#netzero

[my-asianewstoday-blog]

Nuclear Power Crucial To Complement Renewables, Support Growth, Ensure Grid Stability http://dlvr.it/TSsJ93

[expose-news]

UK “emissions” reduction has come at the expense of vital industries

The UK government loves to boast that it has halved greenhouse gas emissions since 1990.

However, the “emissions” reductions the Government claims are a sleight of hand.  They are only reporting their calculated “emissions” within the UK’s borders.  All the Government has done is move the generation of “emissions” to other countries.

You can see the obvious problem for net zero zealots: atmospheric carbon dioxide, for example, doesn’t adhere to country borders.  It doesn’t say, “Oh, I was emitted in China, so I’ll stay lurking over China.”

This is just the first of the problems with “emission accounting” that David Turver points out.

The UK government’s zeal to reduce emissions is not an environmental success story; it is a sorry tale of industrial destruction - jobs, investment and economic growth have been destroyed, tax revenue forgone and reliance on imported electricity increased - to make Ed Miliband and his acolytes feel and look good at United Nations climate change meetings.

The destruction of electricity generation capacity and the collapse of vital industries should be a source of shame, not celebration, he writes.

Fake Accounting Exaggerates Emissions Reduction Claims

By David Turver, 24 May 2026

Introduction

Back in 2024, the then Rishi Sunak Conservative government celebrated the fact that the UK was the first major economy to cut greenhouse gas emissions (“GHG”) by 50% compared to the 1990 baseline. The trouble is, emissions accounting is just as susceptible to fake claims as other elements of the Net Zero agenda. This article explores how the Government is cooking the books to make false claims about emissions reduction.

Emissions Accounting

Accounting for emissions is a complex area, with differing methodologies covering different types of emissions. The Sunak government’s claim came from official statistics published in 2024 covering emissions up to 2022 (and provisional figures for 2023). Those data covered all GHG emissions, not just carbon dioxide. It is true that those figures did show a 50.0% reduction in GHG in 2022. However, in an illustration of the fickle nature of emissions accounting, the latest figures show that the reduction in GHG emissions in 2022 is now recorded as 48.9% and the 50% threshold was not crossed until 2023. The latest government figures show reductions in carbon dioxide emissions of 46.9% in 2022 and 50.0% in 2023.

These figures cover only territorial emissions or emissions taking place within UK shores. Emissions in other countries to provide goods and services for the UK - called consumption emissions - are not covered.

Our World in Data (“OWID”) uses figures from the Global Carbon Budget to measure both territorial and consumption emissions. Although the OWID data shows a similar trend to the government figures, their different methodology gives slightly different results. For instance, their figures show a 48.3% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in 2022 and 48.9% in 2023. The figures from OWID, supposedly a like-for-like comparison of territorial carbon dioxide emissions, are quite different from the government calculations. Therein lies the first problem: emissions accounting produces hugely different results depending on what is measured and how it is measured.

For the rest of the article, we will focus on OWID data because they also include consumption emissions which, as we shall see, are particularly important. Figure 1 shows the trajectory of UK territorial emissions of carbon dioxide, from OWID data.

Figure 1 - UK Territorial Carbon Dioxide Emissions 1990-2024 (million tonnes) from OWID Lower Energy Consumption

As we can see from Figure 2, much of the emissions reduction has occurred because coal has been removed from the power grid, and the reduction has come at the cost of much lower total energy consumption and electricity generation.

Figure 2 - Change in UK Energy Consumption and Electricity Generation (from OWID)

Within that, and as shown in an earlier article, industrial energy consumption is down over 40% since 2024. In other words, a large part of the claimed UK emissions reduction has come at the expense of losing vital industries.

Change in Consumption Emissions

As shown above, the Government's focus has been on reducing territorial emissions. Figure 3 shows the change in consumption emissions alongside the change in territorial emissions.

