Major setback for Germany's global warming lobby: Merkel's new government set to scrap the flight tax

Another major setback for Germany's global warming establishment: The soon to be formed new CDU-SDP government is set to scrap the useless and costly air passenger duty:

Members of the transport group decided on Thursday during coalition talks between Chancellor Merkel’s conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD) to abolish air passenger duty, which applies to departures from German airports, the Bild newspaper reported.

But the final decision on whether or not the duty is scrapped will fall to party leaders and depend on the SPD and Merkel’s conservative bloc forming a coalition government. Negotiations are still ongoing.
The tax was introduced in Germany two years ago but the parties believe that it is costing the country more money than it brings in as passengers are put off flying from German airports by the high cost of travel.
If the duty is abolished, ticket prices would be reduced by €7.50 on short-haul journeys, €23.43 on medium-haul and slashed on long-haul flights by €42.18, the Bild said. --
 
The tax was also seen as an important move by environmental groups to make flying more expensive.
When the German parliament took the decision to introduce the tax in November 2010, a statement from Bund, Germany’s branch of Friends of the Earth, called it “one of the few measures for more climate protection in the transport industry.”

Quote of the week: Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt on Ukraine's decision to turn its back on Europe

Quote of the week:

"Carl Bildt ‏@carlbildt 22h

Ukraine government suddenly bows deeply to the Kremlin. Politics of brutal pressure evidently works."

---

PS

As the readers of this blog certainly know, I am not a great admirer of the European Union, but compared to Putin's mafia state, it would certainly have been a much better alternative for Ukraine.

 

 

At last some good news from the UN climate jamboree in Warsaw: The COP 19 is "is on track to deliver virtually nothing"

At last, some good news from the UN global warming jamboree COP 19 in Warsaw.

Today's and yesterday's walk outs are a clear sign that the eco-fundamentalist "green groups" - Greenpeace, WWF, Oxfam, ActionAid, the International Trade Union Confederation and Friends of the Earth - now have to admit that their indoctrination campaigns in the developing countries have been useless and counterproductive. The "rich" industrialized countries are not going to accept unlimited  "compensation" payments for "loss and damage" due to (non-existent human induced) global warming:

Developing countries including the Philippines and economic superpower China walked out of one of the most critical negotiations of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Warsaw, Poland on Wednesday, November 20, over the issue of climate finance.
The walkout, which happened 3:55 am on Wednesday, was led by Bolivian negotiator Juan Hoffmaister who was representing the G77+China group in a closed night-time session on loss and damage.
It was motivated by the developing nation bloc's frustration over the unwillingness of developed countries like Australia and Norway to discuss a mechanism for compensating poor nations for loss and damage due to climate change impacts like storms. --

"Codifying loss and damage issues in an agreement could lead to claims of legal liability, which would be problematic, to say the least," Robert Stavins, director of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program, told Agence France-Presse.

Read the entire article here

Six green groups walked out of UN climate negotiations on Thursday, November 21, declaring that the ailing talks were "on track to deliver virtually nothing".
"Organizations and movements representing people from every corner of the Earth have decided that the best use of our time is to voluntarily withdraw from the Warsaw climate talks," they said in a statement.
"The Warsaw climate conference, which should have been an important step in the just transition to a sustainable future, is on track to deliver virtually nothing."
The signatories were Greenpeace, WWF, Oxfam, ActionAid, the International Trade Union Confederation and Friends of the Earth.

Read the entire article here

British businessman Paul Sykes on the EU: "Ever closer union" is a "death sentence" for any country that wants to control its own affairs

What the British businessman Paul Sykes, a Eurosceptic former Conservative supporter, writes in The Express today deserves to be read also outside the UK:

"At the heart of the jungle of European Union treaties, directives and meddlesome edicts is a chilling weasel phrase: “Ever closer union.” It sounds innocent enough but in reality it is a death sentence for any country that wants to maintain control over its own affairs." --

"No one under 56 has had a chance to vote about Britain’s European destiny. The European project lacked democratic legitimacy from the outset, not least because the political establishment assured us in the Seventies that joining the Common Market, as it then was, involved no loss of sovereignty.

