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Lord Frost claims rising temperatures will help Britain


Rising temperatures are “likely to be beneficial” for Britain as more people die from the cold than the heat, Lord Frost has told peers.

The right-wing former Brexit minister claimed there was a lack of debate on climate change and said Britain should move away from “high-cost mitigation efforts” towards adaptation instead.

Frost’s comments came as Rishi Sunak faces a backlash from the right of his party over green policies, prompting signals from the prime minister that he may retreat in some cases.

yes and where are we going to be growing food, if the rainfall becomes erratic / reduces.

confirms he's the idiot we knew from brexit involvement.
 
confirms he's the idiot we knew from brexit involvement

I don't exactly agree with him but if the situation is as bad as some portray then we are realistically deep into the need to funnel efforts into adaption as we've left it far too late to tackle via any amount of "getting the ball rolling". That said dragging out doing anything at all would be why we were in that situation so wouldn't expect to see efforts go towards adaption either.

Though there are some unprecedented signs of changes to our climate I'm wary of how it is being interpreted - most models are referenced/corrected against the work of a certain US entity who has been dead wrong several times in the past (for example solar modelling) with their predictions and in various areas of modelling (i.e. weather) have had amongst the lowest accuracy... and I find it concerning how often a historical low is portrayed as if the starting point, even if maybe well intentioned.
 
Just for info - from our world in data, U.K. CO2 emissions over time:

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/annual-co2-emissions-per-country?facet=none&country=~GBR

If we just take CO2 emission within the U.K. we've reduced them to a level equivalent to that last seen around the 1900's

If you take into account CO2 emission including those from trading:

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/prod-cons-co2-per-capita

It's a similar story if we take into account trade.

The point being - we've been very effective in reducing our carbon footprint as a country.

Yes, but as you acknowledge, we've outsourced most of our manufacturing to countries that now produce what we used to produce (China etc) - hence our carbon footprint is lower and theirs is higher, therefore, we are still part of the problem. The data you cite shows that taking that into account means we are currently at around 1947's CO2 emissions level.

Also, we originally started the ball rolling with the Industrial Revolution and the world then followed us. From 1709 (which could be picked as the start of the Industrial Revolution, when Abraham Darby first used coal in his blast furnaces) the UK was the top emitter of CO2 until it was overtaken by the USA in 1888. The USA was the largest emitter from then until it was overtaken by China in 2007.

179 years on top for the UK (coal, mostly - oil and gas didn't really made any contribution during those years).

119 years on top for the USA.

16 years on top (so far) for China.

Therefore, it would be natural justice if we are the first to finish it and fully implement the Green Industrial Revolution.

NASA say that CO2, once it’s added to the atmosphere, hangs around for a long time: 300 - 1,000 years, so Britain's historic CO2 emissions still count (even if they were cumulatively lower than China's last 8 years of record-breaking emissions).

Persuading other countries (like China, the USA and India) to do the right thing will be impossible if we carry on opening new coal mines and drilling new oil and gas wells in the North Sea with the intention to close them all in 2049, (just before our legal commitment to go net-zero begins). After all, we are/were the biggest oil producer in western Europe. They will simply label us hypocrites who built our country's hegemonic position on fossil fuels and still continue to extract, use and export them.
 
just stop oil has serious competition

Lord Frost claims rising temperatures will help Britain


yes and where are we going to be growing food, if the rainfall becomes erratic / reduces.

confirms he's the idiot we knew from brexit involvement.

Actually, there's no guarantee that it will just get 2 or 3 degrees hotter here with more erratic rainfall or droughts. The worst case scenario for Britain is that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (Gulf Stream) will stop at some point, due to the increasing volumes of fresh water being dumped into the north Atlantic by the accelerating melting of ice in Canada, Greenland and the Arctic.

If/when that happens the average temperature in the UK will drop by 10 - 15 degrees Centigrade causing average minimum winter temperatures of around -20 degrees Centigrade. It is estimated that the amount of heat brought to the British Isles by the Gulf Stream is equivalent to the output from one million nuclear reactors.
 
Yes, but as you acknowledge, we've outsourced most of our manufacturing to countries that now produce what we used to produce (China etc) - hence our carbon footprint is lower and theirs is higher, therefore, we are still part of the problem. The data you cite shows that taking that into account means we are currently at around 1947's CO2 emissions level.

Also, we originally started the ball rolling with the Industrial Revolution and the world then followed us. From 1709 (which could be picked as the start of the Industrial Revolution, when Abraham Darby first used coal in his blast furnaces) the UK was the top emitter of CO2 until it was overtaken by the USA in 1888. The USA was the largest emitter from then until it was overtaken by China in 2007.

179 years on top for the UK (coal, mostly - oil and gas didn't really made any contribution during those years).

119 years on top for the USA.

16 years on top (so far) for China.

Therefore, it would be natural justice if we are the first to finish it and fully implement the Green Industrial Revolution.

NASA say that CO2, once it’s added to the atmosphere, hangs around for a long time: 300 - 1,000 years, so Britain's historic CO2 emissions still count (even if they were cumulatively lower than China's last 8 years of record-breaking emissions).

Persuading other countries (like China, the USA and India) to do the right thing will be impossible if we carry on opening new coal mines and drilling new oil and gas wells in the North Sea with the intention to close them all in 2049, (just before our legal commitment to go net-zero begins). After all, we are/were the biggest oil producer in western Europe. They will simply label us hypocrites who built our country's hegemonic position on fossil fuels and still continue to extract, use and export them.
Personally I don't think the likes of China, India, or the USA will change, so we're ****** anyway.
 