Figure 3 - UK Territorial and Consumption Emissions 1990-2024 (million tonnes) from OWID

While the claimed territorial emissions have reduced by 48.9% from 1990 to 2023, the reduction in consumption emissions is much lower at 26.9%. The difference between territorial emissions and consumption emissions is the carbon dioxide emissions from the UK’s net trade position, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4 - UK Net Trade Emissions

Net trade emissions have nearly tripled from 64 million tonnes in 1990 to 179 million tonnes in 2023. Territorial emissions in 2023 were 307 million tonnes. So, on balance, we are importing more than half of our territorial emissions. In effect, much of the UK’s emissions have been taken off balance sheet into consumption emissions that are quietly ignored.

On its own terms, this is not an environmental success story; it is a sorry tale of industrial destruction. Jobs, investment, economic growth destroyed and tax revenue forgone to make Ed Miliband and his acolytes feel good and look good at United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCCC”) Conference of the Parties (“COP”) meetings.

Accounting Sleights of Hand

However, that still paints too rosy a picture of the real situation. There are two more sleights of hand that overcount UK emissions reductions.

First, careful examination of the right-hand side of Figure 2 shows that generation of electricity from bioenergy has increased significantly, particularly since 2016. This is because power plants like Drax have converted to burning pelletised trees from North America instead of coal.

The emissions accountants treat burning trees as renewable, so the carbon dioxide emissions from this source are simply not counted in the figures. However, wood is less energy-dense than coal and so produces more emissions per unit of electricity than burning coal. If we generously assume that burning wood pellets emits 1,000kg per MWh, and using NESO generation mix data, we can calculate the omitted emissions as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5 - UK Territorial Emissions Adjusted for Biomass

The percentage reduction in emissions falls from 48.9% without counting biomass to 46.6% if we include tree-burning to produce electricity.

The second sleight of hand relates to the way emissions from electricity imports are counted. Ed Miliband has decreed that imported power be classed as zero-carbon even though some of it may be generated by coal, gas or even, on some occasions, diesel.

As Figure 6 shows, UK net electricity imports are rising, making us more dependent on other countries for our electricity supply.

Figure 6 - UK Net Electricity Imports (TWh)

It is shameful that increased electricity imports are being used as a way of reducing our headline carbon dioxide emissions.

Conclusions

Like many aspects of the debate about Net Zero, the Government is cooking the books to make fake claims about emissions reductions. They rely on off-balance sheet accounting tricks that would have made Enron blush. We simply cannot pretend that these emissions do not exist. Nor should we celebrate the fall in energy consumption. The destruction of electricity generation capacity and the collapse of vital industries should be a source of shame, not celebration.

About the Author

David Turver is a British retired consultant, chief information officer and project management professional.  He publishes articles on a Substack page titled ‘Eigen Values’ where he writes about contentious issues such as climate, energy and net zero.  You can subscribe to and follow his Substack page, ‘Eigen Values’, HERE.

Featured image: Net Zero Zealot and Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Ed Miliband

[easterneye02]

Starmer Pushes Back After Tony Blair Criticises Government Direction

“(It's a) very different situation in 2024 to 1997; and dealing with what we had to turn around, the policy choices were vindicated by them,

[expose-news]

The UK government must be on a suicide mission

Refusing to tackle mass immigration, imposing Net Zero and rejoining the European Union.  These are the policies that Keir Starmer thinks will deliver the “change” British citizens want and win him votes.

The following is a collection of recent articles that demonstrate the absurdity of some of the UK government’s policies and rhetoric.  Labour must be on a mission to commit political suicide, and they are intent on dragging us all down with them.

Let’s begin with a tweet from Keir Starmer yesterday, boasting how he has reduced net migration.  The key is “net” migration, which is immigration (people entering the UK) minus emigration (Brits leaving the UK).

https://twitter.com/Keir_Starmer/status/2057395182157353303

People are not falling for it.  For example, see the tweets below:

https://twitter.com/A1an_M/status/2057396056241914175

Paul Weston on Twitter (now X) Net Migration and Asylum Claims Have Fallen – Here’s What the Latest Figures Tell Us

The latest figures on immigration to the UK show a sharp decline in net migration, which is now at its lowest point since 2012, excluding the pandemic years.

