The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (15536):
Question:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what the carbon dioxide output of the Government estate was in (a) 2019 and (b) 2024. (15536)
Tabled on: 26 February 2024
Answer:
Rebecca Pow:
Since 2011 the Greening Government Commitments (GGCs) have set targets for greening the government estate and reported progress against them.
In financial year 2018-2019 the estate within the scope of the GGCs emitted 1,641,131 tonnes of CO2, 46% less than financial year 2009-2010. Full data is available in the 2018-2019 Greening Government Commitments annual report.
We will continue publishing CO2 emissions data in future GGCs annual reports. Data for financial year 2020-2021 is the latest year for which data is available and can be accessed here.
The answer was submitted on 04 Mar 2024 at 15:14.
March 9, 2024
Well she has attempted a form of quantifiable answer. How much relevance it has to the longterm well being of UK citizens is anybodies guess, particularly when India and China continue pumping out CO2 at an acceledating rate. When it is plant food it is difficult to accept it as the great satan of climate change.
March 9, 2024
CO2 is on balance a net positive as is on balance being a bit warmer. Even a doubling of CO2 would produce a trivial amount of warming. I would not trust their figures anyway the government pretend that burning new wood at Drax rather than old wood (coal) saves CO2 when it actually increases it. They also claim that exporting energy intensive industries like steel saves CO2 it just exports and probably increases it too.
This moronic table from Government:-
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transport-energy-and-environment-statistics-notes-and-definitions/journey-emissions-comparisons-methodology-and-guidance
Has a table claiming that walking and cycling produce no direct or indirect CO2 so obviously compiled by a liar for political reasons or a complete idiot. Walking fuelled as it is by human food can actually emit about the same as a small car per mile if the walker has a typical UK high meat and dairy diet. If the car is carrying five people it is far more efficient than walking.
If you expend an extra joule of energy walking you typically have to eat about 6 extra joules but to fertilise, grow, butcher, package, deliver, freeze, cook, dish wash, plus food wastage then that 6 joules might talk 60+ joules on average even more still if mainly meat.
March 9, 2024
Most people prefer to travel rather faster than walking pace. London to Glasgow in 180 hours walking is not that appealing to most business or other travellers. But if we designed cars to be efficient at walking pace or running pace they could be even more energy efficient. Then we have the 18 heated hotel rooms, showers, towels, cafes and clean clothes needed too for all this human food fuelled transport. Pulling their wheeled suitcases behind then I assume.
The table suggest coach travel is 4kg of CO2 per person London to Glasgow does anyone sane at the DoT really think that 60 people waking from London to Glasgow over say 18 days is more CO2 efficient than on coach?
I see there is no electric car included in the table just petrol and diesel. I assume this is because they are usually worse than petrol or diesel cars as so much energy is needed to manufacture them and the battery. So they want to hid this inconvenient fact? Keeping your small old petrol car longer is actually far more efficient in CO2 terms than buying a new EV and charging it with typical UK mix electricity.
Not that CO2 is a problem anyway actually a net good.
March 9, 2024
I read the reply and felt like asking, “and how much oxygen has been breathed?” It seemed an equally ridiculous question.
High CO2 levels is what causes global cooling. We’ve had the warmer weather, which will be followed by cooler. At least, that’s what I’ve been led to believe, and a graph in the museum of London also shows – we are on the peak of a downward trajectory.
March 9, 2024
Perhaps the 22,000 houses built for urban ghetto in her constituency at Taunton has no carbon footprint or that 34% of those social and affordable houses for low paid immigrants and the like has not changed the area? Pity she does not lead by example, I did not see that in her reply.
March 9, 2024
A continuous graph showing the UK CO2 TOTAL emissions per day against China or Indiaâs INCREASES per day would show what is not worth bothering with here.
Every little doesnât help; it hinders and distracts attention.
UK effort should concentrate on where most effect will be achieved, not fiddling around with Holier-than-Thou policies and heavy penalties for trivia at home.
March 9, 2024
Rebecca Pow studied Rural Environment Studies at Wye College what ever that is, she worked for the BBC and needless to supports remain and the net zero insanity. Clearly another LibDim.
