In the course of the leadership election the new PM Liz Truss promised to " double down " on the UK's promise to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2050.
As temperatures rose during summer There was not much talking about greater ambitions from the Tory candidates, but there was plenty of discussion of speculation about how environmental policies could be diluted or altered.
In its most recent report on progress towards net zero,the advisers to the government The Climate Change Committee (CCC) declared the following "tangible progress is lagging the policy ambition".
So, is the new Truss government planning to close those "policy gaps" identified by the CCC or will they increase them?
The two most important cabinet posts that will net zero are held by Jacob Rees-Mogg. the secretary for business, who is in charge of the vital energy sector, as well as Ranil Jayawardena who is the environment secretary.
Don't think that the new secretary for business to make many connections in the environmentalist lobby also known as the "green blob" as he has described them.
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Mr Rees-Mogg has made comments about the possibility of taking "every last drop" of North Sea oil, and licenses are likely to be granted quickly for any new oil or gas exploration. This is a no-no for the majority of climate scientists who believe there should be no further fossil fuel exploration projects if you want to keep any chance to keep global temperatures to less than 1.5 degrees. Climate scientists warn that ignoring that deadline will raise the risk of climate change such as extreme weather.
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"It doesn't have a knock on effect on net zero." The late Mr Rees Mogg said when talking about the latest North Sea oil and gas on his podcast earlier in the year.
"It's more environmentally friendly to use gas that you've got at hand than to import liquefied gas from the rest of the world."
A small number of Conservatives have been requesting that the new Prime Minister examine the issue from a different angle. the issue of fracking. Truss has provided them with support.
On the campaign trail , she stated that"the "effective ban" on fracking could be lifted but could only be lifted if local communities backed the idea (which could be a reason to stop it occurring).
Mr Rees Mogg has called the gas shale "very clean" and said the risk of earthquakes resulting from drilling was overstated , with "some the equivalent of a bus passing by your house."
Renewables
The hard, cold capitalist reality is that the new renewable energy sources are currently a less expensive source of power generation than the nuclear or fossil fuel alternatives. Therefore, shifting to solar and wind will not only be environmentally friendly and economic sense, as well as providing us with more energy security.
Britain is a world-leading country in offs wind. In the coming years the development of ever bigger wind-farms , mainly located in the North Sea - looks set to continue. Massive projects are already in underway and will begin to come into operation within the next few years.
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There's no chance of a any shift in policy to two Tory renewable energy bugbears that have similar prices - ons solar and wind.
Ms. Truss has stated before that she would like solar power panels restricted to buildings' roofs and not be placed on farm land Her environment minister seems to have an even more radical view.
"I don't think there's any need for solar power given the huge potential for wind," Ranil Jayawardena said in an social media post on November 20, 2021.
"If you feel strongly about protecting our countryside from solar farms write to your local councillor and give them the support they need to take action quickly to protect our countryside from them."
Land-based wind farms have a shorter time to develop, however new projects have been stopped since 2014, after local residents were granted more rights to challenge. Despite the lure of speedier and cost energy, neither Truss or Mr Rees Mogg nor Mr Jayawardena have expressed any interest in making it easier to build ons.
In one of his shows Mr. Rees-Mogg discusses "hairshirt greenery", the concept that environmental issues can be solved by limiting our use of natural resources.
"If you're violent, too "hairshirty" people won't vote for it." He adds.
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"So you've got to go with the grain of public opinion with what people are willing to accept. And that means raising living standards through efficient use of technology".
In this light, latest polling on renewable energy conducted by Mr. Rees-Mogg's department is interesting to read. It indicates that 7% of the population would be dissatisfied (compared to 54 percent who would be satisfied) regarding a solar farm located in their own area. They also report 12 percent of people are dissatisfied (with 43% being satisfied) about a wind farm that is located on the s.
