Climate clash – the gap between net zero ambition and reality

Published

1 year ago

November 24, 2023

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If I was nervous, how must our two guests have been feeling?

The last time they’d met, one was blocking a road and the other looked like she was trying to run her over in a Range Rover.

“I have to hold my hands up. I did do wrong,” says Sherrilyn Speid, the driver, to Lou Lancaster the protester from Insulate Britain who we’d both persuaded to come together and talk about the day in question.

“I have no right to block you, personally… I absolutely agree with that,” says Lou.

It was, thankfully, a conciliatory start to our journey exploring why the UK appears to be becoming so divided over environmental issues.

Divided at the very moment that our changing climate and fossil fuel dependency is hitting crisis point.

This year is on track to be the warmest year ever recorded, off the back of one in which consumers saw the highest increases in energy bills in a generation or more.

But this is the same moment in which the government decided to slow down, rather than accelerate, its net zero agenda just a few weeks ahead of global climate negotiations.

What the people we spoke to for this report have shown (and polling supports this) is that most agree we need to tackle environmental issues without delay.

But the enormous gap between the UK’s environmental obligations and workable policies to make them happen puts us in a precarious situation.

Take London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) designed to improve air quality in the capital by charging older, more polluting cars to use the capital’s roads.

Its expansion to London’s outer boroughs led to a vocal and costly opposition campaign. Whether or not the policy is flawed, or even that unpopular, it prompted a loud, political backlash.

ULEZ opposition is credited with helping the conservatives win a by-election in Uxbridge in July.

And few policies led to the formation of vigilante groups calling themselves Blade Runners.

We spoke to one of these anti-ULEZ protesters – hooded and masked to conceal his identity – who is out at night cutting down enforcement cameras.

“We will not stop until they stop,” he told me.

According to police, almost 1,000 ULEZ cameras have been vandalised or destroyed – some 200 disappearing completely. Estimates vary, but the bill for the Blade Runners’ actions could run into the millions.

“We are removing what the taxpayer didn’t want bought in the first place,” the Blade Runner tells me.

There’s plenty of Londoners who’d disagree with that – especially those that have long campaigned for cleaner air.

The Blade Runners are no less popular, however, than road-blocking climate protesters like Just Stop Oil and Insulate Britain – the other extreme in the clash over climate.

Members like Lou Lancaster say every other means of persuading the government to do more has failed, so maximum disruption is all that’s left.

“You need to get the message out there – and unfortunately, the media is a way we get the message out and they only like drama,” said Lou.

But Sherrilyn, whose assault on the protesters with her car went viral, wonders, like many people, whether the tactic is backfiring.

“I feel like I had more coverage than anyone. Like I was in every single newspaper, every single TV show.”

And then there are policies like Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs).

Until I visited one, I was all for the idea. What’s not to like about a scheme that encourages more “active travel” like cycling and walking and reduces air pollution and congestion at the same time.

However, I now have some sympathy for their detractors. In parts of Oxford, say campaigners, cars have been restricted by LTNs, but public transport options have not been improved in return.

Cars have been taken off backstreets – to the understandable relief of residents – but then concentrated, along with their pollution – on main roads.

The result, according to Clinton Pugh, a vocal anti-LTN campaigner in the Cowley area of Oxford, is conflict.

“Society has been split,” he told me. “And this is the problem if you don’t get people on board and embracing what you want to do, how do you expect it to end up getting the result you want?”

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Oxfordshire County Council disputes that claim. It told us it consulted on the Cowley LTN three times. It also says it is modifying parts of the scheme to improve it – blaming the lack of public transport improvement on repair works in another part of the city.

But frustrations among voters with green policies that are unfair – or even just appear to be unfair – lead to political fall-out.

“It cannot be right for Westminster to impose such significant costs on working people, especially those who are already struggling to make ends meet,” said Rishi Sunak in his September net zero speech.

And this – if you care about progress on climate change, lowering bills and improving economic prospects for the UK in general – is the rub.

Ambitious green targets can only be met if policies to deliver them accommodate the needs of those impacted the most. On top of that they have to be well funded and well communicated enough to demonstrate benefits.

If they’re not, the frustration and resistance that’s currently filling the gap between net zero ambition and reality will only get wider, and more urgent.

UK

Ellis Cox: Mother appeals to catch son’s killer on birthday anniversary

Published

57 mins ago

January 18, 2025

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Ellis Cox: Mother appeals to catch son's killer on birthday anniversary

Fresh appeals have been made for information on what would have been the 20th birthday of Ellis Cox, who was shot dead in Liverpool last June.

A number of people have been arrested in connection with the murder at Liver Industrial Estate, but no one has been charged yet.

The 19-year-old’s family and police have paid tribute to him and called for those with information to come forward.

He was shot in the back after a confrontation between his friends and another group of up to three males on Sunday 23 June.

His mother Carolyn paid tribute in an appeal to coincide with what would have been his 20th birthday.

“He was so kind… so laid back, so calm, so mature for his age. And he was just funny. Very funny.

“He was my baby… no mum should have to bury a child. He was my life. And I don’t know what to do without him.”

Meanwhile, his aunt Julie O’Toole said he was “the sort of person I think you’d be hard pressed to find anyone to say anything negative about. He was loyal, fiercely loyal… everything was about his family”.