If/when that happens the average temperature in the UK will drop by 10 - 15 degrees Centigrade causing average minimum winter temperatures of around -20 degrees Centigrade. It is estimated that the amount of heat brought to the British Isles by the Gulf Stream is equivalent to the output from one million nuclear reactors.
I'd love that sort of winter, was -40 (-48 at its lowest) when I was in Canada last winter. I still didnt wear a coat out, I think I'm a reincarnated penguin. I absolutely adore it when its that sort of weather, go to Banff in Canada every winter just so that I can have a proper winter instead of the rainy september like winters that we get here.
 
Yes, but as you acknowledge, we've outsourced most of our manufacturing to countries that now produce what we used to produce (China etc) - hence our carbon footprint is lower and theirs is higher, therefore, we are still part of the problem. The data you cite shows that taking that into account means we are currently at around 1947's CO2 emissions level.

Also, we originally started the ball rolling with the Industrial Revolution and the world then followed us. From 1709 (which could be picked as the start of the Industrial Revolution, when Abraham Darby first used coal in his blast furnaces) the UK was the top emitter of CO2 until it was overtaken by the USA in 1888. The USA was the largest emitter from then until it was overtaken by China in 2007.

179 years on top for the UK (coal, mostly - oil and gas didn't really made any contribution during those years).

119 years on top for the USA.

16 years on top (so far) for China.

Therefore, it would be natural justice if we are the first to finish it and fully implement the Green Industrial Revolution.

NASA say that CO2, once it’s added to the atmosphere, hangs around for a long time: 300 - 1,000 years, so Britain's historic CO2 emissions still count (even if they were cumulatively lower than China's last 8 years of record-breaking emissions).

Persuading other countries (like China, the USA and India) to do the right thing will be impossible if we carry on opening new coal mines and drilling new oil and gas wells in the North Sea with the intention to close them all in 2049, (just before our legal commitment to go net-zero begins). After all, we are/were the biggest oil producer in western Europe. They will simply label us hypocrites who built our country's hegemonic position on fossil fuels and still continue to extract, use and export them.

Not so quick, the British Empire made more than a fair contribution to the rest of the world. Much of the world was in the dark ages.
 
Personally I don't think the likes of China, India, or the USA will change, so we're ****** anyway.

Their climates are going to be among the worst affected by global warming. Heatwaves, hurricanes/typhoons, tornadoes, droughts etc are going to become much worse and more frequent in those countries. Hence, they have a selfish reason to change their behaviours, but they won't do it on their own (without a global agreed legal framework) because the capitalist system guarantees that early adopters of green energy systems are punished by the extra costs and lower profit margins due to their implementation.

The world needs leadership to solve this problem and it won't come from people just continuing to pursue their own selfish interests.

I'd love that sort of winter, was -40 (-48 at its lowest) when I was in Canada last winter. I still didnt wear a coat out, I think I'm a reincarnated penguin. I absolutely adore it when its that sort of weather, go to Banff in Canada every winter just so that I can have a proper winter instead of the rainy september like winters that we get here.

Well, you'll be happy to know that it's likely to happen within the next 30 - 40 years (at the current warming rate) according to a research paper published yesterday in Nature:

Warning of a forthcoming collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation


The upgrades that will be necessary to the UK's infrastructure and housing stock will probably cost us hundreds of billions. It will also seriously impact our agricultural sector and limit what crops we will be able to grow.

Given that we are on the same latitude as Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada, it is only because of the Gulf Stream and the Jet Stream (air current from North America) that this country enjoys relatively mild winters. (When the Jet Stream gets temporarily redirected, as it did in the winter of 2010, our winter temperatures drop substantially too.)

The last time the Gulf Stream was shut off was during the last Ice Age 12,000 years ago, so it is a game-changer for our climate. Despite your flippancy, I suspect that most Brits will not be thrilled about enduring long sub-zero winters.

Not so quick, the British Empire made more than a fair contribution to the rest of the world. Much of the world was in the dark ages.

I'm sure the Americans would say the same about US influence during the 20th Century (helping us win two World Wars and the Cold War against Soviet totalitarianism), but that hardly gives them carte blanche to burn fossil fuels with impunity. Not sure the Indians or the Chinese would agree with you that the British Empire was a force for good though.

However, the bottom line is that the UK got the world hooked on fossil fuels through the Industrial Revolution and so we should be taking a leadership role in getting it off them and we cannot do that if we don't practice what we preach.
 
Well, you'll be happy to know that it's likely to happen within the next 30 - 40 years (at the current warming rate) according to a research paper published yesterday in Nature:

Warning of a forthcoming collapse of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation


The upgrades that will be necessary to the UK's infrastructure and housing stock will probably cost us hundreds of billions. It will also seriously impact our agricultural sector and limit what crops we will be able to grow.

Given that we are on the same latitude as Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada, it is only because of the Gulf Stream and the Jet Stream (air current from North America) that this country enjoys relatively mild winters. (When the Jet Stream gets temporarily redirected, as it did in the winter of 2010, our winter temperatures drop substantially too.)

The last time the Gulf Stream was shut off was during the last Ice Age 12,000 years ago, so it is a game-changer for our climate. Despite your flippancy, I suspect that most Brits will not be thrilled about enduring long sub-zero winters.
To be fair, I wasnt being flippant, I was being entirely sincere. I vastly prefer the cold, the colder the better. Needs to happen sooner than 30 years though because I will be dead before then
 
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To be fair, I wasnt being flippant, I was being entirely sincere. I vastly prefer the cold, the colder the better. Needs to happen sooner than 30 years though because I will be dead before then
Probably not a great thing to look forward to living in a country that literally grinds to a halt after a dusting of snow.
 
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