Tory U-Turn on green policies

Did someone say ‘headlong rush’!??? What a joke. I’m in my 70s and have been aware of the degradation of our beautiful blue green planet for decades. We should have started this stuff when the first warnings were sounded years and years ago.

I haven't misunderstood. I am saying that there are many people who have been misled by politicians scaremongering and people making political capital out of misinformation.

You’ve misunderstood. No one would have been forced to change a boiler. It only apples to replacing a boiler when it’s worn out. When your spectacles need changing do you go for exactly the same again or do you choose more suitable ones?

Oh, I'm not saying that the truth shouldn't be told - quite the reverse. Of course we should. I wish there were a klaxon that would sound every time a politician or journalist told lies or twisted the truth.

My comment about the moral high ground was a minor one in the rest of my post, but the assumption that people expressing concern about having to pay out money they don't have are ignorant of the global implications of it all is so condescending. The impact on individuals is multi-faceted and will affect some people more than others, so adding to the stress people are already under by suggesting that they are being selfish or ignorant really doesn't help.

Er, no. We are not OK. My town has been flooded, and I don't know a single person who is not as scared about all the things you mention as about their own circumstances. It all adds to the anxiety that so many people feel, and those taking the moral high ground just add to that. It is no wonder that there is a mental health crisis on top of everything else.

Scared people need good, transparent and factual information. None of which has been forthcoming from our government, just a pack of lies about meat taxes, flight taxes and 7 bins etc. which were ideas which have already been rejected.

I'm not sure who is 'taking the moral high ground', but some posters are trying hard to dispel the myths and being ignored...

A halfway decent government would be looking to invest in green measures and for ways to support people to change. Not scaremongering and deferring action...

Racingsparrow

The 7 bins, restricted flights and ban on meat are all Climate Change Committee regulations. These are supposed to be written into law. Parliament has no say in these regulations. Another example of out of control Quangos.

No, they were all ideas thought up by a government 'Nudge Unit' (whose brief is to come up with ideas which might be considered as useful, a couple of years ago, and which were shelved.

As growstuff says, only Parliament has the power to make regulations, so where has this idea come from?

Hetty58

Doodledog:

'People are feeling insecure and scared. Talk about having to replace boilers and cars that people may have expected to 'see them out', or about phasing out the fuels that run people's homes and transport feeds that fear.'

What really frightens me is watching it all unfold on my TV screen. Wildfires, flooding, crops failing, species extinction, ice melting, islands disappearing etc.

Oh - but wait - we're OK (so far) aren't we? Here in the UK nothing too drastic has happened (apart from Covid) and our safety/security isn't under immediate threat. Let's just bury our heads in the sand and carry on as 'normal' - whatever that is.

Of course, the longer the delay, the higher the cost, the more drastic the changes, the worse the result - but, never mind, let's ignore that.

Has the Tory 'too little, too late - and only when we really have to' way of doing things taught us nothing?

Er, no. We are not OK. My town has been flooded, and I don't know a single person who is not as scared about all the things you mention as about their own circumstances. It all adds to the anxiety that so many people feel, and those taking the moral high ground just add to that. It is no wonder that there is a mental health crisis on top of everything else.

He’s realised the plans aren’t popular so he’s extending them to a later date. He doesn’t care about the environment, the struggles people will have to buy electric vehicles. All he cares about is the next election. He should stick to the original plans and develop schemes to help people achieve them. A subsidy on leasing EV’s would be a good start. But let’s remember, the Tories of this world only care about their own lives and are often selfish even when it it comes to thinking of the futures of their own children and grandchildren. He’s hoping that this latest U -turn will garner him a few more votes so that the next GE isn’t such a huge landslide.

Smileless2012

I agree Oreo and GrannyGravy and I think it's the right decision.

So do I. My son has an electric car and making long journeys is problematic. And where do people imagine the electricity will come from? Most are not keen on nuclear, but it would be the most reliable solution.
Replacing servicable, relatively low-polluting cars with new ones creates a carbon footprint of it's own, my husband and I both replaced old but reliable cars at great cost to ourselves and our carbon footprint as we live in the ULEZ. Knowing from friends' experience how unreliable electric car batteries are, we chose petrol vehicles.
As regards heating, heat pumps are very expensive and do not always work well, there may be another solution developed eventually.

Doodledog:

'People are feeling insecure and scared. Talk about having to replace boilers and cars that people may have expected to 'see them out', or about phasing out the fuels that run people's homes and transport feeds that fear.'

What really frightens me is watching it all unfold on my TV screen. Wildfires, flooding, crops failing, species extinction, ice melting, islands disappearing etc.

Oh - but wait - we're OK (so far) aren't we? Here in the UK nothing too drastic has happened (apart from Covid) and our safety/security isn't under immediate threat. Let's just bury our heads in the sand and carry on as 'normal' - whatever that is.

Of course, the longer the delay, the higher the cost, the more drastic the changes, the worse the result - but, never mind, let's ignore that.

Has the Tory 'too little, too late - and only when we really have to' way of doing things taught us nothing?

Sueki44

How many times over the last 15 years have there been grants to improve loft insulation? We have certainly twice taken advantage of such offers!
Why don’t they insist that all new houses are built fully insulated, double glazed with built in solar panels ( and also with big enough garages to accommodate modern cars)?