Just stop reporting on CO2 and fire all the civil servants doing this pointless activity. That will save money, energy, paper, time and CO2. Then scrap net zero and do the same with this âworkersâ. Then reduce taxes with all the vast sums thus saved.
March 9, 2024
Needless to say she supported Rishi not Truss who was removed in the undemocratic Tory coup. Blamed unfairly in the main for the economic mess left by incompetent Andew Bailey the BoE and Sunak as Chancellor. Truss and Kwateng merely the touch-papers.
March 9, 2024
Most people prefer to travel rather faster than walking pace. London to Glasgow in 180 hours walking is not that appealing to most business or other travellers. But if we designed cars to be efficient at walking pace or running pace they could be even more energy efficient. Then we have the 18 heated hotel rooms, showers, towels, cafes and clean clothes needed too for all this human food fuelled transport. Pulling their wheeled suitcases behind then I assume.
The table suggest coach travel is 4kg of CO2 per person London to Glasgow does anyone sane at the DoT really think that 60 people waking from London to Glasgow over say 18 days is more CO2 efficient than by coach?
I see there is no electric car included in the table just petrol and diesel. I assume this is because they are usually worse than petrol or diesel cars as so much energy (invariably from cheap fossil fuels) is needed to manufacture them and their short lived batteries. So they want to hid this inconvenient fact? Keeping your small old petrol car longer is actually far more efficient in CO2 terms than buying a new EV and charging it with typical UK mix electricity.
Not that CO2 is a problem anyway, actually a net good.
March 9, 2024
This table from Government:-
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/transport-energy-and-environment-statistics-notes-and-definitions/journey-emissions-comparisons-methodology-and-guidance
Claims that walking and cycling produce no direct or indirect CO2 so obviously compiled by either a liar for political reasons or a complete fool. Walking fuelled as it is by human food can actually emit about the same as a small car per mile if the walker has a typical UK high meat and dairy diet. If the car is carrying five people it is far more efficient than walking.
If you expend an extra joule of energy walking you typically have to eat about 6 extra joules but to fertilise, grow, butcher, package, deliver, freeze, cook, dish wash, plus food wastage then that 6 joules might talk 60+ joules on average even more still if mainly meat.
March 9, 2024
LL,
I suspect it was a civil service answer she read out in true robotic form. A bit like her news reading in her former career.
March 9, 2024
The Budget bounce as Andrew Neil puts it on X. 18% and this is against pathetic and deluded âoppositionâ with virtually the same insane agenda as Sunak.
Westminster Voting Intention:
LAB: 46% (+1)
CON: 18% (-2)
REF: 13% (+1)
LDM: 10% (=)
Via @PeoplePolling, On 7 March,
March 9, 2024
Sir John – you say ‘We need better answers’ to how much Net Zero will cost. But you have shown your readers what chance you have of getting proper answers when you ask this government questions. So I’m wondering where those better answers will come from.
March 9, 2024
Exactly.
Nigel Paul Huddleston Financial Secretary Politics Oxon. on Any Questions said The House of Commons would be a worse place without Theresa May so deluded is he. To my mind May was guilty of blatant treachery over the EU. Her moronic net zero ÂŁ trillion and zero benefit bill will impoverish millions and will kill people. But then nearly all our daft MPâs wanted it too. Doubtless given the Sunak Hunt agenda May will be replaced by another green crap pushing, pro EU, tax to death LibDem or Socialist pretending to be a Conservative. The Labour person on the panel Sarah Jones (History Durham & Shadow Minister for Industry and Decarbonisation) even wanted to bring energy prices down by âinvestingâ in even more in intermittent renewables so clueless is she. It is unreliable, so called ârenewablesâ (they are not actually renewable) that are pushing energy costs up hugely! Happy to mansplain the physics & energy economic realities free of charge to you if you like dear!
March 9, 2024
The Dutch government has not been thrown out, it is still in office as before. It lost the election 3 months ago, but the Dutch PR electoral system means that no party will get a majority, so coalitions have to be formed. Until a new coalition can be formed with Wilders’ party, nothing changes. He is struggling to find partners for a governing coalition, and there may have to be new elections.
