption and release from the oceans.
Yes, a mystery I have never seen addressed is why 3% of a gas, that forms a fraction of our atmosphere, is destroying the planet, when the remaining ‘natural’ 97% is, apparently, copacetic?
Well seeing as most of this treasonous terrorist’s ‘renewables’ are made from cheap Chinese coal, this latest lie is just par for the course.
Claire Coutinho, the Shadow Energy Secretary, said carbon accountancy was destroying jobs.
“This is the problem with our carbon accounting, it counts carbon emissions for things we make in the UK but not for foreign imports. That means we offshore our emissions alongside jobs, tax revenue and our energy security. It’s bonkers.”
And just remind me what this Whore of Sunak did and said then she was the Energy Secretary. Looking forward to turning East Surrey to Reform in May.
The Conservatives were only there as a safety release valve for Labour’s ratcheting up of Communism. They are only interested in conserving the status quo, not the native British people or their way of life, hence they just sat on their hands and did nothing whilst in power. Unfortunately Reform seem to be rebadged Tories so think more of the same again..
Miliband was obviously indoctrinated from birth by his parents to act as a communist sleeper. Once in power he would assist the destruction of the UK to become a satellite state of China and Russia where citizens have no freedoms or rights. It is all going to plan it seems.
He’s really not right in the noggin is he?
The root of the insanity is Carbon Accounting.
He is just taking it to an extreme ….. because he will do anything he can to further harm this country.
When are we going to be rid of this total Marxist CRETIN? I know the people get the politicians they deserve but what the F did we do to deserve this ECO TRAITOR?
Basically, insane Millibrain is both a liar and a cheat; as dishonest as the day is long. Govt’s do redefine words & terms to suit their political beliefs, and think we’ll believe them. Remember how “vaccine” was redefined during the pandemic?
To give Claire Coutinho her due, she completely demolished Labour’s energy policy in this debate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5anXrBUKcqU