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Business Mayor
06-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Blair's net zero intervention invites scrutiny of his institute's donors
In little more than 1,600 words voicing his scepticism over net zero policies, Tony Blair this week propelled himself and his increasingly powerful institute back into the national debate. In the past eight years, the former prime minister has built a global empire employing more than 900 people across more than 40 countries, providing policy advice to monarchs, presidents and prime ministers. But while Blair's thinktank has brought him influence in his post-Downing Street career, it has also renewed scrutiny on his political views and how they are shaped by his commercial relationships. The Labour MP James Frith said on Wednesday: 'I give congratulations to the marketing department at the Tony Blair Institute (TBI), who have managed to time it brilliantly to get maximum coverage.' Patrick Galey, the head of fossil fuel investigations at the nongovernmental organisation Global Witness, said: 'Blair's well-documented links to petrostates and oil and gas companies ought to alone be enough to disqualify this man as an independent and reliable arbiter of what's possible or commonsense in the energy transition.' Another Labour MP, who did not want to be named, said: 'The TBI is a bunch of tech bros who don't care about social justice or fairness.' The TBI declined to comment on these criticisms, but said the institute was editorially independent. Blair first set up the institute eight years ago with a plan to take money from high-rolling donors and foreign governments and plough it into policy analysis and philanthropic work. Much of its policy work promotes technology and artificial intelligence as the solution to challenges facing governments around the world. Those stances have attracted some scepticism from critics, however, given the institute gets much of its money from people connected to the technology industry. One of the TBI's biggest sources of cash is the foundation set up by Larry Ellison, the billionaire founder of Oracle and ally of the US president, Donald Trump. Filings in the US show the foundation gave the TBI more than £52m in 2023 and had promised another $218m (£163m). Like many technology companies, Oracle is investing heavily in AI products, including tools for improving healthcare. Ellison has also spoken in favour of using AI for the mass surveillance of civilian populations. Blair's policy proposals dovetail with Oracle's corporate interests in other areas too. In his foreword to the net zero report, he writes: 'The new generation of small modular reactors offers hope for the renaissance of nuclear power, but it needs integrating into nations' energy policy.' Ellison announced last year that Oracle was designing a new datacentre to be powered by three small modular reactors. The TBI has also worked with fossil fuel companies and petrostates, including signing a multimillion pound deal to advise the Saudi government. Last year, the institute advised Azerbaijan, the oil-rich state which controversially hosted the Cop29 climate conference. The TBI says its policies are often focused on helping bolster public services in developing countries. Benedict Macon-Cooney, the institute's chief policy strategist, told the Guardian in 2023: 'There is no conflict of interest and donations are ringfenced.' Longtime Blair allies meanwhile are divided on whether the former prime minister has always harboured doubts about climate policies. Read More HUL downplays rift over margins, says distributors stand to gain skip past newsletter promotion The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news – the good, the bad and the essential Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion Nicholas Stern, whom Blair commissioned in 2006 to write an influential report on the economics of climate change, said: 'I think Tony Blair has got a very good track record on climate change, which makes me slightly puzzled by this piece of work. I don't think this is the Tony Blair Institute's finest hour.' Another former adviser and colleague however said: 'Blair always had to be dragged along when it came to climate change. He was generally resistant to green arguments.' Meanwhile the former prime minister has also been cultivating relationships with Labour MPs, holding a series of roundtable discussions with small groups of MPs over the last year. One MP who had attended one meeting said: 'His message was that technology companies have deep pockets and so are going to be able to drive change faster than governments can. That message was pretty unhelpful politically and the exact opposite of what the Labour government is trying to tell people.' Others in the Labour party, however, believe he is providing a useful service in making Labour think again about some of its more radical climate policies. 'Blair was making a point about the purpose of our energy policy,' said one. 'He needs to work on his timing but the point is right – energy security and reducing bills are the goals of UK energy policy because they benefit working people. Everything else is subsidiary to that.'