March 9, 2024
It’s not quite no change though. The Rutte government is unable to get new measures without the approval of the new parliament, reducing their role to a caretaker government. Meanwhile polling indicates that the electorate want to punish parties that pull back from agreeing a new coalition, with VVD seeing their 24 seats at the election halved in polling at one point, and NSC being similarly punished for their recent posture causing a breakdown of subsequent negotiations, while Wilders has seen support increase from the 37 seats won by PVV to around 50 seats in post election polling.
For potential coalition partners the risk of triggering an election is that they will lose heavily, while a future government would exclude their influence and increase the position of Wilders. The incentive to stop procrastinating and reach agreement is considerable, with opinion likely hardened since the recent Somali civil war on the streets of den Haag.
March 10, 2024
+1 Any future election, caused by the losers refusing to enter into a coalition with Wilders, is likely to increase support for Wilders party.
I guess the EU/Dutch Establishments must be trying to work out how they can “preserve democracy” by preventing the winner from standing in a future election, without causing a revolt. Like the Dems/Biden are in the USA and the Germans are talking about vis a vis the AfD.
March 9, 2024
Dear Westminster,
CO2 is a plant food making up just 0.04% of the atmosphere. Without it every plant and living creature on the planet would die. There are other gases that have more influence on weather. Water vapour, known by many as clouds. The biggest object that influences weather and our climate is called the …..Sun. Its intensity and our orbit and variable tilt as we travel around it has the greatest influence. The Sun’s intensity has patterns as well as unknown occurances that we don’t yet understand. The biggest gainers of your policy actions on CO2 benefit China/India/USA and other big emitters, whilst depriving us of industry and huge energy costs for intermittent windmill and solar power. Your virtue signalling is impoverishment us. So please campaign on this issue so you can be removed with Theresa May, the great deciple of the China driven climate change religion.
March 9, 2024
Exactly.
Nigel Paul Huddleston Financial Secretary Politics Oxon. on Any Questions said The House of Commons would be a worse place without Theresa May so deluded is he. To my mind May was guilty of blatant treachery over the EU. Her moronic net zero ÂŁ trillion and zero benefit bill will impoverish millions and will kill people. But then nearly all our daft MPâs wanted it too. Doubtless given the Sunak Hunt agenda May will be replaced by another green crap pushing, pro EU, tax to death LibDem or Socialist pretending to be a Conservative. The Labour person on the panel Sarah Jones (History Durham & Shadow Minister for Industry and Decarbonisation) even wanted to bring energy prices down by âinvestingâ in even more in intermittent renewables so clueless is she. It is unreliable, so called ârenewablesâ (they are not renewable) that are pushing energy costs up hugely! Happy to mansplain the physics energy economics to you if you would like dear!
March 9, 2024
The earth is about 4.2 billion years old and climate has changed throughout time, land forms changed, seas changed. Industrial Revolution occurred about 200 years ago without significant impact and climate will do tie to change because after every ice age it becomes warmer.
March 9, 2024
Its the scam that is the impoverishment tool, I totally ignore the lies and certainly do not play the games, Timaction!
March 9, 2024
If she wants to green the government estate (her stated objective) she needs more CO2 not less!
March 9, 2024
What the CO2 output âwasâ in 2024 wonât be known until the year has passed.
Rebeccaâs 46% less might be a Pow Zapp! as strong as Batmanâs Biff! yet fuller info might reveal more.
March 9, 2024
Jeremy Huntâs non-dom tax is economic madness
The abolition and replacement of non-dom status is a worthless offer in terms of inducing such people to settle and run businesses
PATRICK MINFORD in the Telegraph.
It certainly is. Indeed it is economic and fiscal vandalism. It will decrease the tax take, destroy jobs, decrease inward investment and make good people and their money leave for tax havens like Monac or for the Non Dom system in Ireland or similar schemes in Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, IoM, CIâŠ
March 9, 2024
Question Time on Thursday had David TC Davies MP the Welsh Sec. on.
He claimed anyone paying NI would be better of (not true only the middle range do as the others lose more in fiscal drag as the Chair correctly pointed out.
Then he claimed pensioners were better of as they had had inflation increases. But an inflation increase does not make you better off at all. An inflation increase with high inflation and tax allowance frozen make them worse off.
