Climate Denial Crock of the Week

7 Responses to “The Weekend Wonk: Emerging Renewable Grid in Great Britain is a Model”

1. indy222 Says:

   
   June 6, 2020 at 7:51 pm

   UK has dropped their CO2 emissions by 38% 1990 to 2017 according to Carbon Brief. Not bad! But not mentioned is a radically important point which I keep making and which keeps getting ignored by the happy talkers – China and Asia following, has gone through a massive change during this period to become the manufacturer for the world, and THEY get the CO2 emissions. UK, US, and all the rest of the Western countries which love to boast about their rising renewables fraction, are all part of this.

   Climate doesn’t care who emits it. Climate is global and CO2 is well mixed, and only the total emissions matters. And atmospheric CO2 concentrations continue on the perfect exponential it has held for decades and now up to 3ppm per year vs the 2ppm rise per year a couple decades ago. Just check the Keeling Curve on your own.

   Yes, it’s good that progress on renewables is happening, but this failure to look at WHY CO2 emissions drop WITHIN INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES is extremely frustrating to have to continue to point out. Yeah, it’s not such a happy-talk story, but it’s … . well, you know…. the TRUTH!

   Reply
   • rhymeswithgoalie Says:

     
     June 13, 2020 at 6:25 pm

     That’s why any individual country has to include carbon tariffs when talking about domestic carbon taxes.

     Reply
2. redskylite Says:

   
   June 7, 2020 at 12:36 am

   U.K have worked hard to reduce fossil burning, they have 7 of the largest wind farms in Europe. They are also investing in solar and nuclear. The manufacturing industry was severely reduced way back in the eighties, under the Thatcherite era, it is ancient history, a done deal ages ago. No happy talk but India and China have both pledged to honour the Paris agreement.

   https://www.power-technology.com/features/the-biggest-wind-farms-in-europe/#:~:text=Located%20on%20Eaglesham%20Moor%20in,first%20power%20in%20January%202008.

   Reply
   • redskylite Says:

     
     June 7, 2020 at 1:07 am

     Coal-fired power plants were not used during the entire month, the first time that has happened since the country began generating electricity from the fossil fuel in 1882.

     https://metro.co.uk/2020/06/03/britain-went-coal-free-month-first-time-since-1882-12797343/

     Reply
     • redskylite Says:

       
       June 7, 2020 at 1:07 am

       The excess energy made by solar panels and wind farms will be stored in the facility and resupplied to the National Grid to stabilise the system or when there’s high demand.

       https://www.energylivenews.com/2020/06/02/somerset-switches-on-ground-breaking-energy-storage-facility/

       Reply
   • redskylite Says:

     
     June 7, 2020 at 1:17 am

     China will fully implement its commitment to nationally determined contributions (NDCs) on climate change under the Paris climate agreement despite the coronavirus outbreak, the country’s environment ministry said on Tuesday.

     China, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouses gases, pledged to cut “carbon intensity” – the amount of carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP – by 40-45% from 2005-2020 as part of the Paris pact it signed in 2015. It said last year it would set a more ambitious target, without giving figures.

     https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-environment-climate/china-says-sticking-to-climate-pledges-despite-coronavirus-outbreak-idUSKBN2390E2

     Reply
3. Roger Walker Says:

   
   June 7, 2020 at 6:33 am

   So refreshing to hear these guys’ enthusiasm! And who would have thought the UK could be a model for anything at all these days? Better not tell Johnson about it – he’d find the way to chuck a spanner in the works.

   I like the line “We are the first generation to understand climate change, and the last to be able to do anything about it.” But which generation do they mean exactly? Certainly not the current ‘generation’ of political leaders (quotes because that covers a pretty wide span of years); nor the current heads of big oil, big pharma, or big media for that matter. That whole bunch still have their grubby hands on the levers of power.

   I’m reminded of another snappy one-liner. Where did I read recently: “The world in 2030 will be shaped by innovations and discoveries yet to be made”? Suppose for a moment that the optimism of Llewelyn and his ilk is well founded and that we do reduce emissions radically and rapidly. That still leaves us with 420ppm of atmospheric CO2 and tipping points tumbling all over the biosphere.

   What is the best-case scenario? +2°C? +2.5°? Can we live with that? I’m haunted by Hansen’s superstorms. As Michael Mann has said, “We ignore Hansen at our peril.”

   Reply

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