Government must distance itself from Blair’s latest ‘dodgy dossier’ say Greens

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Image of the Green Party's Carla Denyer on BBC Question Time.
Image of the Green Party’s Carla Denyer on BBC Question Time.

Commenting on Tony Blair’s call for a major rethink of net zero policies which comes as the Climate Change Committee warns the UK is critically unprepared for the escalating threats of the climate crisis, co-leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer, said:

“Tony Blair has decided to mimic Nigel Farage on net zero and sounds like he is speaking on behalf of petro-states like Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan for whom he has lobbied for more years than he was prime minister.

“It is vital that the government distance itself from this latest dodgy dossier from Blair and turn its attention instead to what the Climate Change Committee is saying today. Their report could not be clearer: we are woefully unprepared for the impacts of climate breakdown as a country. Tomorrow is likely to be the hottest local election day on record – a potent reminder that we need a comprehensive plan to prepare for increasingly extreme weather events.

“Tony Blair and Nigel Farage apparently need reminding that a huge 89% of the world’s people want stronger action to fight the climate crisis, not a reset or watering down of ambition. And the CBI points to the fact that the UK’s net zero sector expanded 10 per cent last year, three times faster than the rest of the economy.

“The future is green; Labour must not allow yesterday’s man to drag us back into the dark ages. The government must press ahead with the drive towards clean energy and the green economy and all the advantages that will bring in creating good quality jobs, cutting energy bills and creating a healthier society.”

Continue ReadingGovernment must distance itself from Blair’s latest ‘dodgy dossier’ say Greens

Tony Blair opposes phasing out fossil fuels. These academics disagree

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Jack Marley, The Conversation

Rapidly phasing out fossil fuels and limiting energy consumption to tackle climate change is “a strategy doomed to fail” according to former UK prime minister Tony Blair.

In the foreword of a new report, Blair urges governments to rethink their approach to reaching net zero emissions.

Instead of policies that are seen by people as involving “financial sacrifices”, he says world leaders should deploy carbon capture and storage, including technological and nature-based approaches, to meet the rising demand for fossil fuels.

But speak to many academic experts on climate change and they will tell a very different story: that there is no strategy for addressing climate change that does not involve ending, or at least massively reducing, fossil fuel combustion.


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A fossil fuel phase-out is ‘essential’

“There is a wealth of scientific evidence demonstrating that a fossil fuel phase-out will be essential for reining in the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change,” says Steve Pye, an associate professor of energy at UCL.

“I know because I have published some of it.”

Ed Hawkins, a climate scientist at the University of Reading, agrees.

“Rapidly reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, and not issuing new licenses to extract oil and gas, is the most effective way of minimising future climate-related disruptions,” he says.

“The sooner those with the power to shape our future recognise this, the better.”

Fossil fuels are responsible for 90% of the carbon dioxide heating the climate. The amount burned annually is still rising, and so is the rate at which the world is getting hotter. Scientists now fear we are approaching irreversible tipping points in the climate system, hence their support for an urgent replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy.

Blair is confident that an emergency response on this scale can be avoided by absorbing CO₂ immediately after burning fossil fuels, from the smokestacks where the greenhouse gas is concentrated.

Not all of the emissions responsible for climate change would be prevented. UCL earth system scientist Mark Maslin says that natural gas, which would linger as an energy source thanks to carbon capture, still leaks from pipelines and storage vessels upstream of power plants.

Commercial applications of the technology also have a poor track record. Just two large-scale coal-fired power plants are operating with CCS worldwide – one in the US and one in Canada.

“Both have experienced consistent underperformance, recurring technical issues and ballooning costs,” Maslin says.

A valve and an oil derrick at dusk.
CCS is no alternative to turning off the fossil fuel taps. Pan Demin/Shutterstock

Blair might baulk at what he perceives to be the expense of ditching fossil fuels. But economic modelling led by Oxford University’s Andrea Bacilieri suggests his concern is misplaced. A rapid phase-out of fossil fuels could save US$30 trillion (US$1 trillion a year) by 2050 she concludes, compared with allowing power plants and factories to keep burning them with CCS.

Developing CCS will be necessary to help manage an orderly transition from fossil fuels according to Myles Allen, a professor of geosystem science at Oxford University. But it is not a substitute for undergoing that transition, he says.

“Above all, we need to make sure the availability of CCS does not encourage yet more CO₂ production.”

Keeping the public on board

Is Blair right to fret about a public backlash to lower energy use? Academics suggest multiple reasons to think otherwise if the alternative is prolonging the use of fossil fuels.

Replacing a gas boiler with a heat pump that runs on electricity, for example, can lower a household’s energy consumption without a deliberate effort. That’s because renewable appliances convert power to heat more efficiently (how much depends on how well insulated the home is).

In fact, it’s dependence on fossil fuel that is preventing many households from making this switch. The high wholesale price of gas determines the cost of electricity for UK consumers.

And surveys repeatedly show that support for net zero policies is broad and deep in the UK – including those that would involve lifestyle changes say Lorraine Whitmarsh (University of Bath), Caroline Verfuerth and Steve Westlake (both Cardiff University), who research public behaviour and climate change.

“Crucially, the public wants and needs the government to show clear and consistent leadership on climate change,” they say.

Meanwhile, what can corrode public acceptance of sacrifices is the high-consuming behaviour of a minority (think pop stars in rockets, as Westlake recently argued). And, arguably, the statements of powerful people like Blair.

New research even suggests the politics that Blair and many others like him favour might also play a role here. Felix Schulz (Lund University) and Christian Bretter (The University of Queensland) are social scientists who study how ideology affects personal views on climate policy.

