The failure of authority to command the energy crisis

TheUKdesperatelyneedsanewenergystrategyandcouldseizetheopportunityofbeing thespearheadtoanewattitudeandapproachtoenergysourcingandsecurity.Legislation, (ClimateChangeAct2008),confinesanenergyapproachfocusedonpollutantemissions andlimitsforesightandtechnologicaldevelopmentbykeepingattentionfixedoncurrent meansofenergygeneration.TheUKhasnoobjectivemeasureofitsassets.Expandedinto thegeopoliticalarena,theissuesofenergysourcingandsecurityareattherootofall troublespotsintheworld.Whilethevisionofa'lowcarbon'infrastructuremaintainsa profitfocusoncapandtrade,orcarbontaxingpolicies,developmentisequallyconfinedto theprofitopportunitiesofbiomassandtokengesturetowardshydro,wind,andsolar energy.Thereisacompletedisregardoftheagriculturalimpactofbiomassandblind ignoranceoftechnologicaladvanceintoclean,nonpollutingenergysourcing,provenby inspiredinventors. AfterthehegemonyoftheoilindustryfollowingtwoworldwarstheUKnolonger commandsasmuchinfluenceinenergystrategy.IfU.K.EnergySecretaryChrisHuhnehad theforesightofarealisticenergyfutureandweretoseizetheopportunityofnewenergy potentials,theUKcouldagainleadtheworldintoaneweraofinnovationandprosperity thatwouldchangethefaceoftheworldforthebetterinmuchthesamewayasindustrial imperialismhaschangedtheworldfortheworse.Witha200billionvisionofalowcarbon infrastructure,apublicdebtof1trillion,amassivetradedeficit,andforesightblinkered withincurrentmodalitiesthefutureisbleakascombustiblesandnuclearenergygeneration areharmfulinallrespects.TheUK'senergyandeconomicpolicyreliesonassumptionsthat arecompletelyunrealisticandpubliccommunicationsofferathinveneerofwilltochange. WithnucleardisasterinJapanandtheabsurdsituationofenergysecuritycreatingmore insecurityintheworldtheneverbefore,alongsidethedesperatedevelopmentof'fracking' forgasand'unconventionaloil',andthedevelopmentofbiomassfurnacesastheonlymajor solutionstoalternateenergygeneration(whichisalsoidentifiedasprofitable),itseemsthat thoseresponsibleasenergyauthoritieshavehopelesslylosttheplottotheperilofalllifeon thisplanet.Canwenotgrownupfromtheexperienceoftwoworldwars,thecoldwarand thewarmwarofthesedays?Theclosedmindsofpuppetgovernmentsstifledbythe directivesofEUpolicyandtheflexingoftheInternationalEnergyAgencyareimpenetrable tothenewsthatinfiniteenergyisfreelyavailabletousandnewsciencehasshownthatitis accessibleanduseable.NewEnergyIsSolution. TheUKhasestablishedacommitmenttotheEU's202020targets.The2007targetsfor 2020,(knownasthe202020targets),werepresentedas"anintegratedapproachtoclimate andenergypolicythataimstocombatclimatechangeandincreasetheEUsenergysecurity whilestrengtheningitscompetitiveness.TheycommittedEuropetotransformingitselfintoa highlyenergyefficient,lowcarboneconomy".

