If you can’t afford a heat pump, have one of those: we must come first in the ‘Net Zero Race’!

 

They’ve been at it again: the ‘experts’ from Think Tanks of whom nobody has heard, and those ‘experts’ sat in the MSM editorial offices. Yes, they’ve listened to our cries of pain, begging them to make it stop – the acres of reports on yon misery memoirs – but they’ve instead re-focussed on ‘Net Zero’ and the economy.

I admit: I delved into the bowels of the online editions because, frankly, the outcry in the Red Tops regurgitating the latest NHS propaganda – everybody should take statins – is not news. We’ve heard that before. It’s a patently obvious attempt to make us drug-dependent in order to ‘save’ you-know-what. Here’s the front page compilation, for the record.

Let’s look at this ‘Net Zero’ news item. Both the DT and The Times have an article each so it’s useful to compare them. They both report a review commissioned by La Truss and presented by the Tory MP Chris Skidmore. The inanity of his attitude is brilliantly exposed in his statement that:

“[…] the UK is “now in a net zero race” with other countries around the world that have followed its lead – and is at risk of losing.” (paywalled link).

God forbid “we” lose that ‘race’! Compare and contrast this with The Times, with a warning: Mr Skidmore is not a scientist, he is a graduate from Oxford with a degree in Modern History:

“The challenge for us now is ‘not zero’. Not zero will be more of a burden than net zero. This is an economic opportunity, but it is also a huge economic risk to the UK if we can’t keep up with other countries,” Skidmore, a former science minister, said.” (link, paywalled)

“Not Zero” – blimey! Will this be the new battle cry for all those ‘climate extremists’? The good old proposal of forbidding gas boilers is brought out again, and the same old guff about ‘moar renewables’. Here’s the DT:

“New gas boilers should be banned within a decade, a review of net zero policy urges. The report also calls for an “onshore wind revolution” and a five-fold increase in solar panels, […] The review […] says net zero represents “a new era of opportunity” that risks being undermined by a lack of government ambition. But it acknowledges that the net zero transition, including replacing boilers and buying electric cars, will cost households £4,000 to £6,000 each by 2040, with savings possible only after that.The review also warns that nearly 500,000 households would not make any savings even in the long run, unless the Government provides more support.” (paywalled link)

For ‘government ambition’ read: shell out more taxpayers’ money. Also  note that we taxpayers, are being warned that ‘grants’ would be needed:

“He said low-income homes would need more grants to switch to heat pumps. These are effectively reverse fridges that can take warmth even from cold air, using a pump powered by electricity.” (paywalled link)

There’s one snag, the same snag which will affect us once all cars are ‘EVs’, electric vehicles: that electricity has to come from somewhere. I’ve still not heard about solar panels functioning in the dark of night, but what do I know … still, it’s reassuring (not!) to learn that Sunak has

“quietly rowed back on threats to ban solar panels on productive farmland, after warnings that it would threaten £20 billion of investment in the energy sector.” (paywalled link).

Food security is trumped by securing ‘Teh Energy Sector’. Funny dat: I’ve yet got to come across recipes on how to eat ‘energy’, be it electrical or even gas … There is however one item in this ‘review’ which the DT carefully omitted. The Times in contrast did pick it up (this and the following emphases are mine):

“The report calls for homes with an energy performance certificate of D or worse, which can use 27 per cent more gas and 18 per cent more electricity on average than C-rated ones, to be banned from sale by 2033” (link, paywalled)

How business-friendly is that: make homeowners pay for all this ‘Net-not-Not Zero’ crap if they want to sell their homes in ten years! What happens if people haven’t got the money but need to sell, for example when they have to move into ‘care’ homes for which they have to pay? Will the government buy those houses – at a much reduced price, of course?

Speaking of gas: there’s gonna be a ‘windfall’ for the Treasury! Yes indeed: gas prices have been dropping on the energy markets, not least because of the mild winter we and the continent are experiencing. I’ve not heard one outcry from our ‘climate’ terrorists about that. Here’s The Times’ editorial:

“As a result, household bills are forecast to be hundreds of pounds a year lower than expected in the second half of this year, falling below the average of £3,000 a year under the government’s price guarantee. Bills under the cap are set to fall to an average of £2,478 in July, according to Investec. That would hand the government a £10 billion windfall, with the cost of the price guarantee falling to just £2.3 billion, compared with an initial estimate of £12.8 billion.” (link, paywalled)

Yay – £10bn! And off they go, distributing those £10bn, blissfully unaware that this is not a ‘windfall’ but just a projection of the effect of lower market prices. Hunt hasn’t got that money yet, and as we keep being told by economists: prices may go up as well as down. But hey – this might mean inflation will fall: lucky Sunak … if it happens. Meanwhile, here are some stark reminders:

“However, bills will still be far higher than previously. In October 2021 the price cap was £1,277. Prices surged after Russia’s invasion in February and the market remains highly volatile. Energy analysts at Investec said yesterday that the price cap was now forecast to fall to £2,478 in July, £150 lower than its estimate a week ago. It expects bills to fall to £3,317 in April, £2,478 in July and £2,546 in October.” (link, paywalled)

Perhaps Hunt could hand out those £10bn to homeowners, to install heat pumps? Never mind that these still need to be manufactured and installed! Never mind that we peasants are still going to have to pay through the nose to heat our homes – the winter isn’t over yet. There’ll be £10bn which Hunt didn’t have anyway but which he won’t have to spend on price caps. Now he can spend it on something else: this is how ‘economists’ think.

That’s all I have for today. I prefer cartoonists to ‘experts’, so for a much-needed chuckle see this Matt Cartoon in today’s DT, about the ‘cyber hack’ which has affected the Royal Mail. Enjoy the rest of the day.

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