“There is nothing environmental about exporting manufacturing jobs abroad”
Unusual coverage from the CAGW-obsessed Financial Times
Minister rounds on ‘environmental Taliban’
By Pilita ClarkBritain’s climate change minister has rounded on the “environmental Taliban” of green campaigners, insisting they are wrong to accuse the government of abandoning its commitment to an ambitious low carbon agenda.
“There is nothing environmental about exporting manufacturing jobs abroad,” said Greg Barker, in a sign of the dilemma ministers face as they confront mounting industry concerns about high energy prices in a weak economy, having vowed to try to be “the greenest government ever”.
The chancellor, George Osborne, riled green activists in the November autumn statement, when he unveiled a £250m package to help ease the impact of climate policies on heavy electricity-consuming companies, saying “we are not going to save the planet by shutting down our steel mills”.
At the same time, ministers infuriated the solar industry by hastily moving to stem a rush on household solar panel installations by halving the subsidies paid for such systems.
Friends of the Earth successfully challenged the solar subsidy cuts in court, while Greenpeace labelled the autumn statement a “polluters’ charter” and said the chancellor had “effectively destroyed any remaining credibility of the coalition as a friend of green jobs, green growth and protection of the environment”.
Mr Barker, who has led the contentious efforts to rein in solar generation costs, told a manufacturing debate in Westminster last month he was “fed up with the environmental Taliban” criticising ministers’ efforts to address legitimate industry concerns.
He also said the new “mantra” at his Department of Energy and Climate Change was “decarbonisation not de-industrialisation”. (Financial Times)
I almost feel bad for the Pols that have to try to balance economy and ecology. But, they have to remember who opened the door and let the zealots into the room.
They just now seem to be figuring out that the true intent of the econuts is the de-industrialization of man to save the planet. Their fairy dust energy isn’t working as promised, governments are spending billions chasing unicorns, and people are struggling with paying their energy bills. The Pols realize that to preserve their careers, the unwashed masses must have at least a glimmer of hope for a brighter future. If all the jobs move to China, you have a lot of disgruntled peasants that just might storm the castle if they feel they have nothing to lose…