20-20-20 Lack of Vision

The202020targetsrequireareductioninEUgreenhousegasemissionsofatleast20% below1990levels,20%ofEUenergyconsumptiontocomefromrenewableresources,anda 20%reductioninprimaryenergyusecomparedwithprojectedlevels,tobeachievedby improvingenergyefficiency.Finerhetoric,butfromtheoutsetweakinitsobjectives.A 20%reductionofemissionsisinadequateinitself.Consumptionfromrenewableresource deniesthepossibilityofanonpollutingnewenergysource,andseekingtoimprove efficiencyisclearlyignorantofoverunity. TheUK,asanEUleader,offeredtoincreasetheEUsemissionsreductionto30%,on conditionthatothermajoremittingcountriesinthedevelopedanddevelopingworlds committodotheirfairshareunderaglobalclimateagreement.(Orwasthatagreementto participateincarbontradingschemes?).UnitedNationsnegotiationsonsuchanagreement arestillongoing.i.e.thereremainsnoagreement. InJune2009theEUclimatepackagebecamelegallybinding.Thislegislationwasinitially proposedinordertokickstarttheimplementationofthe202020targets,butthelegislation manipulatesanddirectstheintentofthe202020targetsinthefourcomponentsofthecore oftheclimatepackage. EUNationsarenowrequiredbylawtoundertakearevisionandstrengtheningofthe EmissionsTradingSystem(ETS),whichtheEUconsidersa"keytoolforcuttingemissions costeffectively".Ihavenodoubtthattheeconomicclimateofrecentyearshasinfluenced thethrustforcarbontradingasanopportunityofcommerce.Carbontradingatbestallows industrialconcerntohidefromitspollutantoutput.Capandtax(fine)policiesdonotcreate adequatedisincentiveinafinancialclimateofnationaldefaults,excessivelyinflatedfuel costs,andtheburdenofmilitaryactionrelatedtoenergysecurity.Thecoreoftheclimate packagegoesontodefinean'EffortSharingDecisiongoverningemissionsfromsectorsnot coveredbytheEUETS,suchastransport,housing,agricultureandwaste.The'decision'is lefttoeachmemberstatetodefineitsemissionslimitationtargetreflectingthenations 'relativewealth'.Thislegislationpermitsemissionsincreaseforpoorernationstates.Itseems thatthelegislativefocusofconcernismorewithprotectingandmaintainingindustryand economythanitiswithprotectingtheenvironment. Inthe2010EuropeanCommissionpublication"Analysisofoptionstomovebeyond20% greenhousegasemissionreductionsandassessingtheriskofcarbonleakage",thereisopen admittancethattheEUactionisinadequate.Whilethis'communication'referencesthe impactoffinancialcollapse,whatismostalarmingisthatitgoesontomeasurethereduction ofemissionsintermsofthecostsofcarbontrading.Footnote5,pg3,ofthecommunication states"Thesefiguresrepresentanadditionalenergycost,notareductionofGDP.Itincludes additionalinvestmentsneeded,aswellasenergysavings.Itdoesnotincludeairquality benefits".Thisreflectsclearlythatthefocusisfinancialandnotenvironmental.

Thethirdcorelegislationoftheclimatepackagecreates"Bindingnationaltargetsfor renewableenergywhichcollectivelywilllifttheaveragerenewableshareacrosstheEUto 20%by2020".Itisconsideredthat"ThetargetswillcontributetodecreasingtheEUs dependenceonimportedenergyandtoreducinggreenhousegasemissions." Whileitisofcoursecommendabletodevelopconventionalrenewabletechnologies,the realityofenergydemandandsupplyrenderscurrentrenewablesasadropintheoceanto energyusage.

Whilealotofnoiseandglossspeaksofemissionsreductionitremainsafactthatenergy consumptioncontinuestoincrease.IntheUK,asthenorthseagassupplyisfastdepleting thereisaneverincreasingdemandofdependenceonimportedenergy.

Intheglobalscenario,inordertomaintainadequateoilextractionintothefutureatflowrates thatwillsatisfyestimateddemandgrowth,newoilfieldsmustbefound,developedand commissionedataratethatisuntenable.Aswitheconomicbailouts,thisprojectionissimply unsustainable.Thesameblindnessappliestotheavailabilityandpriceofcoal.Until2008,China, theworldslargestcoalminerandconsumer,burningaround3billiontonsperyear(42%of worlddemand),wasanetexporterofcoal.In2010,forthefirsttimeinhistory,itimported130 milliontonsofcoalfromtheglobalshipbornemarket. TheFourthCorelegislationoftheEUclimatepackageisalegalframeworktopromotethe developmentandsafeuseofcarboncaptureandstorage(CCS).Thislegislationisliterally hidingtheproblem.ThatR&Dfundingwillgointoa"familyoftechnologiesthatcapturethe carbondioxideemittedbyindustrialprocessesandstoreitinundergroundgeological formationswhereitcannotcontributetoglobalwarming"issimplystupid.Thisisaverysad reflectionoftheincapacityofbureaucraticauthoritiestodealwiththeextinctionlevelevent ofindustrialpollutants.Itisalsoindicativeoftheirresponsiblesteeringofresources: "RevisedEUguidelinesonstateaidforenvironmentalprotection,issuedatthesametimeas thelegislativepackagewasproposed,enablegovernmentstoprovidefinancialsupportfor CCSpilotplants".Andthatislaw. TheInternationalEnergyAgency(IEA)stateasoneofitsaims,to"Supportglobal collaborationonenergytechnologytosecurefutureenergysuppliesandmitigatetheir environmentalimpact,includingthroughimprovedenergyefficiencyanddevelopmentand deploymentoflowcarbontechnologies."TheIEAclaimsonitswebsitetobe"The authoritativesourceofenergyanalysisandprojections". The'WorldEnergyOutlook2010'(WEO)reportbytheIEA,statesthat"Theenergyworld facesunprecedenteduncertainty".Yet,theimpotencyofworldleadershipisreflectedinthe CopenhagenAccordwhichishopelesslyinadequateinaddressingtherealityofpolluting energysourcinganditsconsequences.Thisineffectiveaccordisonlyproposingfunding mitigationandadaptationstrategies.MitigationisnotaccomplishedwhentheIEAaimis 'lowcarbon'whileignoring'nocarbon'technologies.Mitigationonlyreducesthesymptom oftheproblemwhilenonpollutingenergysourcesoffersolution.Adaptationamountsto monitoringtheprocessofdegradationanddesperateactionsofmanagementresponsethat cannomorethanhopeforextinctionprevention. TheUSGlobalChangeResearchAssociation,inits'NationalClimateAssessment'states "Becausechangesintheclimatesystemwillcontinueintothefutureregardlessofemissions mitigation,strategiesforprotectingclimatesensitiveecosystemsthroughmanagementwill beincreasinglyimportant",whilethe'NationalClimateAdaptationSummit'ofMay2010had littlemorefocusthanpushingforinvestmentinthedevelopmentofmonitoringand modelingtechnologies.These'authoritative'reportsdonotaddressthecatastrophicissues athand.Thereisnoresponsibleaccountabilityforthedevastationindustrialisedtradeand militarysecurityhascaused,onlythefeebleefforttomaintainbusinessasusualwhile attemptingtoappeartobeactingwithenvironmentalintegrity.

