The reason why Tata steel is cutting 1,500 jobs from its UK operations could not be clearer. According to this report, Karl-Ulrich Köhler, head of European operations for Tata, said:
“EU carbon legislation threatens to impose huge additional costs on the steel industry. Besides, there remains a great deal of uncertainty about the level of further unilateral carbon cost rises the UK Government is planning. These measures risk undermining our competitiveness and we must make ourselves stronger in preparation for them.”
In other words, lunatic EU greenie policies combined with dead-man-walking Chris Huhne’s newly-adopted turning of the screw (scroll down to the David Rose comment piece) – proudly putting the UK in the world lead as adopter-in-chief of suicidal eco-economic policies – are forcing lifeblood manufacturing industries out of the UK.
Surprise, surprise, the BBC’s reports on the job losses here and here barely mention this. When a union chief or Labour MP slams government policy for being Thatcherite or “Tory cuts”, the subs at the BBC routinely salivate and make it headline news. But because in this case Labour MP Nick Dakin dares to attack the BBC’s revered carbon taxes, it’s not emphasised or played up at all.
The headline I would have written for the story would have been “Carbon taxes lead to major job losses, says steel boss”. Never in a month of Sundays on the BBC.
Robin, Mr Huhne may be the mouthpiece and facilitator for the catastrophic green legislation but surely he’s not that bright that he can be pressing the case alone. Who does Mr Huhne take his advice from; who helps him to form his views and formulate his policies? Who are the people who are knowingly working Mr Huhne for their own bizarre worldviews? None of this is to imply that I wish Mr Huhne well or that he should not be removed from office and if possible, imprisoned.
When Huhne slides off into political obscurity, which he inevitably wiill, the Former UK will still be up to it’s neck in debt and promisory notes to the EU to pointlessly cut it’s CO2 output. This lunacy will run and run, because, even if they wanted to stop it, they couldn’t – it’s gone too far. The more they foist upon the poor (unsuspecting??) public, the more the public laps it up. Yes, they grumble, but they continue spending, they continue in their little cocooned world, and will do until the lights go out.
What a refreshing article by David Rose. Shame it was not on the front page where it should be.
Did Ed Milliband really say on “..the science of man-made global warming is ‘settled’..”?
“Good scientists detest that phrase, pointing out that science is never ‘settled’ but rather an ongoing process of testing, refinement and rethinking.”
If he did I do not remember the BBC reporting it.
JTH, here’s the report from the Times of Ed Miliband saying just that:
“We have to beware of climate saboteurs, the people who want to say that this is in doubt and want to cast aspersions on the whole process. The science is clear and settled.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6944071.ece
He was echoing his then boss, Gordon Brown, who a few days earlier had said:
“With only days to go before Copenhagen we mustn’t be distracted by the behind-the-times, anti-science, flat-earth climate sceptics. We know the science. We know what we must do.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/6729833/Gordon-Brown-climate-change-sceptics-are-flat-earthers.html
At the time John Humphrys did the unexpected (for the BBC) and actually challenged the arrogant and presumptuous Miliband about this. Humphrys himself, however, misrepresented sceptics in one of his questions asserting that the dissenting scientists “are not climatologists”:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8398000/8398726.stm
Can someone remind me of Ed’s qualifications in science ?
And Gordon the Moron, for that matter ? Ignorance has never prevented puffed up nonentities like them having an opinion on anything.
Utterly correct Grant.
You`d be hard pressed to get any competences in anything-arts, sciences,education from this lot.
They seem to have only done PPE at Oxbridge and been daddys boys. Having carried Barbara Castles handbag or pressed Tariq Alis trousers in 68 seems to be enough…as well as a willingness to stuff envelopes and lick envelopes for the Party.
Moving these toxic dumps from department to department before the damege that they do is permanent( as opposed to generational,which is accepted by the political classes) seems to be the game we`re paying to watch as spectators-and pay for!
These muppets are the self same types that mock the rapture zealots on their bulletins-as if their “chicken licken” stuff re global warming is not equally asinin…God forbid!
A microchipped,brown plastic(`cos its week 2!) dustbin of history for these recycled third raters!
” Even the Chinese questioned Ed Miliband over his “qualifications” to lecture them on climate change, his response was that as a politician, he was in effect, charged with selling the concept.”
http://www.power-to-the-people.co.uk/tag/ed-miliband/
Then he is a salesman and a salesman must believe in the product.
“Those are my principles. If you don’t like them, I have others.”
Groucho Marx
Without knowing that he’d said it, I would have bet good money that he’d said it. You could just tell that he would. He only speaks in cliches so it’s not that hard to work it out. He is a man who could make even Gordon Brown seem a sparkling personality and speaker.
‘He was echoing his then boss, Gordon Brown,’
This was a ‘tipping point’ for me, a greenie (albeit one who requires the numbers to add up before I’ll allow anyone to claim a project is for my kids’ futures), where I saw the grotesque McCarthy mindset inherent in these statements as much more dangerous to our future now than any possible effects of (A)GW at some future point.
