New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Scheme includes industrial allocations of carbon credits aimed at avoiding inefficient carbon leakage.But the formula is wrong. Imagine that you’re a domestic firm producing stuff that generates CO2 emissions. You correctly have to surrender NZU – one for each tonne of emissions. But if competitors in foreign markets do not face a…
Just fix industrial allocations
Just fix industrial allocations
25 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - New Zealand Tags: carbon tax, carbon trading
Let them build: electricity and datacentres edition
24 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, energy economics, entrepreneurship, politics - New Zealand
New Zealand’s electricity companies know how to stick a pipe into the ground in the Taupo Volcanic Zone and generate electricity. They’ve been doing it for decades, and there is enormous untapped potential. America’s hyperscalers are currently willing to pay a large premium for immediacy. They are sticking expensive off-grid generators beside datacentres that would have…
Let them build: electricity and datacentres edition
Renewable Energy Will Impoverish Humanity
11 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming
A wholly or predominantly wind and solar fuelled economy will not be able to sustain those corrective technologies and at the same time provide a generous margin for other uses. So the system will shrink, energy consumption itself will fall and the human niche will narrow. General health will decline, rates of mortality will rise,…
Renewable Energy Will Impoverish Humanity
BREAKING: Trump Admin Hires Skeptic to Run National Climate Assessment…Mann Clutches Pearls
11 Jul 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: climate alarmism
Scrutiny of a government assessment by someone inclined to question it is not a threat to the science. It is a stress test. The post BREAKING: Trump Admin Hires Skeptic to Run National Climate Assessment…Mann Clutches Pearls appeared first on Watts Up With That?.
BREAKING: Trump Admin Hires Skeptic to Run National Climate Assessment…Mann Clutches Pearls
Air Conditioning Torn From Homes Under Net Zero Clampdown
30 Jun 2026 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming
Homeowners are being forced to tear out air conditioning from their properties under Net Zero laws that prioritise “passive cooling” and only permit “active cooling” as a “last resort”. The Telegraph has the story. The post Air Conditioning Torn From Homes Under Net Zero Clampdown appeared first on Watts Up With That?.
Air Conditioning Torn From Homes Under Net Zero Clampdown
No Wind? No Sun? What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
29 Jun 2026 2 Comments
in energy economics Tags: solar power, wind power
You guessed it! Coal and gas! It’s wonderful, all of this “renewable” electricity! The post No Wind? No Sun? What Could Possibly Go Wrong? appeared first on Watts Up With That?.
No Wind? No Sun? What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Cost of Renewables Holding Back Net Zero!
24 Jun 2026 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism Tags: British politics, celebrity technologies, solar power, wind power
By Paul Homewood h/t Doug Brodie Reality has finally caught up with the crooks: From the Telegraph: Labour’s green levies on energy bills are holding back Britain’s net zero push, government advisers have warned. Extra charges on energy bills to subsidise the growth of wind and solar plants championed by Ed […]
Cost of Renewables Holding Back Net Zero!
Thankfully the Govt did not panic
18 Jun 2026 Leave a comment
in defence economics, energy economics, politics - New Zealand, war and peace Tags: Iran
There is a sort of peace deal between Iran and the US. If it holds, the fuel crisis is over. I’ll do a separate post on the merits of the peace deal, but for now want to focus on the response in NZ. The Government’s response was cool, calm and measured. They did not panic.…
Thankfully the Govt did not panic
The Justification for Net Zero Has Vanished with the Demise of RCP8.5
16 Jun 2026 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: climate alarmism
Any justification for Ed Miliband’s Net Zero climate policy, whether real or imaginary, has vanished with the official abandonment by the IPCC of the scariest concentration scenario RCP8.5. Even Tony Blair can now perceive that the pursuit of Net Zero is unwarranted and harmful to Britain. The post The Justification for Net Zero Has Vanished…
The Justification for Net Zero Has Vanished with the Demise of RCP8.5
Miliband comes for underfloor heating in net zero drive
14 Jun 2026 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: British politics
By Paul Homewood h/t Ian Magness From the Telegraph: Ed Miliband will ban the sale of underfloor heating systems deemed to be using too much power in his latest net zero drive. The Energy Secretary has also set his sights on electric towel rails, gas fires and storage heaters, with plans for […]
Miliband comes for underfloor heating in net zero drive
The History of Greenpeace: The Evolution of Green Extremism
14 Jun 2026 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of climate change, economics of crime, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, International law, law and economics, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: climate activists, nuisance suits
The era of unchecked “activism” that masks itself as science while practicing inhumane sabotage is reaching its end. We are witnessing the slow, painful process of reality catching up to the Greenpeace propaganda. And frankly, it’s about time. The post The History of Greenpeace: The Evolution of Green Extremism appeared first on Watts Up With…
The History of Greenpeace: The Evolution of Green Extremism
Piketty’s Eco-Marxist Utopia: Why Degrowth and Global Redistribution Will Trap the Poor in Poverty
13 Jun 2026 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, econometerics, economic growth, economic history, economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, fiscal policy, global warming, human capital, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economics, labour economics, labour supply, macroeconomics, Public Choice, public economics Tags: climate activists, climate alarmism, regressive left
The world’s poor deserve better than another utopia designed for them by the globalist intelligentsia. They deserve cheap energy, open markets, secure property rights, and the freedom to industrialise on terms they choose for themselves. That is what worked in East Asia. It is what will work in South Asia, Africa and Latin America. And…
Piketty’s Eco-Marxist Utopia: Why Degrowth and Global Redistribution Will Trap the Poor in Poverty
Blair Destroys Net Zero Policy
07 Jun 2026 1 Comment
in development economics, economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, growth miracles Tags: British politics, China, climate activists
By Paul Homewood Well worth a watch, as Tony Blair destroys Mad Miliband’s obsession with Net Zero: https://x.com/NetZeroWatch/status/2059927624537743869
Blair Destroys Net Zero Policy
Fourth Shale Revolution = Hydrocarbon Abundance
06 Jun 2026 Leave a comment
in energy economics, entrepreneurship
Peter Zeihan is a global energy, demographic, and security expert breaking the news about a new tech revolution enhancing extraction of hydrocarbon fuels. For those preferring to read, below is a lightly edited transcript from the video with my bolds and added images. Hey all, Peter Zeihan here coming to you from Los Angeles on […]
Fourth Shale Revolution = Hydrocarbon Abundance
Net Zero Just Cut Aussie Wheat Production by 50%
03 Jun 2026 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, politics - Australia
Too bad all those Aussie oil refineries had to close. The post Net Zero Just Cut Aussie Wheat Production by 50% appeared first on Watts Up With That?.
Net Zero Just Cut Aussie Wheat Production by 50%
Recent Comments