... want everyone to know about ... THE UK DEVELOPMENT SCANDAL A decade and more wasted!
T I M E L I N E: CLIMATE CHANGE AWARENESS 2007 Government Policy statement: Building a Greener Future 2008 The Climate Change Act ratified, and the Energy Act published which includes Renewable Heat Incentives 2009 Directive 28/EC on the promotion of use of renewable energy implemented in the EU in December 2010 2010 Building regulations published with regard to minimum energy performance requirements, high energy alternatives, nearly zero requirements 2011 Introduction of the plug in vehicle grant 2011 Building regulations Part 6, 25 a and 25 b, (details of renewable energy,) erased 2012 2013 Zero Carbon Britain published by the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) 2014 The domestic RHI launched to provids financial support to the owner of the renewable heating system for seven years. The scheme covers England, Wales and Scotland. 2015 Zero Carbon building regulations quietly dropped 2016 Zero Carbon building regulations should have been implemented 2017Donald Trump announces USA intention to dump the Paris Climate Agreement 2018 Ecocide Campaign led by Polly Higgins explodes into public attention 2018 Extinction Rebellion founded May 2018 School Strike for Climate founded by Greta Thunberg - she addresses multiple global conferences 2019 April Extinction Rebellion campaign causes major disruption in London and other global cities 2019 Sir David Attenborough presents BBC documentary “Climate Change, The Facts” 2019 February UK Housing Fit for the Future? Published by the Committee on Climate Change. 2019Zero Carbon Homes Policy document released by Energy, Climate & Intelligence Unit 2019 ZERO CARBON EMISSION 2050 ACT, SIGNED 2019 2020 Jan, Feb, March - Wind & Solar made up 47% of the UK’s electricity generation in the first three months of the year, smashing the previous quarterly record of 39% set 2019. 2020 March - the Covid Epidemic brings action re Climate Change to a halt. 2020 April - Monday 20th bumper solar levels set new daily peak generation record of 9.68GW 2020 May - A record-breaking month for solar energy production produced 77GW of electricity, 2020 June - The longest UK total coal-free period ended 17/6 having lasted 67 days, 22 hours and 55 minutes 2020 June - The ban on ICE cars was brought forward from 2040 to 2035. Suggestion followed to accelerate to 2032. 2020 July - Greta Thunberg, the Swedish environment campaigner, is awarded a new humanitarian prize worth one million euros. The 17-year-old founder of School Strike for Climate, won the inaugural Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity. 2020 July - Ideas re Green New Deal re-emerge, including budget announcement of £3billion fund to provide insulation in homes and public buildings. Question that arises - how many properties have cavity walls that can be insulated as opposed to single skin (pre 1920)? Improving energy efficiency has a spin-off benefit which means that this labour intensive scheme creates more jobs for recently unemployed people. Private landlords only have to achieve EPC level E and may not wish to upgrade their property's insulation. 2021 - January 1.7 m acres burned in California. NASA concluded that 2020 had been the hottest year on record. Africa had its warmest January on record. Torrential rain fell in Malaysia leading to evacuation of 50,000 people. Turkey suffers a drought that threatens Istanbul's water supply. Joe Biden/the USA rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement. 2021 - February 10 million people without power in Texas after serious storms. Millions also without water. 2021 - March Australia had horrendous floods in New South Wales, together with a mouse plague. 2021. - April A landmark legal decision was announced in Germany by their Supreme Court who found that the government's climate protection measures were insufficient to protect future generations. 2021 - May A Dutch court ordered Royal Dutch Shell to cut its global carbon emissions by 45% by the end of 2030 in an unprecedented ruling. 2021 - June One of the most powerful heatwaves hit the west coast of the USA in June - from California all the way up to Canada where temperatures of 49.6 were recorded shattering all previous records. Europe and Asia had their second warmest Junes on record while Africa and New Zealand had their warmest ever recorded. 2022 - July Death Valley recorded a temperature of 54.4° C - the highest since records began in 1880. At the same time there were torrential downpours on India's west cost leading to multiple deaths and Henan province in China saw a year's worth of rain 604 mm in a single day, forcing thousands to evacuate. In the UK, Southern Water was fined a record £90m after it was found that it had deliberately poured untreated sewage into the sea in order to avoid the cost of upgrading infrastructure. 2021 August - CHC (Community Housing Cymru) organise major initiative regarding the building of 20,000 zero carbon homes in Wales using latest renewable technology. The IPCC concluded that climate change was unequivocally caused by human activities and some of the impacts were now irreversible. 