Green Party MP Caroline Lucas says the “greenest thing” about the government’s revised net-zero strategy is “the recycling of already announced ideas”.
Shadow Secretary of State of Climate Change and Net Zero Ed Miliband’s fears that the UK government’s Green Day would become a “boulevard of broken dreams” were confirmed yesterday, with green groups and politicians expressing disappointment at the lack of new green funding measures. UK Green Day, the name used by the Rishi Sunak government to launch its new net-zero strategy, was rebranded Energy Security Day, likely in order to downplay its possible climate credentials.
Following a successful legal challenge by three climate-focused non-profits – Friends of the Earth, ClientEarth and the Good Law Project – the UK government was ordered by the High Court in July 2022 to publish a revised net-zero strategy by 31 March 2023. A trickle of policy papers were released throughout the morning of 30 March; as of midday yesterday, Carbon Brief’s Simon Evans counted 44 new government documents totalling 2,800 pages accompanying the revamped strategy, Powering Up Britain.
However, to the disappointment of many, the government’s revised strategy so far appears to lack any new funding or policy announcements; instead the measures are largely a repacking or reiteration of existing plans.
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However, contrary to what many anticipated, the government has so far not used Energy Security Day to approve the Equinor-owned Rosebank oil and gas field project in the North Sea, although on Thursday afternoon, the Independentreported that the government had refused to commit to stopping the development of the contentious project.
THE UK Government will launch its net-zero strategy in Aberdeen next week, signalling plans to extend drilling for oil and gas.
The revamped Conservative proposals will see what was being referred to as “green day” by Whitehall staff rebranded to “energy security day”, with more of a focus on fossil fuels.
The proposals will also fail to bring in a 2025 flaring ban for oil and gas firms despite it being one of the 130 recommendations made by Tory MP Chris Skidmore earlier this year.
There will be no office for net zero – also one of Skidmore’s calls – and no compulsion for solar panels on new housing. Plans for a UK-wide programme of home insultation improvements, campaigned for by groups like Insulate Britain, will not be included.
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[and the BS continues … an expansion of oil and gas destroying the planet spun as it’s exact opposite.]
On Monday November 14 Barclays faced the biggest ever day of climate protests as hundreds of people took action at over 100 Barclays branches across the UK to protest against the high street bank’s investment in fossil fuels.
Protesters from Extinction Rebellion groups in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England occupied and flyposted branches, painted buildings with red paint and fake oil and held die-ins and street theatre performances, with actions set to continue throughout the day.
Barclays is the UK’s and Europe’s largest financier of fossil fuels. Since 2021, when the International Energy Agency concluded there could be no new oil, gas or coal development if the world was to reach net zero by 2050, Barclays has invested $19.583B in fossil fuels. Since the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016 their total investment in fossil fuels is $144.897B.
In the early hours of Monday morning, Extinction Rebellion London flyposted 45 Barclays branches across the capital with posters bearing the Barclays logo and reading ‘this is an intervention’ and ‘banking on climate chaos’. In Birmingham protesters threw washable fake oil over the High Street branch of Barclays and spray painted ‘Europe’s biggest fossil fuel funder’ on the facade of the building. At 8am in Glasgow two people carefully cracked the windows of the Barclays branch in their new offices at Clyde Place Quay, following the action they remained in front of the bank to be held accountable for their actions, holding banners reading ‘this is an intervention’ and ‘stop funding Rosebank’.
Barclays…Europe’s Biggest Financier of Climate Breakdown!
Extinction Rebellion co-founder Gail Bradbrook, said: “Today hundreds of people staged an intervention on Barclays, sending a message to the high street bank that with protests taking place at over 100 of their branches they are rapidly losing the social licence to do business in towns and cities of the UK.
“It’s high time that Barclays recognised the destructive role they are playing as Europe’s largest financier of fossil fuels and changed course.”
“We want Barclays to stop funding nature destroying projects and more than that we want them to show leadership. We ask them to publicly denounce an economic system that is geared towards the destruction of the planet, we want them to admit in public what bankers tell us in private – that they aren’t changing fast enough because the current system incentivises harmful behaviour.”
Just this week the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, warned, “We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator.” This summer the UK recorded its hottest ever temperature, and there were three times the usual number of wildfires. Drought conditions across the nation are set to continue into 2023. In a departure from the traditionally more neutral stance adopted by the UN, in April Guterres indicated for the first time those he considers responsible for the worsening climate saying, “some government and business leaders are saying one thing – but doing another. Simply put, they are lying.”
Extinction Rebellion, along with other groups, are calling for Barclays to end all investment in fossil fuel expansion. In March 2020 Greenpeace activists shut down nearly 100 Barclays branches in protest against the bank’s continued multi-billion dollar support for fossil fuels.
Alongside the protest actions, people from Extinction Rebellion local groups were out on the streets raising awareness about Barclays and encouraging people who use the bank to consider switching – other high street banks produce six times less emissions per pound in a current account than Barclays.
The day of protests follows Barclays’ announcement of much higher than expected pre-tax profits for the quarter of nearly £2bn. Higher interest rates have helped increase Barclays profits, whilst the cost of living has soared.
Sourced from an Extinction Rebellion press release
