The costs of suicidal ‘global warming’ policies are soaring like our newly-returned swallows [above: swallow on reverse of Estonian 500 Krooni banknote, reproduced under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2, or any later version].

On Sunday, The Daily Express highlighted the cost for UK families of the government’s ill-judged policies, based on a newly-released report carried out by respected energy consultants for the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform [what a 1984 invention]  [‘Labour’s Green Tax Will Cost Every Family £3,000’, The Daily Express, May 4]. These costs are no longer a joke. Here we have a Labour government heaping burden after burden on the poorer members of society, at a time when people’s finances are under greater stress than usual from rising food and fuel bills, from the increasing unavailability of mortgages, and from a series of ill-thought out tax and pension decisions. No wonder Labour received a drubbing last week in the local and London elections. It is just asking to be voted out of office.

Policy Implications

The Daily Express summarised well the dire implications of current government policies:

+ A typical family will see its fuel bills rise by £214 a year as power firms switch to expensive technology, like windfarms;

+ ‘Renewable’ energy targets will cost Britain far more than any other EU country. The report puts the cost of reducing carbon emissions across the EU at about £39 a ton, while the price in the UK will be about £65 a ton;

+ Neil O’Brien, Director of the think tank, Open Europe, is reported as saying that civil servants are “in despair” over how Britain is going to meet its targets, which experts believe are unachievable;

+ Strong local opposition to windfarms (e.g. on Lewis) and the withdrawal last week of Shell from the Thames Array project will surely make such targets completely impossible.

Expensive Error

The Daily Express claims that this latest report “slipped out without publicity”. Is one surprised? It is devastating.

Labour’s ‘global warming’ policies are an expensive error, which, in the end, could cost Labour especially dear at the ballot box. After all, The Sunday Times [‘Tories ditch green taxes’, February 24] reported only recently that:

“David Cameron [leader of the Conservatives] is to abandon plans for ‘green’ taxes amid fears of a backlash from voters unhappy about having to pay for climate change.

A leaked policy paper commissioned by the Tory leader warns that action on the environment is too often seen in terms of ‘consumer sacrifice’.”

Just so. Moreover, it is vital to remember that such policies will have no predictable effect on climate change whatsoever.

This ruinous folly has to be stopped ...

“Ah! The swallows have returned. So tea in the garden first - to watch them soar, just like the costs of ‘global warming’. Thermals all round!”