2021 September - a new campaign group Insulate Britain, began sitting on motorways to demand climate action in the form of insulation for the country's housing stock. The energy crisis starts as sky-high gas prices in Europe put pressure on electricity and coal supplies in China. 2021 October - Drought in Kenya worsens. It is announced that 14% of the world's coral reefs have been wiped out in less than a decade. The EU calls for an end to oil, coal and gas exploration in the Arctic region. Drought in Madagascar now threatens 1 million people who are at risk of starvation. Tesla EV top the European car sales chart. 2021 November - COP26 took place in Glasgow. 2021 December - the Arctic reached a new temperature record. Floods swept Queensland with 180 mm of rain falling 24 hours. The UK was hit by storm Arwen and Storm Barra - multiple trees were felled. Heavy rains fell in Iraq and tornadoes ripped through the USA with 70 deaths resulting in Kentucky. 2022 - January was the world's 6th warmest in 142 years of climate records. South America had its second warmest on record. Antarctic sea ice was 440,000 square miles below average. 2022 - February Russia begins its invasion of Ukraine. New campaign group Just Stop Oil campaigners demand the government stops granting licences for new fossil fuel projects. 2022 - March extreme weather events worldwide including floods in India and Pakistan, wildfires in Spain, Portugal and France, hail storms in Germany and Mexico City, Thunderstorms in Canada cause 11 deaths cut power to 1 million homes. Heatwaves are wide spread throughout the world:.India has had temperatures of 49.2 in May, France and Portugal 46°, London registers temperature above 40° for two days for the first time since records began 2022 July - Boris Johnson is forced to resign. The remaining two leadership candidates Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss need to outline real policies for tackling climate change. Martin Lewis of Money Saving Expert records a stark warning regarding energy price rises and the effect on large swathes of the population. 2022 September - Liz Truss becomes Prime Minister 2022 October - Rishi Sunak becomes Prime Minister. 2022 becomes the 6th hottest year on record. 2023 - February In Italy the River Po is at its lowest ever level ever recorded. 2023 - March IPCC report releases final warning to keep 1.5 degrees within reach 2023 - September Rishi delays the ban on sales of ICE cars in the UK by 5 years to 2035. Rishi Sunak also rows back on various other green measures. Former COP Chair, Alok Sharma says he will not stand at the next GE. First named storm of the year, Agnes, hits UK 27th September. 2023 - October named Storm Babet hits the UK and Brechin is flooded at an unprecedented level. There is a planning debate re solar PV regulations at Westminster. Deputy minister suggests that several of the obsolete rules are "absurd". 2023 - November 3rd named storm Ciaran kills 21 people in Europe, then hits the UK 1/11. 4th named storm, Debi, hits the UK 13/11 and wreaks havoc. 50,000 homes and businesses in Ireland are without power. Major parts of West Sussex are flooded. COP 28 is on the horizon in Dubai - run by one of the wealthiest oil producing nations. Past deadlines have not been met. Renewable energy policies are not materialising in the UK. Major barriers to entry still exist and less than 5% of the total of 30 million homes have any form of renewable energy installed. VAT still being charged at 20% on direct purchases of renewable energy products and on public EV charging. Cabinet reshuffle - Therese Coffey sacked as Environment Minister, Stephen Barclay appointed - although this is a demotion from health after 13 months in post. Suella Braverman sacked. David Cameron ennobled and recalled to Cabinet as Home Secretary. 2023 - is virtually certain to become the hottest year on record. Seas warm off Florida and Australia, coral bleaches and dies, antarctic sea ice shrinks to lowest level, wide spread floods occur globally, storms and high winds lash various parts of the globe. USA endures periods of intense heat, as does China, and much of Europe. Tourist spots have to close to protect the public. TheUK endures 4 named storms in a period of 6 weeks.
****** All these extreme climate events happening in the UK and worldwide are leading to:
Mass migration of peoples
Appalling loss of housing and personal possessions globally
However, developers are still notinstalling sustainability measures
Zero attention to community renewable energy
No domestic PV/air or ground source heat pumps
No domestic/community EV chargepoints (legislation only put in place in mid 2022)
Few cycle tracks
No rainwater management
Developers are:
Ignoring the effects of poor building practice on our planet - in the UK there is no focus on heat mitigation issues.
Declaring that renewable energy isn't affordable
Raking in massive profits
The Government is not paying attention to:
Latest technology developments
Updating building regulations quickly enough
Providingbig enough subsidies to stimulate the domestic market
Click here to find pictures of different developer's offerings, here to find details of finances, location and here for what they are offering/not offering. You'll find renewable energy technology solutions here and hopefully you may see one or two developers who are getting it right here - but they are a tiny minority.