In a nation that is increasingly confronting the effects of global warming while experiencing a historic energy crisis, initial comments by the conservative administration of British Prime Minister Liz Truss have sparked questions about her climate policy. The United Kingdom is currently experiencing a historic energy crisis.
When the new prime minister assumed office at the beginning of September, he immediately suggested a set of measures that were designed to slow the alarmingly quick increase in the country’s energy prices. They included the lifting of a moratorium on controversial gas fracking and the acceleration of offshore oil and gas development in the North Sea. Both of these measures were taken in the region.
In 2019, the United Kingdom put an end to the practice of fracking due to worries that it could trigger earthquakes. Fracking is a method that is used to retrieve hydrocarbons from extremely deep within the earth. In spite of the record-breaking profits that oil companies have been bringing in over the past several months, Truss has rebuffed the requests to impose a windfall tax on the industry.
The announcement that hundreds of environmental protection laws that were inherited from the European Union could be changed or repealed by the year 2023 was the last straw for environmental campaigners last week. “Nature is under attack from a spate of hazardous choices by the Government,” said Craig Bennett, CEO of The Wildlife Trusts. “We know people are outraged about the rising threats,” he said.
Laws protecting wildlife are in jeopardy, the extraction of fossil fuels is being given higher priority than the development of renewable energy sources, and the federal government is backing out of its promise to financially reward farmers who manage their land in a way that is beneficial to wildlife. Due to the prolonged drought that has affected parts of the United Kingdom (UK) for the past several months, record high temperatures that were achieved this summer, and heat-induced fires, many people in the UK have had their eyes opened to the potential future repercussions of global warming.
The country is one of the pioneers in Europe when it comes to the fight against the effects of climate change. It wasn’t until 2008 that Britain became the first nation on the planet to approve a law specifically addressing climate change. Rapid shifts have also taken place in the structure of the nation’s energy supply, with coal expected to account for only 3% of the country’s total energy consumption by the year 2020, down from 20% in 2013.
During the COP26 climate meeting that took place in Scotland the previous year, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson established tough climate targets. One of these aims included the eventual elimination of the usage of gasoline and diesel automobiles. Truss, the person who took over after him, was never regarded as someone who had a significant concern for the environment.
But even some on her own side are confused by the rash decisions she’s been making. “The incoming administration must not heed to siren calls to row back on environmental pledges when the answers to the numerous crises we confront, from climate to the cost of living, are complementary,” Chris Skidmore, a conservative lawmaker, and former energy minister said. “The solutions to the numerous crises we confront are complementary.”
Early in the month of September, a group of environmentally conscious parliamentarians representing a variety of political parties sent Truss a letter in which they urged her to reconfirm her support for the goal of achieving carbon neutrality. During her first address to parliament as Prime Minister, Trudeau stated her “complete commitment to reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.” However, she also stated that she would “re-examine” that target to ensure that it could be achieved in a manner that would be positive for the economy and growth.
The choice of Jacob Rees-Mogg as Truss’ secretary of… for business, energy, and industrial strategy has also added gasoline to the fire of skepticism regarding the trajectory of future climate policy in the United Kingdom. Rees-Mogg, a member of the Conservative Party who is opposed to onshore wind power, has stated that he wants affordable electricity for his voters “far more than I would like them to have windmills.”
In addition to this, he has warned against “climate alarmism” and has lately accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of backing opponents of shale gas in the United Kingdom. Ed Miliband, the key spokesperson for the opposition Labour Party on climate change and net zero, has referred to him as “a dangerous climate denial” after hearing his views.
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Friends of the Earth is an organization that campaigns for environmental protection, and they have voiced their concern over the recent nomination of someone to lead energy policy who has previously campaigned for the extraction of “every last drop” of oil from the North Sea. “Increasing the exploitation of fossil fuels is a flawed approach to solving the problem of inadequate energy supply. The incapacity of our society to wean itself off of fossil fuels has resulted in the skyrocketing of energy prices, and it now appears that a climatic catastrophe of catastrophic proportions is approaching “…the last part of the study.
Rebecca Newsom, a representative for Greenpeace, stated that the appointment of Rees-Mogg “suggests that the Tories have learned nothing after years of failure in energy policy.” The next national election is not anticipated to take place before the year 2025, and the subject of climate change has emerged as one of the most important campaign topics for the Labour Party.