The Independent
30-04-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
How Blair has changed the agenda for Labour on climate change
It is a little ironic that it has fallen to Sir Tony Blair, who last fought a general election 20 years ago and is unlikely to stand again in any such contest, to point out some hard or 'inconvenient' facts to his colleagues who are practising politicians and presently in government. He has lost none of his instinct for judging public opinion and is as incisive and perceptive as ever. Outside government, but not exactly outside politics, he can say things that are 'unhelpful' but must be faced up to. He is a friendly critic – although, as he is at pains to make clear, Sir Tony remains supportive of the government and the 2050 net zero target. The foreword he has contributed to the latest report on energy and climate from the Tony Blair Institute (TBI) has provoked heated argument – and rightly so. These are important, transcendent matters and have to be right – for the sake of the future of the planet and the living standards of people in Britain. Sir Tony has changed the agenda for Labour on climate change. For some time, the arguments on climate change and energy policy have drifted away from practical action and descended into just another totemic battle in the culture wars. This has had the unfortunate consequence that the environmental cause has been allowed to sound cranky, extremist and increasingly out of touch with an important strand of public opinion. Targets that seem – and sadly sometimes are – too ambitious and missed become discredited; and the credibility of ministers trying desperately to stick to them is damaged. Failure breeds failure. Much the same goes, as Sir Tony implies, for the grandiose international summits such as the Cop series. Some, such as Cop26, can generate genuine consensus and momentum; others, such as the most recent Cop29 in oil-rich Azerbaijan, have been ridiculed for their lack of consensus and paltry results. Policies and climate conferences that talk big and deliver little do nothing to restrain greenhouse gas emissions to the levels required to avoid catastrophic, irreversible chaos in future decades. Practical men and women working hard in government and across the country to green the economy must deal with the world as it is, not as they would wish it to be. Sir Tony is right to make them look out into that world as it changes, and not always for the best. Sir Tony points to global trends that undermine today's climate approach: fossil fuel use set to rise further up to 2030; airline travel, hugely damaging to the environment, to double over the next 20 years. By 2030, almost two-thirds of emissions will come from China, India, and southeast Asia, while President Trump's America, outside the Paris climate accords, is set to 'drill, baby, drill'. These are 'inconvenient facts', he says, that mean that 'any strategy based on either 'phasing out' fossil fuels in the short term or limiting consumption is a strategy doomed to fail'. The most powerful argument in the climate-sceptics' armoury is that what the UK does is so trivial when set against these global trends that it is hard to justify the effort – and the costs – involved. This is perfectly logical, and a view favoured at least in some quarters, albeit as an excuse to do nothing. However, it neglects the fact that if the UK were to abandon its commitments to the various Paris and Cop agreements, it would give China and other emerging economies a perfect justification to ignore their own promises as well. China, for all its faults and its current prodigious use of fossil fuels, is a signatory to the agreements and has agreed to net zero, but on a longer timescale – by 2060. That is worth trying to preserve. In some areas, notably electric vehicles and solar technology, China is a world leader. The other idea that has taken hold far too readily in the UK is that electricity bills are artificially high because of green levies. In fact, these are a relatively minor part of domestic or even industrial bills. The high cost of gas and electricity is directly linked to world prices, still elevated by President Putin's war in Ukraine and the consequent constriction of Russian energy exports. Green levies typically make up a small portion of your energy bill, ranging from about 11 per cent of an average dual fuel bill to 16 per cent of an electricity bill. They add around £50 to a typical annual gas bill and about £140 to an electricity bill. These levies fund programmes like the warm home discount scheme and support renewable energy sources. The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, spends countless hours in the House of Commons and in the media patiently explaining his pro-net zero views, but the key messages are not cutting through. The environmental case for decarbonisation is thus being lost. The public remains concerned about climate change, but is equally worried that the government doesn't have a workable, affordable plan – still less one to make the other big polluters on earth do their bit. Helpfully, Sir Tony has some suggestions as to what the government can do – some of which, as Sir Keir Starmer has pointed out, ministers are already pursuing. Carbon capture, for example, is an increasingly practical technology. The government is spending £22bn on this, but much of it has to be recovered from customer bills, which of course makes no allowance for the ability to pay. More nuclear power (and small module reactors) is also one of the TBI's proposals – and here Mr Miliband agrees, though they will take time to build and will incur some considerable cost. They are also of one mind about the role of AI and smarter energy use. The independent Climate Change Committee agrees with the TBI that more needs to be done on adaptation, such as flood defences, to mitigate now unavoidable change – but again, these measures, which command wide support, will cost money. The TBI report says little about where such funding for change and hi-tech investment will be found. For those who understand and accept the dangers of manmade climate change, Sir Tony included, there remains no alternative to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the use of fossil fuels. Many of the arguments about a 'climate hoax' have been won, the need for change recognised. Investing in plentiful, green clean energy is good for economic growth because it has the potential to reduce business costs and boost living standards through sustainable lower bills. It means national energy security. The aims are honourable, indeed essential, but some flexibility is also inevitable along the way – as was recently seen when the government relaxed the electric vehicle mandate. Sir Tony is right to remind his successor about the virtues of pragmatism and gradual change, and stress that he supports government policy. Sir Keir, who has shown a Blair-like willingness to adjust policy across the board, including on the expansion of Britain's airports, will likely agree with Sir Tony's contribution – and the implied criticism of Mr Miliband, even if the timing is a little inconvenient.
