Although the justification for the ULEZ extension is to improve air quality and not for ‘climate change’ reasons, this measure follows the same top down elite agenda pursued by the climate alarmists. The true motivation for the ULEZ extension is almost certainly income generation, as improvements in air quality will occur as a matter of course with the phasing out of older more polluting vehicles.
Up to the present time the measures required in the drive towards net zero have been relatively painless. A sizeable chunk of British industry has been outsourced to China thus significantly reducing our CO2 emissions, and reliable coal fired power stations have been replaced by unreliable wind and solar power, the increased costs of which have largely been hidden by being absorbed by stealth within fuel bills. Since, so far, there have been no major power cuts, the public remains largely unperturbed by these changes.
However, if progress towards the net zero target is to be achieved measures that will have a more direct impact on the public will now need to be introduced. Two of the more controversial are the replacement of petrol and diesel cars by electric cars, and the replacement of gas boilers by heat pumps. Up until now individuals have been able to decide for themselves what kind of car or domestic heating system to purchase, as might be expected in a free society. But henceforth they will be denied the right to make this choice as the supply of gas boilers and diesel and petrol cars are phased out.
At the last general election all the major parties supported the aim of the net zero. A recent opinion poll revealed that 73% of the public back the net zero target. However, opinion polls also show that support for net zero drops significantly when the costs to individuals are pointed out. Electric cars are still appreciably more expensive and heat pumps are almost four times the cost of gas boilers. Moreover, electric cars have problems regarding the limited range they can travel before needing to be recharged, and for many charging electric cars through the domestic power supply is impractical. Also, heat pumps are considered to be less effective in heating homes although they are generally cheaper to run.
It should be remembered that there is absolutely no need for these measures. The climate change hoax is based on nothing more than dodgy computer projections and predictions, and alarmist theories about the consequences of a slightly warmer planet. It is absurdly suggested that we will reach a ‘tipping point’ if global temperatures reach more than 1.5 degrees above the pre-industrial level. Since about 1.1 degrees of this rise has already been reached it is nonsensical to claim that an extra 0.5 degrees will have the catastrophic consequences being claimed. In any case the pre-industrial baseline starts at the end of the ‘little ice age’, when there were frost fairs on the Thames, the worst storm in British history and poor harvests due to prolonged bad weather. Climate alarmism is not based on ‘the science’ but is politically driven with the same anti-capitalist objectives of the Occupy movement of a decade ago.
There have been calls for a referendum on the net zero objective. However, the time for this is not now but later when the policies have started to have a real impact on the public. There are already calls for still further restrictions, such as severe controls over the number of flights that can be made, or curbs on the production of meat and dairy products, or control over spending habits through a carbon allowance for each person. When the consequences of all these restrictions have come into effect then that will be the time to call a referendum to end the madness of net zero. But before then it is hoped that, with increased agitation on the backbenches, the Conservative Party might come to its senses and declare an end to supporting the net zero agenda.