 TheWorldEnergyOutlook2010(WEO)goesontostate"thespeedoftheenergy transformationthatwouldneedtooccurafter2020issuchastoraiseseriousmisgivings aboutthepracticalachievabilityofcuttingemissionssufficiently...",butthenhasno substancetoaddresstheshortcomings.Theprimarystrategyproposedbeingremoving subsidiesfromafailingcoal/oilindustry.Policyactionwillnotsolvetheproblemparticularly inapoliticalenvironmentwhereagovernmentspledgeisasuntrustworthyasanelection manifestostatement.Theoutlookdrawnbymodelingmethodsisbaseduponadata assumptionthatpledgeswillbehonoured,whileactualdatarelatedtoKyotoindicatesthat pledgesarenotactedupon.Despitethis,theprojectedforecastsperceivethat"Fossilfuels oil,coalandnaturalgasremainthedominantenergysourcesin2035".Indicatingthatthere simplyisn'ttheforesighttoevenseenonpollutingandnondepletingnewenergysourcing. Insteadofaddressingthecausalrootoftheproblem,theIEApassesblametocountriesnot alignedwiththeglobalist'OrganisationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopment (OECD)'forpredictedincreaseinuseof(wronglynamed)fossilfuels;"IntheNewPolicies Scenario,globaldemandforeachfuelsourceincreases,withfossilfuelsaccountingoverone halfoftheincreaseintotalprimaryenergydemand."Theviabilityof'renewables'in contributingtoenergysupplyisdubious.Whileitisagoodthingthathydro,windandsolar powerwillbedevelopedtoincreasesupply,theyremainincapableofmeetingdemandto affecttherequiredchange.Demandwillcontinuetoincreasepushingastressedcommercial environmenttowardsbiomass,geothermalandgas/unconventionaloilproduction.It appearsthatthisisthefocusofintentoftheOECD,whosstatedmissioniseconomicand notenvironmental.Whilethisbecomesthedriveofsocalled'greeneconomy'ina'big society',itisrecognisedintheWEOthattherequiredfinancialsupporttodeploybiomass "typicallyraisesthecosttotheeconomyasawhole".Itthencontinuesbyjustifyingthe investmentinbiomassasaprofitableenergypotential;"Butthebenefitscanbesignificant

too,includingreducedimportsofoilandreducedCO2emissionsifbiomassisusedandthe fossilenergyusedinprocessingthebiomassisnotexcessive".Again,thisisevidentlynot solution. Thereisanabundanceofevidenceoftheviabilityofnewenergysourcingtechnologiesthatarenon polluting,fromzeropointorenergysourcedfromthevacuum,electromagneticsandelectrogravitics tocoldfusiontechnologiesandmore.Manyinnovationsareapproachingreadinessforapplication,yet thisentirearenaoftechnologicaladvanceisignoredbytheauthoritiesthatholdthepursestringsof R&Dandmakefinestatementsofenvironmentalpolicypropaganda.