The Guardian
30-04-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Blair's net zero intervention invites scrutiny of his institute's donors
In little more than 1,600 words voicing his scepticism over net zero policies, Tony Blair this week propelled himself and his increasingly powerful institute back into the national debate. In the past eight years, the former prime minister has built a global empire employing over 900 people across more than 40 countries, providing policy advice to monarchs, presidents and prime ministers. But while Blair's thinktank has brought him influence in his post-Downing Street career, it has also renewed scrutiny on his political views and how they are shaped by his commercial relationships. The Labour MP James Frith said on Wednesday: 'I give congratulations to the marketing department at the Tony Blair Institute (TBI), who have managed to time it brilliantly to get maximum coverage.' Patrick Galey, the head of fossil fuel investigations at the nongovernmental organisation Global Witness, said: 'Blair's well-documented links to petrostates and oil and gas companies ought to alone be enough to disqualify this man as an independent and reliable arbiter of what's possible or common-sense in the energy transition.' Another Labour MP, who did not want to be named, said: 'The TBI is a bunch of tech bros who don't care about social justice or fairness.' The TBI declined to comment on these criticisms, but said the institute was editorially independent. Blair first set up the institute eight years ago with a plan to take money from high-rolling donors and foreign governments and plough it into policy analysis and philanthropic work. Much of its policy work promotes technology and artificial intelligence as the solution to challenges facing governments around the world. Those stances have attracted some scepticism from critics, however, given the institute gets much of its money from people connected to the technology industry. One of the TBI's biggest sources of cash is the foundation set up by Larry Ellison, the billionaire founder of Oracle and ally of the US president, Donald Trump. Filings in the US show the foundation gave the TBI more than £52m in 2023 and had promised another $218m (£163m). Like many technology companies, Oracle is investing heavily in AI products, including tools for improving healthcare. Ellison has also spoken in favour of using AI for the mass surveillance of civilian populations. Blair's policy proposals dovetail with Oracle's corporate interests in other areas too. In his foreword to the net zero report, he writes: 'The new generation of small modular reactors offers hope for the renaissance of nuclear power, but it needs integrating into nations' energy policy.' Ellison announced last year that Oracle was designing a new datacentre to be powered by three small modular reactors. The TBI has also worked with fossil fuel companies and petrostates, including signing a multi-million pound deal to advise the Saudi government. Last year, the institute advised Azerbaijan, the oil-rich state which controversially hosted the Cop 29 climate conference last year. The TBI says its policies are often focused on helping bolster public services in developing countries. Benedict Macon-Cooney, the institute's chief policy strategist, told the Guardian in 2023: 'There is no conflict of interest and donations are ring-fenced.' Long-time Blair allies meanwhile are divided on whether the former prime minister has always harboured doubts about climate policies. Nicholas Stern, whom Blair commissioned in 2006 to write a landmark report into the economics of climate change, said: 'I think Tony Blair has got a very good track record on climate change, which makes me slightly puzzled by this piece of work,' he said. 'I don't think this is the Tony Blair Institute's finest hour.' Another former adviser and colleague however said: 'Blair always had to be dragged along when it came to climate change. He was generally resistant to green arguments.' Meanwhile the former prime minister has also been cultivating relationships with Labour MPs, holding a series of roundtable discussions with small groups of MPs over the last year. One MP who had attended one meeting said: 'His message was that technology companies have deep pockets and so are going to be able to drive change faster than governments can. That message was pretty unhelpful politically and the exact opposite of what the Labour government is trying to tell people.' Others in the Labour party, however, believe he is providing a useful service in making Labour think again about some of its more radical climate policies. 'Blair was making a point about the purpose of our energy policy,' said one. 'He needs to work on his timing but the point is right – energy security and reducing bills are the goals of UK energy policy because they benefit working people. Everything else is subsidiary to that.'
