Month: November 2022

Categories
United Kingdom

December 1, 2005 – David Cameron says “low carbon living should not be a weird or worthy obligation”

On this day, December 1 in 2005, newly-minted Opposition leader David Cameron set about “detoxifying the Tory brand” by hugging a husky, and wearing??? a hoodie, and giving a speech at the launch of the Renewable Energy Association… 

“Low carbon living should not be a weird and worthy obligation, but a mainstream, aspirational lifestyle choice. Microgeneration and local distribution networks have the potential to capture people’s imagination.”

David Cameron speech at launch of the Renewable Energy Association 1 December 2005

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 332ppm. At time of writing it was 419ishppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.]

The context was this – The Tories were still in the wilderness (though the 2005 election had gone better for them than the last two!) David Cameron knew that he had to paint them as “green” and “modern.” And so he did…

Why this matters. 

There are moments of “bi-partisan consensus” – this was the beginning of one of them. The Climate Change Act got through.

What happened next?

Cameron became PM in 2010, thanks to the Lib Dems. Never really interested in anything other than being PM, and by 2013 he was all “cut the green crap.”

And here we are…

Categories
United Kingdom

December 1, 1976 – Met Office boss still saying carbon dioxide build-up a non-issue

On this day, December 1st,  in 1976, the Director-General of the Meteorological Office, John Mason, gave a speech to the Royal Society of Arts. It was reported in Nature by John Gribbin, under the headline “Man’s influence not yet felt by climate”

“THE message conveyed by Professor B. J. Mason, Director-General of the UK Meteorological Office, in a recent lecture was- don’t panic. The theme of Mason’s lecture (given to the Royal Society of Arts on December I) was “Man’s Influence on Weather and Climate”, and his conclusion was that -the climatic system is so robust, and contains so much ·inherent stability through the presence of negative feedback mechanisms, that man has still a long way to go before his influence becomes great enough to cause serious disruption to the natural climatic system.”

John Gribbin, “Man’s Influence Not yet Felt by Climate.” Nature 264: 608

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was xxxppm. At time of writing it was 419ishppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.]

The context was that through the mid-70s many scientists (including but not limited to those pesky young Americans with better computers than the Brits) had started saying “whoah, this build up of carbon dioxide, this might become a serious thing.” As had Europeans (including Hermann Flohn). As had the WMO, as reported in the Times earlier that year – June 22, 1976 – Times reports “World’s temperature likely to rise”

And Mason? Mason didn’t buy it, hadn’t bought it and continued not to buy it, including at the First World Climate Conference, in Geneva in February 1979…

Why this matters. 

You can imagine an alternative world, where gatekeepers like Mason were able to see the nose on their faces, and the actual response to climate change began early enough to do something substantive.  If you smoke some serious weed, that is…

What happened next?

Mason fought a rearguard action against climate research, but lost. November 14, 1977 – Met Office boss forced to think about #climate change – first interdepartmental meeting…

The whole process culminated in a 1980 report and a briefing to Margaret Thatcher, who dismissed it all with an incredulous “you want me to worry about the weather?”

Categories
United Kingdom

November 30, 1978 – House of Lords debate on Atmospheric Changes…

On this day, November 30 in 1978,  during a House of Lords debate, Lord Tanlaw —a crossbench member with long-standing environmental and energy conservation interests—asked ‘

‘if the recent exceptional weather conditions that have been reported from all parts of the globe in the last few years are a first indication that man’s industrial activities have already begun to affect the global weather pattern,’’ and specifically, whether ‘‘these anomalies are directly linked to increased atmospheric carbon dioxide.’’ 

House of Lords Debate re: ‘‘Atmospheric Changes and Weather Patterns,’’ 30 Nov 1978, 
Hansard Vol. 396, cc. 1442-70: 1446.

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 335ppm. At time of writing it was 417ishppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.],

Why this matters. 

By the late 1970s, the long-term threat of climate change was becoming better and better understood (though by no means everyone agreed).

What happened next?

Three months later, in February 1979, the First World Climate Conference happened in Geneva. John Mason of the Meteorological Office did not cover himself in glory. New Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was briefed in 1980. Her response “You want me to worry about the weather?”

The Chief Scientific Advisor tried to alert new Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in early 1980. Her response was “you want me to worry about the weather?”

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 335ppm. At time of writing it was 417ishppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.]

Categories
Ignored Warnings Sweden

November 29, 1974 – Swedish Prime Minister says “risk of a changed climate due to human activities … [is] of utter importance”

November 28, 1974  Olof Palme tells Sweden “The risk of a changed climate… is of utmost importance.”

Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, in a newspaper interview, nails the big long-term threat.

“Three months after the conference, the momentum concerning the threat of climate change seems to have led Olof Palme to speak out on the issue. In an article structured as a duel, Palme and the leader of the Conservative Party (Moderaterna), Gösta Bohman, talked about their vision of Sweden in 2000. Palme was asked which threat concerned him the most and answered: ‘The risk of a changed climate due to human activities … To me, this question seems of utter importance.’”

Tom Selander, ‘Partiledare om Sverige år 2000’, SvD 29 Nov. 1974, 

Source – Ekberg and Hultman 2021

Six months earlier Palme had been briefed on the issue by German climate scientist Hermann Flohn.

Why this matters.

Uggh.  We knew.  And surely other politicians could have spoken out, could have taken notice.  Presumably some did… 

What happened next?

Palme was assassinated in 1986

Categories
Australia

November 29, 1973 – Australian politician warns of climate change

On 29 November 1973, Don Jessop, a Liberal senator for South Australia, made this statement in the Australian parliament:

“It is quite apparent to world scientists that the silent pollutant, carbon dioxide, is increasing in the atmosphere and will cause us great concern in the future. Other pollutants from conventional fuels are proliferating other gases in the atmosphere, not the least of these being the sulphurous gases which will be causing emphysema and other such health problems if we persist with this type of energy source. Of course, I am putting a case for solar energy. Australia is a country that can well look forward to a very prosperous future if it concentrates on solar energy right now.”

http://historichansard.net/senate/1973/19731129_senate_28_s58/#subdebate-21-0

   

Don Jessop – wikipedia

Jessop may have learned from Sept 1972 Friends of the Earth conference at University of Adelaide

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 327ppm. At time of writing it was 417ishppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.]

The context was this – 

Energy was in the, um, air, because the “first Oil Shock” was under way

Why this matters. 

We need to remember we have been failing to do anything serious about climate change for a very very long time, and while this or that recalcitrant politician or devious mofo of an oil industry shill is certainly blameworthy,they are a symptom as much as a cause of the underlying problem…

What happened next?

A collective shoulder shrug.  Though to be fair, legendary Australian civil servant Nugget Coombs did, the following year, get the Minister of Science to ask the  Australian Academy of Science to look into the climate issue…

Categories
Activism Coal United Kingdom

November 28, 2008 – somebody shuts down a coal plant, solo

On this day, November 28, in 2008 someone broke into a coal-plant and shut down one of the turbines.

As the Guardian puts it – 

The £12m defences of the most heavily guarded power station in Britain have been breached by a single person who, under the eyes of CCTV cameras, climbed two three-metre (10ft) razor-wired, electrified security fences, walked into the station and crashed a giant 500MW turbine before leaving a calling card reading “no new coal”. He walked out the same way and hopped back over the fence.

All power from the coal and oil-powered Kingsnorth station in Kent was halted for four hours, in which time it is thought the mystery saboteur’s actions reduced UK climate change emissions by 2%. Enough electricity to power a city the size of Bristol was lost.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/dec/11/kingsnorth-green-banksy-saboteur

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 386ppm. At time of writing it was 417ishppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.]

The context was this – 

This was in the midst of wave of climate action (2006 to 2010), with coal power a significant focus. The third climate camp had happened there that summer.

Why this matters. 

What’s that line by Tom Hardy in Inception “You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.”

What happened next?

They never caught the person…

Categories
Australia

November 27, 1978 – “Impacts of climate on Australian Society and Economy” begins…

On this day, November 27, 1978 a three day conference on “Impacts of climate on AustralianSociety and Economy”, sponsored by the CSIRO, began on Philip Island, near Melbourne.

In a report on its first 30 years the  Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering wrote- 

As 2005 Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE)  document continues –

“The Phillip Island conference had a substantial impact on government approaches to the management of climate variability and laid the foundation for a subsequent major contribution of the Academy to the problem of human-induced climate change over the following decades.” (p. 10).

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 335ppm. At time of writing it was 417ishppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.]

The context was this – 

There had been an inconclusive AAS report in 1976 (no shade on the scientists involved – the evidence wasn’t there). But from 1976 onwards, the carbon dioxide drumbeat got louder, internationally…

Why this matters. 

We knew. Let us not forget that we knew.

What happened next?

The scientists kept working on it all. The politicians ignored them. Starting from 1988 the politicians didn’t ignore them, at least in public. But they never let the science get in the way of a “good” investment decision. And civil society was unable to stop them.  —-. And here we are.