To pay tribute to Ellis, Liverpool City Council will be lighting up the Cunard Building and Liverpool Town Hall in orange on Saturday.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve McGrath, the senior investigating officer, spoke about the information gathered so far, six months on from Mr Cox’s murder.

“I’m satisfied that the group that he was with was probably the target… and I would say that’s got something in relation to do with localised drug dealing in that area. But Ellis had no involvement in that whatsoever,” he said.

He added that police are looking for “really significant pieces of evidence now”, including “trying to recover the firearm that was used in relation to this, looking to recover the bikes that were used by the offenders”.

Mrs Cox also appealed for people to come forward with information.

“If you know anything, don’t let us get to [his] next birthday and still know nothing.

“We need to get justice for Ellis. And we need to get the people who took him from us off the streets.”

UK

Manchester United legend Denis Law dies aged 84

Published

12 hours ago

January 17, 2025

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Manchester United legend Denis Law dies aged 84

Former Manchester United and Scotland footballer Denis Law has died, at the age of 84.

In a statement, his family said: “It is with a heavy heart that we tell you our father Denis Law has sadly passed away. He fought a tough battle, but finally, he is now at peace.

“We would like to thank everyone who contributed to his wellbeing and care, past and much more recently.

“We know how much people supported and loved him and that love was always appreciated and made the difference.”

The Aberdeen-born footballer previously announced in August 2021 that he had been diagnosed with dementia.

A prolific striker, Law scored 237 goals in 404 appearances for Manchester United, for whom he signed for a then-British record transfer fee in 1962.

He is the only man to have two statues dedicated to him at Old Trafford – one on the Stretford End concourse, the other as part of the United Trinity statue overlooking the stadium’s forecourt beside fellow great George Best and Sir Bobby Charlton.

The only Scottish player to have won the Ballon d’Or award, in 1964, he was also part of United’s triumphant campaign in the 1968 European Cup – in which they became the first English club to ever win the competition.

In a statement, the club said: “Everyone at Manchester United is mourning the loss of Denis Law, the King of the Stretford End, who has passed away, aged 84.

“He will always be celebrated as one of the club’s greatest and most beloved players.

“The ultimate goalscorer, his flair, spirit and love for the game made him the hero of a generation. Our deepest condolences go out to Denis’s family and many friends. His memory will live on forever more.”

Wayne Rooney, former United captain and the club’s all-time record goalscorer, described Law as a “legend”.

“Thoughts with all Denis’s family and friends,” he said in an online post.

Another former United captain, Gary Neville, said: “A great footballer and a great man. It’s a privilege and an honour to have spent time in your company. The King of the Stretford End.”

A tribute from the Scotland national team said Law was “a true great”.

“We will not see his likes again,” it said.

Law also played for Huddersfield Town, Manchester City, and Italian club Torino during his club career, and made 55 appearances for Scotland, scoring 30 goals for his country.

Manchester City said in a post on X: “The whole of Manchester, including everyone at City, is mourning with you. Rest in peace, Denis.”

UK

FTSE 100 closes at record high

Published

13 hours ago

January 17, 2025

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The UK’s benchmark stock index has reached another record high.

The FTSE 100 index of most valuable companies on the London Stock Exchange closed at 8,505.69, breaking the record set last May.

It had already broken its intraday high at 8532.58 on Friday afternoon, meaning it reached a high not seen before during trading hours.

Money blog: Major boost for mortgage holders

The weakened pound has boosted many of the 100 companies forming the top-flight index.

Why is this happening?

Most are not based in the UK, so a less valuable pound means their sterling-priced shares are cheaper to buy for people using other currencies, typically US dollars.

This makes the shares better value, prompting more to be bought. This greater demand has brought up the prices and the FTSE 100.

The pound has been hovering below $1.22 for much of Friday. It’s steadily fallen from being worth $1.34 in late September.

Also spurring the new record are market expectations for more interest rate cuts in 2025, something which would make borrowing cheaper and likely kickstart spending.

What is the FTSE 100?

The index is made up of many mining and international oil and gas companies, as well as household name UK banks and supermarkets.

Familiar to a UK audience are lenders such as Barclays, Natwest, HSBC and Lloyds and supermarket chains Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s.

Other well-known names include Rolls-Royce, Unilever, easyJet, BT Group and Next.

FTSE stands for Financial Times Stock Exchange.

If a company’s share price drops significantly it can slip outside of the FTSE 100 and into the larger and more UK-based FTSE 250 index.

The inverse works for the FTSE 250 companies, the 101st to 250th most valuable firms on the London Stock Exchange. If their share price rises significantly they could move into the FTSE 100.

A good close for markets

It’s a good end of the week for markets, entirely reversing the rise in borrowing costs that plagued Chancellor Rachel Reeves for the past ten days.

Fears of long-lasting high borrowing costs drove speculation she would have to cut spending to meet self-imposed fiscal rules to balance the budget and bring down debt by 2030.

Long-term government borrowing had reached a high not seen since 1998 while the benchmark 10-year cost of government borrowing, as measured by 10-year gilt yields, was at levels last seen around the 2008 financial crisis.

The gilt yield is effectively the interest rate investors demand to lend money to the UK government.

Only the pound has yet to recover the losses incurred during the market turbulence. Without that dropped price, however, the FTSE 100 record may not have happened.

Also acting to reduce sterling value is the chance of more interest rates. Currencies tend to weaken when interest rates are cut.