Is this man a liar or a fool – just how stupid does he think the public are? As usual he blames Putin and Covid. Not it was the Tories use of net harm lockdowns, net harm vaccines and waste, net harm QE, Covid waste the energy problem is mainly net zero and a moronic energy policy – not Putin.
The Tory plan seems to be to increase income tax and get slowly rid of employees NI which has a far narrower base. This is essentially a huge tax grab in effect putting NI onto unearned income and pensions (but calling it income tax). This pretending you are reducing tax while actually increasing it massively with vast fiscal drag. Labour will likely continue with this tax grab.
March 9, 2024
In fairness LL, he might just be thick? He is one of many in cabinet. You should highlight he might be special needs. Like Pow he might be parroting from a civil service script. The inability of ministers to act from their own intellect, courage, judgement has long gone. All pro EU socialists as far as I can see.
March 9, 2024
Perhaps they hope the Hinuja brothers will close Tata Steel in the UK altogether, rather than just shutting the blast furnaces.
March 10, 2024
The only thing concerning the Not-a-Conservative Junta in Nos.10 and 11 now is “how do we improve our polling and prevent a complete wipe-out at the GE?”
Labour promised to punish Non-Doms and is 20% higher in the polls, so by copying a high-profile Labour policy they hoped to attract some voters back. End of.
Two days post budget, and their polling reduced by a further 2%. Entirely deserved.
March 9, 2024
So at 46% less it is damaging our efforts to green the landscape, farming and food production.
Very bad news.
March 9, 2024
Indeed but the 46% will be drivel anyway. As we see with the absurd CO2 accounting of Drax young coal burning!
So what about all the âworkingâ from home does that on average increase CO2 output as more day time home heating in thousands of homes plus the office still being heated doubtless or save it as less commuting energy needed. Did they analyse that? Then again the buses, trains tubes prob. just running as normal but with fewer people on board to keep the unions happy?
March 9, 2024
Drivel! The perfect description of all government theories and talk!
Lifelogic
March 9, 2024
Agricola,
She provided a quantifiable answer – from five years ago and fifteen. I suspect this may be because the comparison she offers shows a reduction has been achieved.
The numbers will not mean much to the general public though.
March 9, 2024
I see our Government only have access to the latest data that is 3 years out of date. Sums up the Civil Service and Westminster policy making and monitoring in one sentence.
March 9, 2024
I am most disappointed.
Apparently there is no nice pensioner employed by the govt. standing on Westminster Bridge with a butterfly net and co2 meter.
NoâŠjust more agencies working it all out with âlevelling upâ and the usual cr*p.
I got locked out of the govt. article âŠ.only ÂŁ90 sub.
I passed on that one!
March 9, 2024
The terrifying radicalism of Labourâs agenda.
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/labours-equality-revolution/
March 9, 2024
Enough can be read before hitting paywall.
March 9, 2024
Indeed, even worse than Sunak and Huntâs mad pretend the vaccines were safe and effective, green crap socialism agenda but all rather similar. One might argue that Labour will be worse at pushing this lunacy and as it is lunacy worse at pushing might perhaps be better than more efficient at pushing it.
March 9, 2024
Is this why the Westminster (lockstep) Bubble was so keen on lockdowns?
They are more scared of model-produced predictions than they are of the ACTUAL effects of such actions?
Things like excess deaths and rotting teeth and insurrection and wasteland towns and starving, sick people on the streets.
They need a bit of a reality check.
March 9, 2024
I love the smell of paraffin, of cigar smoke and ice cold gin
I love the taste of beef and bacon and all the things that will be taken
âŠ.away from us
For no good reason!
March 9, 2024
Correct …you only have to look outside your window to realise that the climate hasn’t changed, however the local environment has; since council cleaning budget has been trandferred to the net-zero budget, no more street cleaning, no more weeding, no weekly bin collection, no more curb sweeping and no more free green bin collection
March 9, 2024
I wonder how the scope of the GGCs compares with the Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 reporting required of companies for their annual reports. Does it include all the emissions made by quango subsidiaries too?
March 9, 2024
The link to your recent talk at St Anthony’s has gone missing. I hope you will repost it, as I should like to hear it.