Sadly, they, and those like them following, have a £4Bpa uniquely-funded broadcast propaganda echo chamber in full slavish support, free of any attempt at balance or scientific rigour.
In addition to avoiding Huhne’s CO2 taxes I suspect there’s another incentive for Tata to close the plant – as detailed here:
http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2009/12/we-woz-not-worng.html
They will make a fortune selling their surplus ETS carbon permits for the steel they’re no longer going to produce.
Also by moving the plant and jobs to India they can claim additional credits under the UN’Clean Development Mechanism’.
So yes – we’re paying these f@ckers TWICE to move jobs to India.
Peter,
But, to be fair , that is not Tata’s fault !
Doesn’t “Choo-choo” Pachauri have some underhand and vested interest in Tata?
http://romanticpoet.wordpress.com/2009/12/12/tata-group-u-n-climate-chief-cashes-in-on-carbon-and-guess-who-came-to-obamas-state-dinner/
Sheffield Forgemaster’s can’t be far behind.
I attended a discussion on “climate change” at Sheffield University with a number of academics promoting the alarmist line (and that “green jobs” will save us….). Also present was a representative from Sheffield Forgemasters. He said that the proposed “green taxes” on energy will completely wipe out Forgemaster’s profits by 2020.
Huhne, Clegg-all these horny handed sons of toil could not have been better chosen,had we asked the Chinese what their dream team for screwing up what little competition thay might get from this landfill site Blair and Brown bequeathed us!
That either of these twerps have any say in anything apart from examining the Guardians carbon footprint from beneath it on a park bench says much about how low we`e gone as a country.
Christopher Booker for Energy Secretary-whilst we`ve got some time left!
It was all about raising huge amount of taxes using the AGW/CO2 scam, and then throwing money around the world. This scam has been well and truly outed, but our politicians cannot get out, as they are hooked on raising taxes, come what may. The result will be mass de-industrialisation of Europe, fall in living standards, and ironically, less for the treasury.
Nothing short of a revolution will bring about a change, as our politicians are immune to reason.
DP111,
It is a gift to the emerging economies. They must be laughing their way to the bank and good luck to them !
p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 24.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 16.0px Georgia; color: #333233} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 24.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 16.0px Georgia; color: #333233; min-height: 19.0px} p.p3 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 20.0px 0.0px; text-align: justify; font: 19.0px Georgia} span.s1 {letter-spacing: 0.0px} span.s2 {text-decoration: underline ; letter-spacing: 0.0px color: #1900ae}
In response to the insanity of the CAGW scare I have formed the Campaign to Repeal the Climate Change Act. Do visit our website http://www.repealtheact.co.uk
Mark Twain once commented that, “The difference between reality, and fiction is that fiction needs to be credible”. The Climategate scandal torpedoed the credibility Climatic Research Unit (CRU) and the IPCC. Fewer and fewer people believe in the climate scare and the virtual reality of the climate computer models, which failed to predict known past climates or the current slight cooling in the Global Mean Temperature. Clearly these climate models must not be used to inform policy making.
Public doubts on CAGW are reflected in a recent GALLUP poll that indicated 43% of the British public do not think global warming is a danger to them or their family. Our campaign aims to give a voice to these concerned citizens who feel they have been mislead by the politicians and the global warming alarm movement. Recently rebranded by the government as Climate Challenge, and the Green Deal stimulus package of Green Jobs Growth. Despite that fact that for every 1 green job created 3.7 jobs are being lost in the real economy. Green isn’t working Mr Cameron.
A couple of days ago the love rat, reckless driver, loose cannon Energy Secretary Chris Huhne committed the UK to a legally binding 50 per cent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 in a move that will leave Britain £13.4billion-a-year worse off. In effect, this will mean we have to find an extra £500 per year! Do you really want to do this?
The CO2 reductions targets are the toughest of any country in the world and will come at a huge price for Britain’s struggling economy and hard pressed families. Currently 5.5 million households suffer from fuel poverty and last year there were 30,000 excess winter deaths due to the Arctic big freeze winter and energy price hikes.
In contrast, the U.S. has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by only 3 per cent, while China – the world’s biggest polluter – expects its carbon dioxide emissions to rise.
I ask you is this in the national interest? These loopy plans and our great sacrifice will have only a minuscule impact (if any) on the climate, but will stifle economic recovery and hamper business. They will also mean higher fuel bills, hitting poorest homes the hardest. Well, we have had enough!
Let’s all pull together and ‘Act on CO2 Taxes’. Please take a moment to read our petition for repeal and let’s all kick the climate scare into the recycle bin. You can do your bit by signing our petition and donating to us today so we can print more leaflets to stuff through letter boxes.
SIGN THE PETITION TO REPEAL THE CLIMATE CHANGE ACT
http://www.gopetition.com/petition/43914.html