They identified respondents in six countries (the UK, US, Germany, Brazil, South Africa and China) who shared Blair’s neoliberal worldview, which the pair define as a belief that individuals are primarily responsible for their own fortune, and need to take care of themselves – as well as an abiding faith in the free market.

“We observed a strong link between a neoliberal worldview and lack of support for the climate policies in our study,” they say.

Schulz and Bretter urge us to consider how someone’s ideology ultimately shapes their understanding of the problem and its solutions as well.

Jack Marley, Environment + Energy Editor, The Conversation

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Continue ReadingTony Blair opposes phasing out fossil fuels. These academics disagree

Corbyn urges enquiry into Britain’s complicity in Gaza genocide

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/corbyn-urges-enquiry-into-britains-complicity-in-gaza-genocide

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians is set up amid destroyed buildings in the west of Al-Shati camp, west of Gaza City, March 3, 2025

LAUNCH a full public inquiry into Britain’s complicity in the Gaza genocide, left MP Jeremy Corbyn has told the government.

The former Labour leader has written to Keir Starmer warning that he will be working with colleagues to “pursue all avenues to establish a public, independent inquiry into the UK’s involvement in Israel’s military assault in Gaza.”

This probe should “establish exactly what decisions have been taken, how these decisions have been made, and what consequences they have had,” he said.

Mr Corbyn’s move comes as pro-Palestine campaigners face a growing police clampdown, with several summoned for police interview over purported offences at January’s Gaza demonstration.

The letter to the Prime Minister cites the precedent of the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war which, though protracted, eventually laid bare the sheer extent of deception undertaken by the Blair government regarding the 2003 aggression.

“Britain has played a highly influential role in Israel’s military operations,” Mr Corbyn writes, “including the sale of weapons, the supply of intelligence and the use of RAF bases” in Cyprus.

“Many of us have repeatedly raised objections over the continued sale of F-35 components. We have repeatedly asked for the truth regarding the role of British military bases.

“And we have repeatedly requested the publication of legal advice behind the government’s currently unknown definition of genocide. Our requests have been met evasion, obstruction and silence, leaving the public in the dark,” he added.

The original article is at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/corbyn-urges-enquiry-into-britains-complicity-in-gaza-genocide

Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
UK Foreign Minister David Lammy confirms that UK government and military are active participants in Israel’s genocides and that the F-35 parts that they suspended from supplying to Israel are instead simply diverted via the United States. He says see https://youtu.be/QILgUHrdWRE
UK Foreign Minister David Lammy confirms that UK government and military are active participants in Israel’s genocides and that the F-35 parts that they suspended from supplying to Israel are instead simply diverted via the United States. He says see https://youtu.be/QILgUHrdWRE
Continue ReadingCorbyn urges enquiry into Britain’s complicity in Gaza genocide

Campaigners blast NHS England boss after she suggests return to failed PFI deals

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/campaigners-blast-nhs-england-boss-after-she-suggests-return-to-failed-pfi-deals

NHS England chief Amanda Pritchard

CAMPAIGNERS criticised the head of NHS England today after she backed the return of discredited private finance initiative contracts.

NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard floated the controversial idea as part of what she called a “radical” rethink in how Britain funds its infrastructure.

Recent data shows that the cost to repair Britain’s crumbling NHS buildings has spiralled to £13.8 billion, the highest on record.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday, Ms Pritchard said: “We need to think much more radically, particularly about capital.

“So I think we now must consider private capital investment in the NHS because if we don’t fix our buildings, if we don’t fix our technology, we’re not going to get to a place where we can really drive that long-term improvement.”

The suggestion was slammed by anti-privatisation group We Own It.

Research by the group found that the current maintenance backlog bill is dwarfed by a £44bn debt that 80 trusts still owe to private firms for historic PFI contracts signed off by Tony Blair’s government.

Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/campaigners-blast-nhs-england-boss-after-she-suggests-return-to-failed-pfi-deals

Keir Starmer confirms that he's proud to be a red Tory continuing austerity and targeting poor and disabled scum.
Keir Starmer confirms that he’s proud to be a red Tory continuing austerity and targeting poor and disabled scum.
Continue ReadingCampaigners blast NHS England boss after she suggests return to failed PFI deals

Thoughts of the Day 11 February 2025

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Keir Starmer warns against following the https://onaquietday.org blog.
Keir Starmer warns against following the https://onaquietday.org blog.

I’m writing about someone without naming him or her. It might be worth using these metrics with anyone, see if they’re capable and adjusted?

She is easily manipulated because: She is not able to appreciate anyone else’s perspective and is therefore incapable of empathy. She can’t distinguish her own interests from the interests and responsibilities of her office or position.

The second issue may derive from the first: if you haven’t progressed from – or regressed to – infantile self-interest then there are no responsibilities and interests other than your own. Rich people are taught to only be concerned for themselves.

12 Feb 2025

Since writing this yesterday I’ve realised that this might also apply to myself [edit: i.e. “… can’t distinguish her own interests from the interests and responsibilities of her office or position.”] I was appointed to a position without my knowledge or consent in the early 90s. Some would say that I wasn’t appointed and that it was instead a recognition. Soon later I went off grid and disappeared. My attitude is that since I didn’t have an option in it, FU you’re stuck with me and I’ll do as I like which in practice means I had chosen my path and I continue. Seniority appears to apply to this position and to me. I’m surprised that some people respect this position while many others seem to rebel against it and me, use their positions to try to entrap and persecute me. [14/2/25 Not so much now, used to happen so much when Bliar was PM and into late 00s.] Life is interesting and strange and then you die.

Continue ReadingThoughts of the Day 11 February 2025