I agree.

Start with making new builds more energy efficient and then have a plan to retrofit older properties.

Nannashirlz

When we were at school we were told uk would be under water by now. What are China etc doing about it 🙄 scientists on tv yesterday said 5yrs won’t make much difference until all countries were involved. I’m sure you that are moaning don’t turn your heating on drive a car etc as all bad for the planet 🌎

When I was at school, I wasn't old that the UK would be under water. I don't know which school you went to.

Doodledog If people have heating systems which will "see them out", why do they need to replace them?

There is a hell of a lot of scare-mongering going on.

Racingsparrow

The 7 bins, restricted flights and ban on meat are all Climate Change Committee regulations. These are supposed to be written into law. Parliament has no say in these regulations. Another example of out of control Quangos.

Do you have a link please?

Committees don't make laws.

The 7 bins, restricted flights and ban on meat are all Climate Change Committee regulations. These are supposed to be written into law. Parliament has no say in these regulations. Another example of out of control Quangos.

I think that people think in terms of how things will affect them, which is natural. We are in a COL crisis, and every news bulletin seems to have something about cutbacks and making life harder for people.

As always, if people have got lots of money, it is easy to say 'just replace it when the time comes' and ignore the fact that £10k+ is the sort of money that many people simply don't have. Or it may represent their life savings, and their buffer against poverty. Equally, if people have no money at all, they will probably get grants. For others, the landlord will have to pay the costs. It will, as always, be 'the squeezed middle', or the 'just about managing' who are clobbered, and it is perfectly reasonable for them to worry about this, and annoying to have to listen to those who won't be affected moralising about it.

A lot of people are used to having saved all their lives, but can no longer do so because of the rise in mortgages and rents brought about by the ill-fated Truss administration, and the increases in food prices and fuel costs. People are feeling insecure and scared. Talk about having to replace boilers and cars that people may have expected to 'see them out', or about phasing out the fuels that run people's homes and transport feeds that fear.

If those fears are not 100% based on fact it is because politicians don't make the reality clear.

When we were at school we were told uk would be under water by now. What are China etc doing about it 🙄 scientists on tv yesterday said 5yrs won’t make much difference until all countries were involved. I’m sure you that are moaning don’t turn your heating on drive a car etc as all bad for the planet 🌎

How many times over the last 15 years have there been grants to improve loft insulation? We have certainly twice taken advantage of such offers!
Why don’t they insist that all new houses are built fully insulated, double glazed with built in solar panels ( and also with big enough garages to accommodate modern cars)?

maddyone

No, definitely not complacency, rather progress towards better and cleaner heating, travel etc that people can actually afford.

The reason I have spoken much of heat pumps is because government and those in power speak of them all the time, without mentioning other forms of clean heating. However if clean heating relies on having the floors ripped up, or will only be effective in small houses (2 bedrooms) as some of the other alternatives do, then the problem is still not solved.

But listen to what they're actually saying. Nobody has legislated for everybody to install heat pumps.

It makes sense for everybody to save energy, but there are much simpler first steps than replacing fully functioning gas boilers, which nobody is forced to do.

It might make sense for grants to be available for people to improve their loft insulation and, in some cases, replace single glazing and/or rotten windows and doors.

I just don't understand where the idea has come from that we're all being forced to rush out and buy heat pumps. We're not.

No, definitely not complacency, rather progress towards better and cleaner heating, travel etc that people can actually afford.

The reason I have spoken much of heat pumps is because government and those in power speak of them all the time, without mentioning other forms of clean heating. However if clean heating relies on having the floors ripped up, or will only be effective in small houses (2 bedrooms) as some of the other alternatives do, then the problem is still not solved.

orly

About time. If there is such a cost of living crisis how can we expect the nation to pay twice as much for electric versions of new cars and considerably more for heating pumps which are not as effective. The headlong rush to go green is too expensive and storing up more problems for the future. Who would buy a second hand EV when the batteries cost so much to replace?

My partner and I have already discussed this and we would. Our cars are good for another few years, but we're already planning to have a charging point installed and possibly solar panels. We reckoned we had seven years to make the transition, which is quite a long time.

About time. If there is such a cost of living crisis how can we expect the nation to pay twice as much for electric versions of new cars and considerably more for heating pumps which are not as effective. The headlong rush to go green is too expensive and storing up more problems for the future. Who would buy a second hand EV when the batteries cost so much to replace?

Callistemon21

Germanshepherdsmum

Don’t feel deprived growstuff. We have two bins - landfill and recycling. We pay for a third bin for garden waste.

I forgot - some people have yellow bags as well for clinical waste, including disposable nappies.

I have a sharps bin for needles and diabetic testing strips, which the council collects if I ring them.

Keeper1

There might be alternatives to having a heat pump fitted but they are all very expensive and most people will not be able to afford them.

It's not that expensive to insulate most houses effectively.

Currently, heat pumps are expensive, so maybe there should be incentives to develop other technology rather than the negativity of claiming there's no point because other countries are more polluting than the UK.

PS. There's money to be made out of green technology. The UK has the potential to be a world leader.