An ecstasy of fumbling

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! Wrote Wilfred Owen But the fumbling we see here isn't that vile corruting stuff that filled thousands of young lungs, but they stuff of life, energy and warmth. And the fumbler. That egregious idjit Chris Huhne.

I give you exhibit 1, This is him way back in July,

Huhne also ushered in a new "dash for gas", inviting the construction of new gas-fired power stations with a promise that a new "emissions performance standard" would be set at a rate that favoured gas but blocked new coal-fired power. He promised this new regulation would not be reviewed until 2015, and any revision would not be retroactive, giving gas companies a clear window for investment. "We are sending a clear signal that we do want new gas," he said

And exhibit 2, from the Lib Dem conference,

The UK's "dash for gas" will be halted by the government because if unchecked it would break legally binding targets for carbon dioxide emissions, Chris Huhne, energy and climate change secretary, said on Monday evening. "We will not consent so much gas plant so as to endanger our carbon dioxide goals," he told a fringe meeting at the Liberal Democrats party conference in Birmingham.

Compare and contrast.

This was brought to my attention by Ben Pile of Climate resistance who points out,

These contradictory statements reflect the incoherence of the coalition's energy policies. The UK now seems to be sitting on top of an abundance of cheap natural gas, which could very quickly realise an answer to the UK's looming energy problems. Furthermore *if* climate change and energy security are real problems, a combination of gas and nuclear energy are viable, proven, existing solutions to them.

But whether or not climate change is a problem, and whether or not gas and nuclear energy are solutions to them, the UK is committed to meeting 30% of its energy needs from renewable sources, thanks to EU legislation and the Climate Change Act. The EU and UK's ideological commitments to the 'environment' mean that green, low-carbon energy alternatives are going to be rejected in favour of wind energy, higher fuel bills, and unemployment.