From Harry Walsh.
HOWARD Morris’s letter (JEP 16 August) is another one that screams at us in relation to quite normal events: we get insanity. Crisis. The sky is falling. Staggering cost in billions to be paid by all Jersey citizens. Apology demanded from Ian Gorst. What we should have is a discussion of the position in which Jersey finds itself and what the optimal course of action is for the country as a whole.
First of all I would like to ask the climate-change deniers what they think the future of the financial-services industry in Jersey would be if we followed a policy that was incompatible with CO2 reduction in Jersey and moreover we shouted about it? I think that in five years’ time the industry would have been cut in half because investors and reputable financial institutions would shun Jersey, and the UK government would be thinking about taking action – probably on the tax front.
The Chief Minister’s recent BBC interview did not exactly indicate a high degree of support for Jersey in the UK, and if you think any Democratic administration in the US would be sympathetic you would be wrong. If Trump or a surrogate gets back in anything is possible, but then the EU would form a solid wall against us – even countries suffering energy shortages and now seeking temporary supplies of gas and oil. In fact, it is these disadvantaged countries that are likely to take the strongest line to maintain their environmental credentials in tough circumstances. The French, who supply us with precious CO2-light atomic energy, would not like it as they have their own CO2 commitments.
Deputy Gorst took exactly the right line and moreover helped Jersey build up a record of signing things on its own behalf as much as possible, even though constitutional arrangements remain the same and we are not able to sign legally binding treaties with third countries.
As a matter of fact, this does not matter much because the Paris Accords work more by name and shame than they do by legalities. They work even more by strongly applied pressure from the US. Just ask the Australians, who had to change their tune.
The UK government does not have facilities for extracting oil and gas and is following a policy of extracting a windfall tax from the oil and gas producers and putting temporary caps on energy bills for consumers which are reinforced by grants, especially to the poorest. To control production directly would mean partly nationalising the gas and oil companies, as in France. This would disrupt a lot of existing contracts and divert some investment elsewhere. The industry has already been disrupted by the Covid recession.
People complain about high prices, but forget two things. First the volatility inherent in the industry. In April 2020 West Texas Intermediate fell to minus 31 dollars a barrel at one point for delivery in Colorado. They paid you to take it away.
The more serious problems are in natural gas, where we have shot ourselves in the foot post the Ukraine invasion by rejecting purchasing Russian gas so that they are selling less gas at higher prices and making a net gain.
There is no excuse for those over 40 who do not realise that a slight rise in gaseous substances in the atmosphere can have serious effects. We have been through a similar event with CFCs and the ozone layer. This rise in atmospheric CO2 from the pre-industrial period of 280 parts per million to 417ppm now is quite serious and will have to be stabilised and dealt with in the coming years just as CFCs were.
There is no need for great excitement or surprise. Just change to an electric car – secondhand if need be – when the time comes to renew. The electricity can come from a hydrogen fuel cell or a battery charged with green energy. Prices will be coming down. Even a much smaller petrol car would help, just ditch that SUV. I stick to buses. Blaming producers and not consumers is rubbish. Every time you order something from Amazon, you increase CO2.
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