Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

JKenH

At BP, it's far from business as usual

https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/who-we-are/keep-advancing/not-business-as-usual.html

JKenH

The future of transport - by BP

https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/who-we-are/keep-advancing/future-of-transport.html

1961Nick

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Rising sea levels pose threat to homes of 300m people – study



Perhaps millions of young and old should lobby their politicians by taking to the streets, asking for more action and displaying their views, even if they are counter to the interests of the big FF companies - but I suppose their 'lobbying' will be 'the wrong sort of lobbying' to some.

Isn't "cutting carbon emissions & strengthening coastal defences exactly what I said we should be doing - rather than putting all our eggs in the 'cutting carbon emissions' basket?

silverwhistle

1961Nick wrote: »

You could even class visiting your MPs surgery as lobbying on a micro scale.

Really? Having lobbied my MP once, many years ago, I'd say the difference is that I had some personal knowledge and expertise in the fairly esoteric matter in hand. The FF and tobacco firms have been spreading misinformation, although from what you have been saying, as long as some profit motive is concerned that seems to be ok by you.


I wouldn't bother lobbying my current MP; he's a gurning, lobby-fodder idiot.

ABrass

Isn't "cutting carbon emissions & strengthening coastal defences exactly what I said we should be doing - rather than putting all our eggs in the 'cutting carbon emissions' basket?

Coastal defences are expensive. Epically so compared to avoidance. According to studies referred here:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/sites/maritimeaffairs/files/docs/body/report_en.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiL1aXkjcTlAhWUoXEKHaJLAdEQFjANegQIARAB&usg=AOvVaw0-w1Y2kyl5RU59Mg8mO4a1
The ratio is in the region of 7:1 (adaptation costs : avoidance costs) the analogy would be to spend £100 on preventing a leak in your plumbing or £700 repairing afterwards.

Given this is a money saving site should we really be advocating for such an inefficient use of money?

1961Nick

silverwhistle wrote: »

Really? Having lobbied my MP once, many years ago, I'd say the difference is that I had some personal knowledge and expertise in the fairly esoteric matter in hand. The FF and tobacco firms have been spreading misinformation, although from what you have been saying, as long as some profit motive is concerned that seems to be ok by you.


I wouldn't bother lobbying my current MP; he's a gurning, lobby-fodder idiot.

I think you'll find that profit is the primary motivation for all businesses ... including RE businesses!

MPs will be very receptive to lobbying for the next 43 days.;)

Martyn1981

1961Nick wrote: »

Isn't "cutting carbon emissions & strengthening coastal defences exactly what I said we should be doing - rather than putting all our eggs in the 'cutting carbon emissions' basket?

Just a few problems with that.

1. We are all spending money on sea defences already, didn't you know that?

2. Mitigation will reduce the amount of sea defences needed, and therefore reduce the cost of said defences needed. Reducing spending on mitigation will (and apologies for repeating this to you for perhaps the 100th time) increase the total cost of dealing with AGW, and will also increase the environmental cost too ...... plus the cost of sea defences.

3. Nobody is 'putting all our eggs in the 'cutting carbon emissions' basket' - this is just something you have made up, just like your suggestion that we could spend all of our money now on mitigation and have nothing left in the future to cope with the impacts of AGW - a word salad of silliness that makes no sense, and seems (to me) to be almost impossible to achieve. Designed perhaps to spread FUD.

Martyn1981

UK population appears to be taking the climate crisis ever more seriously, but whether that will actually translate into a shift in votes ..... I've no idea.

Climate crisis affects how majority will vote in UK election – poll

A majority of people in the UK say the climate crisis will influence how they vote in the looming general election, according to an opinion poll, with younger voters feeling particularly strongly about the issue.

Almost two-thirds of people agreed the climate emergency was the biggest issue facing humankind, with 7% disagreeing. The poll also asked if “fossil fuel companies, whose products contribute directly to climate change, should help pay for the tens of billions in damages from extreme weather events?” Two-thirds of people agreed, with 12% opposed.

In terms of action to tackle the climate emergency, 81% of people backed planting more trees, 63% supported a Green New Deal – a large-scale, long-term investment in green infrastructure and jobs – and more than half said it was important to ban fracking.

Martyn1981

Bristol is in the RE news an awful lot, they really do seem to want to act. But on this occasion they are also facing pressure due to poor air quality.

Bristol could become UK’s first city to ban diesel cars

Bristol could become the UK’s first city to introduce a ban on diesel vehicles to boost air quality.

The vehicles will be prohibited from entering a central area of the city between 7am and 3pm every day under proposals by Bristol city council.

A wider charging zone for commercial vehicles such as buses, taxis, vans and lorries that do not meet certain emissions standards is part of the measures that could be implemented by March 2021.

There is also a plan to launch a car scrappage scheme to help diesel car owners buy an alternative vehicle.

Concerns over emissions of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) have grown since Volkswagen was found in September 2015 to have cheated air pollution tests for 11m diesel vehicles worldwide, including 1.2m in the UK.

JKenH

Martyn1981 wrote: »

UK population appears to be taking the climate crisis ever more seriously, but whether that will actually translate into a shift in votes ..... I've no idea.

Climate crisis affects how majority will vote in UK election – poll

It’s a shame they didn’t poll the 3 amigos, they might have got a different answer.

Interesting that the boss of Client Earth isn’t quite so ethical when it comes to his own remuneration. From the Telegraph

The head of a taxpayer-funded environmental charity has become one of the highest paid bosses in the voluntary sector after his pay package rose by 50 per cent to £232,000.

James Thornton, the head of ClientEarth, is now the highest paid green charity boss in Britain with his pay outstripping the heads of Greenpeace, WWF and Friends of the Earth.



... and the Prime Minister.