Categories
Australia Economics of mitigation

November 26, 1996 – Australian climate modelling is ridiculed

On this day, November 26, 1996  an Australian politician ripped into the “official” modelling on which Australian governments (BOTH LABOR AND LIBERAL) had relied to say “oh, no, can’t do anything that might reduce the acceleration of our coal mining and coal exporting, or else the sky will fall.”

Leader of the Democrats, Senator Cheryl Kernot stated in the Senate:

“Let us not forget who ABARE is. It is the ideological cousin of the Industry Commission and it never misses an opportunity to slip the boot into environmental or social causes, churning out statistics from its largely discredited macro-economic modelling, showing how much better off we would all be if only we mined more coal, produced more electricity and puffed more carbon dioxide every day. I am willing to bet that if ABARE existed 150 years ago, it would have produced a whopping great spreadsheet proving that the economy could not afford to ban child labour in the coal mines”

(Senate Hansard 26.11.96 p 6014).

On ABARE, see also  “High and Dry” by Guy Pearse and “Scorcher” by Clive Hamilton.

On economic forecasting – I recently learnt the brilliant John Kenneth Galbraith quote – ““The  only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable,”

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 362ppm. At time of writing it was 417ishppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.]

The context was this – 

Australian governments were looking for excuses to do nothing to slow down the acceleration of Australian coal exports. ABARE helped to provide those excuses.

Why this matters. 

The way economic modelling is used to justify all sorts of horror (usually the continued enrichment of the already filthy rich, and/or the galloping desolation of our being-murdered planet), is a) by now very obvious and b) never-ending, despite a).

What happened next?

ABARE and its “MEGABARE” nonsense was thoroughly exposed and discredited(see here). Which did nothing to stop the Howard Government from continuing to use it.

Categories
UNFCCC United Nations

November 25, 2000 – CoP meeting ends in official disarray…

On this day, November 25, 2000, the global climate negotiations in the Hague collapsed without a formal end of the conference, which had to be “continued” in Bonn the following year. You can read all about it here 

COP6 had seen various protests (see here)  by direct action types, who, in those far-off innocent pre-September 11 days even managed to storm the main stage,  and also some of the first discussions of “climate justice”

The Australian business lobby was there in force, of course – 

“Business is scared the Europeans will get their way at The Hague, and that Australia won’t get the sinks or other concessions that would allow it to go on polluting as long as it planted trees or took other measures. Australian industry has a big team at The Hague: on the government delegation will be John Eyles from the Australian Greenhouse Industry Network, and Maria Robertson from Comalco will be on the New Zealand delegation. And there are observers from the BCA, Rio Tinto, ICF Kaiser, Origin Energy, ACL, Woodside Energy, the Australian Gas Association, the Aluminium Council, BHP, Hancock NRG, the ACCI and others.”

Clennell, A. 2000. Taking Care Of Business. Sydney Morning Herald, 14 November, p.15.

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 369ppm. At time of writing it was 416ppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.]

The context was this. Three years previously rich nations had grudgingly agreed a piss-weak “Kyoto Protocol”, but that still hadn’t been ratified by the USA (was never gonna get through the Senate) or Australia.  Earlier that month George Bush had been selected by the supreme court, after losing the popular vote (who remembers ‘hanging chads’?)

Why this matters. 

It was all clear, and protesters were doing their best, 22 years ago.

What happened next?

The COP circus has kept going (you may have noticed). The Kyoto Protocol finally became live  in 2005, after a Russian quid pro quo for WTO membership.  The follow-up (Copenhagen) went down in flames. Then the French came up with a “pledge and review” compromise. Guess what, nobody is really pledging, and nobody is reviewing…This was all predictable, and indeed predicted.

Categories
Australia United States of America

November 24, 1977 – Canberra Times reports “all coal” plan would “flood US cities”

On this day, November 24 in 1978, the Canberra Times ran a story “All coal plan to flood cities”, based on a UPI wire story about an American Physical Society meeting the day before in Florida where Dr Peter Fong called an all-coal energy policy “tantamount to suicide”

, 

1977 All coal plan to flood cities Canberra Times…p. 4.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110879451?searchTerm=All%20coal%20plan%20to%20flood%20cities#

[The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 334ppm. At time of writing it was 417ishppm- but for what it is now,well, see here for the latest.]

Why this matters. 

By the late 1970s, carbon dioxide from coal and other fossil fuels was beginning to be publicly talked about as a SERIOUS long-term threat, around the world.

What happened next?

There was a late 1970s attempt to get international action. It failed. We went instead for a second Cold War, bleeding the Soviet Union to death and then rolling drunk on triumphalism into the 1990s…  By which time the chance to take a different path was… well, you know the rest…