Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

UK government climate comments under scrutiny

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 30 Sep 2022 09:22
5 Min Read

British Prime Minister Liz Truss refuses to levy a windfall tax on oil corporations, even though they have been making record profits in recent months.

  • x
  • Liz Truss has spoken out against solar farms and cut funding for them in a previous ministerial role. Image: Number 10/Flickr
    British Prime Minister Liz Truss

Initial remarks by British Prime Minister Liz Truss' conservative government have raised questions about her climate policy in a country that is increasingly feeling the effects of global warming while also experiencing a historic energy crisis.

Faced with rising energy prices, the new premier assumed office in early September and immediately announced a package of measures.

The acceleration of North Sea offshore oil and gas exploitation and the freezing of the moratorium on controversial gas fracking was included. 

The United Kingdom halted fracking in 2019 due to concerns that it could cause earthquakes.

Truss has also refused to levy a windfall tax on oil corporations, even though they have been making record profits in recent months.

Read next: UK government finances environmental racism despite settlements

The unveiling this week of a measure to reform or repeal hundreds of environmental protection legislation inherited from the European Union by the end of 2023 was the final straw for environmental activists.

"Nature is under attack from a raft of dangerous decisions by Government and we know people are furious at the new threats," said Craig Bennett, chief executive of The Wildlife Trusts.

"Vital legal protections for wildlife are at risk, fossil fuel extraction is being favored over renewables, and the government is going back on plans to reward farmers for managing land in a nature-friendly way."

Climate pioneer 

The months-long drought in areas of the UK, record high temperatures this summer, and heat-induced fires have all brought the potential effects of global warming home to many British people. The country is one of the pioneers in Europe in tackling climate change.

Through the 2008 Climate Change Act, the United Kingdom became the first country to legally demand reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions.

There was also a rapid transformation in its energy model, with coal representing only 3% of the energy consumed in 2020, compared to 20% in 2013.

Related News

US Air Force base linked to toxic PFAS in blood, water, and farms

Spain wildfires rage as heatwave fuels European environmental disaster

The #energy crisis is expected to be further aggravated with winter on the doors, will the #European people bear the consequences of their government’s unconditional support to #Ukraine? pic.twitter.com/c5KHoFHWvk

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) September 25, 2022

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised to make the UK the Saudi Arabia of wind power at last year's COP26 climate conference in Scotland, and he announced ambitious climate targets, including the phase-out of petrol and diesel vehicles.

Truss, who succeeded him, has never been perceived as particularly committed to the climate. Her early decisions have confused even her camp.

"The new government must not listen to siren calls to row back on environmental commitments when the solutions to the multiple crises we face, from climate to the cost of living, are complementary," said Chris Skidmore, a Conservative member of parliament and former energy minister.

Read next: CCC report: UK will not make it to net zero in time

In early September, a cross-party group of pro-environment legislators wrote to Truss, urging her to reaffirm her commitment to achieving carbon neutrality.

Truss stated in parliament that she was "completely committed to reaching carbon neutrality by 2050," but she also stated that she had decided to "re-examine" this goal to ensure it was done in a way that was beneficial to the economy and growth.

Her decision to select Jacob Rees-Mogg as her secretary of state for business, energy, and industrial strategy has also fueled concerns about the UK's future climate policies.

'Teetering on the brink' 

An opponent of onshore wind power, Rees-Mogg has said he wants his constituents to have cheap energy "rather more than I would like them to have windmills".

He has also warned against "climate alarmism".

Ed Miliband, the main opposition Labour Party's spokesperson on climate change and net zero emissions, called his remarks "dangerous climate denial."

"Putting someone who recently suggested 'every last drop' of oil should be extracted from the North Sea in charge of energy policy is deeply worrying for anyone concerned about the deepening climate emergency, solving the cost-of-living crisis, and keeping our fuel bills down for good," environmental pressure group Friends of the Earth said.

Read next: Greenpeace UK: Global South 'used as a place to dump waste'

"Extracting more fossil fuels is a false solution to the energy crisis. It's our failure to end our reliance on gas and oil that's sent energy bills soaring and left us teetering on the brink of catastrophic climate change," it said.

Rees-Mogg's appointment "suggests that the Tories have learned nothing after years of incompetence in energy policy," added Rebecca Newsom of Greenpeace.

Meanwhile, the Labour Party has made the issue of climate change one of its main lines of attack as it approaches the next general election, scheduled for 2025 at the latest.

  • Environment
  • greenpeace
  • Liz Truss
  • United Kingdom

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS