July will perhaps best be remembered as the month the UK Government cut all the โgreenย crapโ.
In total, nine environmental policies were scrapped: subsidies for wind, solar and biomass will be cut along with the Green Deal which aimed to help homeowners improve energy efficiency, most of the Green Investment Bank will be sold off, incentives to buy greener cars were watered down, the Zero Carbon Homes initiative was killed off, fracking will be allowed under national parks, green taxes were dropped and, finally, the Swansea Bay tidal project looks close to beingย chopped.
At first it started slowly, as Amber Rudd raised concerns that solar subsidies โmightโ be cut. A hop, skip and a week later, solar was just one of many cuts made in rapid-fireย succession.
It seems โlow-carbonโ is the word de jour. Rudd explained during the Energy and Climate Change Committeeโs inquiry into the Departmentโs objectives for this parliament that decarbonisation is the โmost important approachโ โ within this, both renewable energy and low-carbon energy will play a role, sheย said.
Rudd stressed that shale gas in particular will be an โimportant part of the energy mixโฆ Itโs an important part of our decarbonisation targets because itโs a low-carbon source ofย energy.โ
But industry, academics, and fellow politicians werenโt so pleased. The governmentโs cuts to renewable energy subsidies will leave the industry โin limboโ and send a โworrying signalโ about the UKโs commitment to tackling climate change ahead of the Paris climate conference, warned Angus Macneil, chair of the Energy and Climate Changeย Committee.
Ed Davey, former Liberal Democrat secretary of state for energy and climate change, said: โIt would appear that the Conservatives are taking an anti-renewables stance based on ideology, not onย evidence.โ
It all begs the question: what happened to the โgreenest-everโ Conservativeย party?
And, to top it all off, July ended with revelations that Rudd failed to disclose her brother is a top financial lobbyist with energy clients.ย Whoops.
But in case all of this isnโt enough for you, here are some other stories you may have missed thisย month:
Kochs Lobbyย Europe
At the beginning of July we broke the story that the Koch brothers have been lobbying Europe to the tune of half a million pounds over threeย years.
Our investigation revealed the Kochs have been lobbying on the environment, energy and free trade. More specifically, we ask whether this means TTIP and naturalย gas.
The story caught a few peopleโs attention as it was picked up by both the Guardian and Grist, and was shared widely online and in energy newsย bulletins.
Climateย Deniers
Then, in the middle of July, DeSmogBlog revealed that coal giant Peabody is still denying the science โ it submitted a report to the White House claiming that greenhouse gases are a โnon-existentย harmโ.
We followed this up with a look at exactly where Peabody is getting its information. It turns out it’s from a fellow coal owner, the climate sceptic Matt Ridley. In fact, Ridley is the most cited individual in the report followed closely by Lord Lawsonโs Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF). Seems Peabody has a fondness for British climateย denial.
Whatโs more, as Ridley joins the wave of Conservative criticism of renewable energy subsidies, we revealed he has no problem with the European farm subsidies he benefits from (despite previously criticising these subsidies asย well).
But it seems the influence of Ridley and Lawson is waning according to Lord Deben, the Conservative peer leading Britainโs independent Committee on Climate Change, who said: โTheir influence is less and less I am happy to say. The facts of science, life and measured views of people like Pope Francis are undermining them. They have become just rude instead of arguing and they are soย touchy,โ
This hasnโt stopped the GWPF from recruiting two MPs onto its Board of Trustees: Peter Lilley and Grahamย Stringer.
Lancashire Frackingย Saga
Lancashire County Councilโs decision at the end of June to reject both of Cuadrillaโs planning applications didnโt sit well for said climate deniers. Both Lord Lawson and Peter Lilley appeared on the BBCโs Daily Politics to call for the decision to beย overturned.
The Councilโs decision was quickly vindicated however when Defra (finally) released a full copy of the previously redacted fracking report. The revelations that shale gas extraction could lower property values, increase insurance costs, and damage the environment served to reinforce Lancashire Councilโs frackingย refusal.
But the battle will not end here. Cuadrilla is now appealing the decision, and, with planning appeals typically lasting about six months, the saga is likely to continue intoย 2016.
Do you have any questions or comments? Got any suggestions for investigations? Feel free to email me at [email protected]
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Photo: Brian Robert Marshall via Geography Creativeย Commons
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