Strength to Strength

The Chancellor's little orange doormat has been smacked down for saying that the carbon capture and storage budget might be used instead to slow the general decay of our infrastructure. CCS used to be seen as one of the low-carbon technologies in which Britain could be a pioneer; but the major fossil fuel companies decided not to bother with it, and state interference would have been contrary to the religious beliefs of the Conservatives and the expediency of the Liberal Democrats. Meanwhile, George the Progressively Regressive is readying concessions to enable British industry to get around what regulations there are. Doubtless the climate change problem, like all our other problems, will vanish like a cast-iron pledge once the deficit is down and employees can be sacked at will.

In Britain's usual spirit of friendly co-operation with the EU, the greenest government ever is also supporting Canada's efforts to undermine European penalties on pollution from tar sands. The process of extracting oil from tar sands is even more pollutive than conventional drilling, but Canada is a long way off so the Countryside Alliance is unlikely to mind very much. By coincidence, the Government has been having lots of friendly chats on the issue with some nice people from Shell and BP, and the little orange doormat for the Department for Transport has had a particularly persuasive time. Like the Canadian government, he argues for "tackling all highly polluting crudes equally", regardless of whether some pollute more highly than others. Truly, the greenest government ever is going from strength to strength.