energy poverty

Shell slammed over eye-watering profits amidst cost of living crisis

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/05/shell-slammed-over-eye-watering-profits-amidst-cost-of-living-crisis/

“One of the corporate scandals of our times”

Earlier this week, BP announced it had secured £4 billion in profits in the first three months of 2023. Today, another fossil fuel giant has confirmed its staggering profits. Shell made record breaking profits of £7.6 billion in the first quarter of the year.

The news has been met with outrage from trade unions who have slammed the government for not taking action on energy firm profiteering in the middle of a cost of living crisis partially driven by high energy bills.

TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “These sky-high profits beg the question – will the government ever have the backbone to tax the energy giants properly? While families across Britain have struggled to heat their homes, Shell have enjoyed a record cash bonanza.

“Our energy market is fundamentally broken. Struggling households shouldn’t be lining the pockets of shareholders and fat cat CEOs. We could all have lower bills if government taxed excessive profits, introduced a social tariff and created public ownership of new clean power. It’s time to end the energy racket.”

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https://leftfootforward.org/2023/05/shell-slammed-over-eye-watering-profits-amidst-cost-of-living-crisis/

Continue ReadingShell slammed over eye-watering profits amidst cost of living crisis

Ofgem’s new rules ‘fail to deal’ with energy debt facing struggling households

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Image of cash and pre-payment meter key
Image of cash and pre-payment meter key

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/ofgems-new-rules-fail-deal-energy-debt-facing-struggling-households

OFGEM’S new prepayment meter rules “fail to deal” with the energy debt mountain facing struggling households, campaigners have warned, as the watchdog revealed a new code of practice for suppliers today.

The body said that energy firms in England, Scotland and Wales had agreed to the code, which includes a ban on forcibly installing prepayment meters in the homes of people over the age of 85.

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End Fuel Poverty Coalition coordinator Simon Francis also said the code does not go far enough, and that the voluntary aspect “undermines its objective.”

He said: “There are really vulnerable groups which have been omitted from its full protection and we have serious concerns about how it will be implemented, such as how people will prove their medical conditions without being humiliated by an energy firm health inspection.

“The plans also fail to deal with the elephant in the room — the growing household energy debt mountain.”

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/b/ofgems-new-rules-fail-deal-energy-debt-facing-struggling-households

Continue ReadingOfgem’s new rules ‘fail to deal’ with energy debt facing struggling households

Jeremy Corbyn: Labour should be defending democracy, not debasing it

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Image of Jeremy Corbyn MP, former leader of the Labour Party
Jeremy Corbyn MP, former leader of the Labour Party

https://www.islingtontribune.co.uk/article/jeremy-corbyn-labour-should-be-defending-democracy-not-debasing-it

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When I became Leader, I was proud to be part of a movement that gave its members a voice, fought for a politics of redistribution and anti-imperialism, and mobilised a new generation of voters to believe that a better world was possible.

The decision to block my candidacy is an insult to the millions of people who voted for our Party in 2017 and 2019, and to all those who voted for his leadership on the basis that he would “defend [the] radical values” we put forward.

Keir Starmer has abandoned his pledges to defend trade unions, bring key industries into public ownership, reverse NHS privatisation, raise corporation tax, protect free movement and abolish tuition fees. Solidarity is now saved for CEOs, not striking workers. Trust is placed in corporate interests, not party members.

Human rights issues are cherry picked at the expense of a consistently ethical foreign policy. And empathy for desperate refugees is eschewed to appease the right-wing press.

As the government plunges millions into hardship, Keir Starmer has decided to attack the democratic foundations of his own party and the principles he once proclaimed to support.

However, just because the Labour leader has abandoned his faith in a better world doesn’t mean the rest of the labour movement should follow. There is huge demand for a more hopeful alternative: decent pay rises, democratic public ownership, housing for all, a wealth tax to save our NHS, and a humane immigration system grounded in dignity, empathy and care.

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https://www.islingtontribune.co.uk/article/jeremy-corbyn-labour-should-be-defending-democracy-not-debasing-it

Continue ReadingJeremy Corbyn: Labour should be defending democracy, not debasing it

Scotland generates record-breaking renewable energy

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Shetland’s biggest Wind Turbine Image © Copyright Andy Waddington and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

https://energydigital.com/articles/scotland-generates-record-breaking-renew able-energy

… According to official data, Scotland broke previous records by generating 35.3TWh of renewable electricity in 2022, marking a 28.1% increase from 2021 and 9.8% from 2020. This amount of electricity could power all households in Scotland for over three years. The fourth quarter of 2022 saw the largest increase in renewable electricity generation in Scotland’s history, rising by 14%.

Between September and December 2022, the renewable electricity capacity grew from 13.6GW to 13.8GW. In addition, Scotland’s net electricity exports increased by 17% to 18.7TWh in 2022, with a wholesale market value of approximately £4 billion.

Wind energy was the primary contributor to Scotland’s renewable electricity generation in 2022, accounting for 27.5TWh. Of this amount, 5.8TWh came from offshore wind, while 21.8TWh was generated from onshore wind.

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https://energydigital.com/articles/scotland-generates-record-breaking-renewable-energy

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Just Stop Oil QEII Bridge activist ‘was delivering climate warning’

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11.15am The video changed shortly after I posted. It was originally far more critical of UK government and urging people to take action, far more like this one ;)

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-65127506

A Just Stop Oil protester has told jurors he climbed the Dartford Crossing bridge to deliver a “warning message”.

Morgan Trowland, 40, of Islington, north London, and Marcus Decker, 34, of no fixed address, are on trial accused of causing a public nuisance.

The court has heard the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, linking the M25 in Essex and Kent, was closed between 04:00 BST on 17 October and 21:00 the following day.

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“We climbed it to deliver a warning message – to put up a banner saying ‘Just Stop Oil’ and to speak that message through interviews with journalists,” he told Basildon Crown Court.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-essex-65127506

Continue ReadingJust Stop Oil QEII Bridge activist ‘was delivering climate warning’