The sharp decline results primarily from lower immigration of workers and the family members of international students.  However, while migration of groups that make positive or broadly neutral economic contributions, such as migrant workers, has fallen, asylum-related migration has remained at similar levels since late 2022.

Since refugees have lower employment rates and often need a lot of support from the state, this means that the composition of recent migration has become less favourable from an economic perspective.

While net migration is on a downward trajectory, it is still positive, meaning that the foreign-born population in the UK continues to grow.

The decline in the number of people claiming asylum fell by 12%.  This was driven in large part by a reduction in asylum claims from Syrian nationals after the fall of the Assad regime.

Labour Floats the Idea of Rejoining the EU Amidst Starmer Crisis

Since the crushing result of this month’s local elections in the UK, Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom has been facing mounting pressure from within his very own Labour Party to step down.

The Labour “bench,” in the meantime, is searching for a new mission to sell to British voters, in an effort to rescue the party from historic lows in popularity.

According to a recent piece by Bloomberg, one of the bolder new ideas is a push to rejoin the European Union. 

Britain Faces EU Refugee Quota – Plus British Youth Dominate UK Exodus

The dirty little secret that those seeking to rejoin the EU are hiding – plus, British youth make up a large part of those leaving the UK

The UK would need to take 182,000 refugees if it re-joined the EU and pay £17,500 per refugee that it does not take below this “quota.”

The number of Brits leaving the UK permanently remains at around 500-700,00 every year – meaning that 5 million Brits have left in the last ten years whilst around 8 million immigrants have arrived for turnover of 20% against the UK’s population of around 79 million.

New France: One in Three People Either Foreign Born or Descendant of Immigrants

A major study from France’s premier public research institute found “a society profoundly marked by long-term immigration,” with around a third of the population estimated to have been born abroad or to have been the child or grandchild of immigrants.

Residents of UK Town Forced To Form ‘Vigilante’ Security Team To Protect Women And Kids From Migrants

Residents of a quiet East Sussex town have been left with no choice but to patrol their own streets after the leftist Labour government dumped hundreds of unvetted male migrants into a former army camp on their doorstep.

Europe Finally Moves to Facilitate Expulsions, despite the ECHR

All European governments have now identified the ECHR as the major obstacle to the expulsion of foreign criminals.

Now, all 46 Member States of the Council of Europe have adopted the Chișinău Declaration, which affirms the right of States to determine their own immigration policies, denounces situations in which States are unable to expel foreign criminals, calls on the Court to respect national legal systems and traditions,  promotes national borders against massive immigration and encourages new approaches against immigration, such as the “return hubs.”

How an IRGC-Linked Money Laundering Network Operates From London

A family-run financial network accused of laundering money for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has been operating from London and moving funds through shell companies in China and the UAE.

On 11 May, the British government sanctioned four members of the Zaringhalam family for links to people whose activities contribute to instability in the United Kingdom. At least three of them are believed to reside in London.

Merkel Urges EU to Keep Regulating Social Media Speech

The architect of Germany's original internet censorship law now wants the whole continent to stop worrying and learn to love the delete button.

The former German chancellor, speaking Tuesday at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, urged the bloc to “continue regulating the social media” and artificial intelligence.

Incoming Chief of UK Speech Regulator Takes Aim at VPNs

Ian Cheshire, the government’s pick to run the UK’s speech regulator, appeared before the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee on Wednesday and laid out what amounts to an acceleration plan for online censorship.

His to-do list includes treating VPNs as obstacles, demanding new powers over YouTube, and asking the Treasury for a bigger budget.

X Agrees to Review Illegal “Hate” Within 48 Hours Under UK Online Safety Act

The platform that once called Ofcom's approach "overreach" just handed it a 48-hour content removal pipeline with quarterly audits.

