How to solve 'green growth denial' in one stroke

[kristopher]

How to solve 'green growth denial' in one stroke

It feels good to get something off your chest. And that's just what Chris Huhne did on Wednesday with his blast against "green growth deniers". But even Huhne, frequently direct to the point of bluntness, stopped short of naming those deniers. So I'll do it for him. And, later on, I'll tell him how to solve the problem he faces at a stroke.

The energy and climate change secretary was speaking in Manchester, the home of the first industrial revolution, and argued that renewable energy will deliver a new industrial revolution for Britain. "Yes, the UK is only 2% of global carbon emissions. But if we grasp the opportunity now our businesses and economy can be much more than 2% of the solution," he said. That is direct riposte the Chancellor George "Goldfinger" Osborne, who told the Conservative party conference: "Britain makes up less than 2% of the world's carbon emissions to China and America's 40%. We're not going to save the planet by putting our country out of business."

Huhne was on form, railing against "faultfinders and curmudgeons who hold forth on the impossibility of renewables – the unholy alliance of climate sceptics and armchair engineers who are selling Britain's ingenuity short." He specifically targeted those puffed up by the ludicrous hype over the UK's fledgling shale gas find: "Unconventional gas has not yet lit a single room nor cooked a single roast dinner in the UK. Yet those who clamour loudest for "realistic" energy policies would have us hitch our wagon to shale alone." Yes, Dieter Helm, he's talking to you...

...First, the myth that renewables are uneconomic and held up by government cash alone...
<snip>

Second myth: renewables cannot deliver secure power at scale....

<snip>

Third myth: people don't want renewables....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/damian-carrington-blog/2011/oct/27/huhne-renewable-energy-green-growth-deniers

Text of speech:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/ch_speech_ruk/ch_speech_ruk.aspx