Here's A Window Into The Meaninglessness That Is Boris Johnson's Climate "Leadershp"
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In terms of Britain’s contribution to carbon reduction, the recentness of the prime minister’s conversion matters less than the forces that might hold him to the cause or prise him away from it. He did not pick a side in the Brexit referendum until February 2016, yet the shallow roots of that conviction were no impediment to radicalism. When forecasting Johnson’s behaviour, the salient factor, probably the only one, is the calculation of his political self-interest. The omens are not great. In the short term, there is pressure to be green. At Cop26, the world will be watching. Downing Street’s pride is at stake. The government’s net zero strategy, launched today, reflects that scrutiny with ambitious pledges to boost green investment and infrastructure.
And after the summit? The familiar flow of Westminster politics resumes, with the prime minister’s eyes drawn to events much closer than the 2050 horizon, where Britain is due to be carbon neutral; closer than 2035, by which point fossil fuels are supposed to have been eliminated from UK electricity generation; closer than 2030, when all new cars sold should be electric. The furthest point in the distance on which Johnson can hold a gaze is the next election, due in May 2024 but feasibly sooner. Meanwhile, he is vulnerable to distraction by the demands of a 24/7 news cycle.
This problem is not unique to Britain. The rewards of good climate policies are enjoyed by future generations; the costs are paid by people who vote now. That is not an attractive bet for most politicians, least of all the myopic kind obsessed with headlines and poll ratings.
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Still, the prime minister cannot resist indulging the caricature of ecology as a metropolitan lifestyle fetish for vegans and remainers. That was the implication of an article he wrote in the Sun this week, reassuring readers that “the Greenshirts of the Boiler Police are not going to kick in your door with their sandal-clad feet and seize, at carrot-point, your trusty old combi”.
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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/19/tory-rebels-boris-johnson-britain-net-zero