X has agreed to process the vast majority of content flagged as illegal “hate” under the UK’s Online Safety Act within 48 hours, giving Ofcom, Britain’s speech regulator, a significant new enforcement win.

TikTok Removes Reform UK Campaign Video Using Online Safety Act “Hate” Censorship Rules

The UK’s Online Safety Act has been in force for less than a year and it is again being used to censor political speech during an election.

TikTok blocked and then deleted a campaign video by Reform UK’s Spokesperson for Home Affairs, Zia Yusuf, after someone reported it under the OSA’s content reporting mechanism.

Britain Decides Viral Protest Clips Need Prosecutors

Your chant at a march is now judged not by the crowd around you but by how a stranger might feel watching a clip of it online.

The Crown Prosecution Service has found the time and the ambition to publish brand new guidance telling prosecutors to consider the “likely impact” of protest chants and banners on…people scrolling through their phones.

It was published on 15 May and, considering the 'Unite the Kingdom' rally was on 16 May, the timing was about as subtle as a brick through a greenhouse.

Ofcom and the Fantasy of Global Speech Control

The British speech regulator proved it doesn't understand the internet.

Ofcom appears to believe that a website is a kind of television channel. This would explain a lot about what happened when Britain’s speech regulator fined an American mental health and suicide discussion forum £950,000 ($1.3 million) for hosting speech that is legal in America, on servers in America, operated by Americans.

Britain’s Deindustrialisation Is a National Emergency

On 14 May 2026, the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill 2026-27 was introduced in the House of Commons, with its second reading scheduled for 21 May 2026.

The new nationalisation bill which the Government hopes to use to take over British Steel is not fit for purpose.  Additionally, governments should not run businesses.

When Labour ministers last ran British Steel, the odyssey culminated in over £1 billion worth of losses in a single year.

The reason British Steel is struggling now is because of decisions made in Whitehall.  The decision to focus on net zero rather than our own energy security has pushed up energy costs to the point where Labour is now lifting sanctions on Russian oil and gas to keep planes flying.

UN Climate Catastrophe Prediction Implodes as Doomsday Model Declared “Implausible”

The United Nations-backed climate panel has walked back one of its “worst-case scenario” greenhouse gas emissions projections after a new report found that the scenario “have become implausible.”

The scenario, known as RCP8.5, predicted that humanity would increase its use of fossil fuels and take no meaningful action to mitigate climate change.

Spot On, New York Post, Billions Have Been Wasted Based on Fake Climate Science

A recent New York Post article, titled ‘Billions have been wasted on UN’s climate change lies’, describes how billions, if not trillions, of dollars have been spent worldwide attempting to slow or stop the world from experiencing the extreme climate change as forecast by the flawed, but widely used RCP 8.5 computer model projections.

The New York Post is absolutely correct. 

Rachel Reeves’s Economic Farce Is About to Become a Tragedy

The socialist policies hardening beneath the Chancellor’s meddling with market prices are no laughing matter.

Reeve’s chosen contribution to solving the country’s problems includes telling Aldi what she thinks an egg should cost and shaking down the oil and gas industry once again to help pubs and restaurants cope with the disaster zone of her own policies.  It is incoherent and nonsensical.

The Government is the Problem

The above is just a drop in the ocean, yet from these few reports, it is plain to see that Keir Starmer and his cronies, that is the UK government, are the problem, not the solution. No amount of rhetoric that spews from Starmer et al can convince the public otherwise.

[autoevtimes]

Volvo Trucks Accelerates Net-Zero Push With Electric Truck Technologies

Volvo Trucks unveils new electric and renewable fuel technologies to accelerate net-zero transport goals with sustainable heavy-duty commerc

Volvo Trucks is accelerating the road to net-zero mobility, With next-generation electric truck technologies, extended driving ranges, and renewable fuel innovations, Volvo is pushing the commercial transport industry toward a cleaner and more sustainable future. The shift to zero-emission logistics is gaining real momentum.