In a television broadcast to mark Britain’s entry in January 1973 Prime Minister Edward Heath said: “There are some in this country who fear that in going into Europe we shall in someway sacrifice independence and sovereignty. These fears, I need hardly say, are completely unjustified.”

Tell that to the fairies. There is hardly any aspect of the nation’s life untouched by the EU. There are 150,000 pages of EU laws and directives covering everything from farming, fishing, business, trade, the environment and much more." --

"The federalists who run the European Commission want a United States of Europe with a single flag, bureaucracy, parliament, army and president. They want to control all major decisions in their new superstate and they want to reduce national parliaments to the status of a county council.

Quote of the week: Fouad Ajami on the difference between Obama and Reagan

"The Reagan presidency was about America, and never about Ronald Reagan"

Fouad Ajami, senior fellow at the Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, on the difference between Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan:

During his first campaign, Mr. Obama had paid tribute to Ronald Reagan as a "transformational" president and hinted that he aspired to a presidency of that kind. But the Reagan presidency was about America, and never about Ronald Reagan. Reagan was never a scold or a narcissist. He stood in awe of America, and of its capacity for renewal. There was forgiveness in Reagan, right alongside the belief in the things that mattered about America—free people charting their own path.

The Lutheran World Federation delegation at the COP 19 is back at the laden tables after one day "hunger strike"

The Lutheran World Federation, with 142 member churches in 79 countries, has opted to join the Church of Global Warming. That's why this Swiss based organization has a large delegation at the UN global warming jamboree COP 19 in Warsaw.

Somebody at the LWF came up with the idea, that joining the Philippine lead negotiator Yeb Sano, who is fasting "until a meaningful outcome is in sight", might result in some good publicity.

That's why the Lutheran World Federation's "official delegation" fasted yesterday:

LWF General Secretary, the Rev Martin Junge, and President Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan, along with vice-presidents from Asia, Europe and North America are joining the action on 15 November 2013.
The LWF is inviting member churches to participate in this initiative to fast for one day during the course of the conference in solidarity with the poor and vulnerable adversely affected by extreme weather events, and to call for a meaningful outcome to the climate change negotiations.

The "delegates" from Lutheran World Federation, based in Geneva, Switzerland, are of course used to a certain standard of comfortable living. That's probably why they opted for only a one day "hunger strike".

Today these merry people are again back at the tables laden with the best of Polish Cuisine in Warsaw ...

Tough times for Hollywood climate change celebrities: The L.A. eco night club has closed

It is tough to be a Hollywood climate change celebrity nowadays. The only real L.A. eco night club, Ecco Ultra Lounge, has gone out of business, in spite of offering "eco-friendly cement, free valet parking for Hybrids, and a solar-paneled roof".

Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, Leonardo DiCaprio, George Clooney, Daryal Hannah and the rest now have take their private jets to London in order save the world by partying in the proper environment:

Club4Climate is setting the bar for these future thinking establishments. Located in London, this club starts its message even before a patron passes through the front door. If you walk, take public transportation or bike to the club (and can prove it) your cover charge (normally 10 GBP) is waived. But don’t think you’re getting in that easy. Before anyone can enter they must sign a pledge to be actively eco conscious in all of their future decisions.
Once a club goer has made it through the front doors the real eco nature of the club can be seen; the dance floor. The nightclub floor is suspended on springs that hover centimeters above a set of piezoelectric crystal blocks. When the dance floor is forced down by the dancers it compresses the crystals creating an electrical charge. This charge is sent to batteries that power over 60 percent of the club.

In spite of the long jet flight, the trip to London has its rewards:

When dancers have worked up a sweat they can head over to the bar and refresh with organic drinks in polycarbon cups and then relieve themselves in bathrooms that use recycled water. With this club located on Pentonville Road, there is no reason not to be eco fabulous.

Probably the "recycled water" from the "bathrooms" is also used for the drinks. Ordinary guests could - if they are lucky - in this way enjoy almost the same cocktail that a green celebrity already once enjoyed ...