[marketinsiders]

As rivals revive gas-powered vehicles, Polestar is accelerating its climate strategy and doubling down on carbon cuts. #Polestar #NetZero #EV #MarketInsider

Polestar’s Net-Zero Bet Defies EV Industry Retreat

[carbelim]

Microalgae Carbon Capture and the Future of Clean Cities

Urban air pollution and rising carbon emissions are driving the need for scalable climate-tech innovation and sustainable infrastructure.

Microalgae carbon capture is emerging as a powerful biological carbon removal solution capable of improving urban air quality while supporting net-zero sustainability goals.

By naturally absorbing CO₂ through photosynthesis, algae-based carbon capture systems offer a sustainable alternative to traditional direct air capture technologies.

Applications include:

Urban air purification

Smart city sustainability

Carbon capture technology

Green infrastructure

Climate-tech innovation

As smart cities continue investing in sustainable urban development, biological carbon capture may become a key component of future climate-resilient infrastructure.

Read the full article: https://carbelim.io/microalgae-carbon-capture-urban-air-pollution-solutions/

[expose-news]

UK Government’s obsession with controlling our lives continues: Net Zero Zealots are targeting tumble dryers

Ed Miliband, the UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, is implementing regulations to phase out the sale of traditional tumble dryers (including vented and condenser models) to meet Net Zero targets.

This policy, part of the proposed replacement of ‘Ecodesign for Energy-Related Products and Energy Information (Household Tumble Dryers) Regulations 2021’, bans new models with an Energy Efficiency Index (“EEI”) above 85. 

“The government will repeal and replace the current ecodesign and energy labelling standards for household tumble dryers in GB with new regulations that will bring in requirements in line with the European Union (EU) Regulations,” the  Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s response to a consultation on raising standards for household tumble dryers said.

“The policy does not prohibit owning or using existing tumble dryers, but instead restricts the sale of new, less-efficient models in order to achieve Net Zero targets,” Express reported.

Critics, including Reform UK and the Conservative Party, have condemned the move as ludicrous and a “mad” form of "Soviet control.” 

Miliband’s machines are more expensive, require longer drying times and heat pumps are noisy; according to the Hearing Health Foundation, anything above 70dB is enough to damage hearing over time. Additionally, certain heat pump models have technical faults that have caused the machines to burst into flames.  In December, the owners of 85,000 heat-pump tumble dryers were warned about a fire risk with their machines.

Read more: Miliband bans traditional tumble dryers in net zero drive, The Telegraph, 29 April 2026

The Government’s entire climate change and Net Zero narrative is fabricated.  They have manufactured the crisis and then used it as an excuse to implement a variety of measures and regulations to expand the government’s control over our lives.

Below, Jacob Rees-Mogg, former Member of the UK Parliament for North East Somerset from 2010 to 2024, comments on “the politics of tumble dryers.”

“Ed Miliband has decreed that tumble dryers are so dreadful that traditional ones are to be banned, to be replaced with ‘green’ ones which are more expensive and take longer to dry your clothes,” the description of his video states.

“Tumble dryers are a really important symbol of the difference between the left and the right's approach to government and how things should be organised and how people's lives should be arranged,” he said.

“My view of a politician's role is to allow people to leave the lives they want to leave in safety and security and with increasing prosperity,” he said.

But socialists and communists think differently; their ideology is concerned only with "the common good" and “the collective.”

“Essentially, as Rees-Mogg explains, “the interests of the collective come first and are higher. And that means controlling and allocating resources by ration.”

“Regulations on aspects of people's lives that may arguably be for collective benefit are not the duty of the state,” he said, “which brings us back to tumble dryers.”

If you want the public to use less energy, there is an option.  “If you're a conservative, you say the option is: if something uses more energy, we must create more energy. If you're a socialist, you say: if something uses more energy, it must be stopped,” Rees-Mogg said.

“Conservatives believe in abundance. Socialists believe in rationing.”

https://youtu.be/hUC69aXGli0 Jacob Rees-Mogg: The Politics of Tumble Dryers, 1 May 2026 (9 mins)