The Guardian
26-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Pacific island states urge rich countries to expedite plans to cut emissions
Rich countries are dragging their feet on producing new plans to combat the climate crisis, thereby putting the poor into greater danger, some of the world's most vulnerable nations have warned. All governments are supposed to publish new plans this year on cutting greenhouse gas emissions, but so far only a small majority have done so, and some of the plans submitted have been inadequate to the scale of action needed. Pacific island states have written to the governments of developed countries urging them to hurry, and to make the steep cuts in carbon needed. The rich are also yet to set out details of how they will fulfil their obligations to ensure $1.3tn a year in climate finance flows to poor countries by 2035. 'We have voiced again and again the reality that we face: our islands' safety depends on your collective commitments to take decisive action. The only question now is: what will you do with that knowledge?' the countries asked, in a letter seen by the Guardian. At last year's UN climate summit, Cop29, the small island states and least developed country groupings walked out of the talks in frustration. They are calling for concrete action from the rich world well before this year's Cop30 summit, to be held in Brazil this November. Several Pacific islands are also involved in a court case, trying to hold rich countries to account for their climate failings under international law. All countries carry obligations under the Paris agreement to cut carbon in line with the goal of limiting global temperatures to 1.5C (2.7F) above preindustrial levels. The US has withdrawn from the Paris agreement, but so far no others have followed. However, current commitments by countries to cut emissions would result in temperature rises of an estimated 2.8C, so far more stringent reductions are needed. The UN has asked countries to come up with their national plans, called nationally determined contributions (NDCs), by September, as most missed the original February deadline. The UN told countries earlier this year that it would be better to work longer on their commitments and provide them in greater detail, along with potential policies to achieve them, than to rush out NDCs to meet the February deadline. The EU is not expected to provide its NDC until this summer, and China promised this week to publish its plan before Cop30 without specifying the expected date. The islands wrote that time was running short: 'Now is the time to meet those obligations. We call on all leaders, especially the leaders of the G20, to submit ambitious, 1.5C-aligned economy-wide NDCs covering all greenhouse gases before the UN general assembly in September. These NDCs must focus on domestic reductions and not carbon offsets.' The islands also said that countries should be prepared to revise their NDCs at Cop30, if they were found to be inadequate. All countries have also agreed to phase out fossil fuels, and NDCs should contain clear details on how governments plan to achieve this, the islands added in their letter. Rich countries may balk at the cost of helping the poor, they noted. 'But the cost of delay and the cost of inaction are far higher. The planet is already under severe strain with the risk of entering a doom loop of natural disasters, ecosystem collapse, food system collapse, economic collapse and mass migrations staring us all in the face. Humanity, vision, and collaboration are the solution for a safe future.' Ministers and senior officials from more than 60 countries met in London on Thursday and Friday to discuss energy security. Ed Miliband, the UK energy secretary, told the conference there could be no national security without strong policies on the climate. The UK is one of only a handful of developed countries that have so far submitted their NDCs to the UN. Civil society groups called for NDCs to be detailed and focused on policy, rather than vague and long-term targets.
South China Morning Post
20-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Ahead of Brics, Brazil official slams developed countries for ‘no interest' in helping others
A high-ranking Brazilian government official issued a broad criticism of Western developed countries including France on Thursday, in the run-up to a meeting of Brics energy ministers in the South American country's capital. Advertisement Energy Minister Alexandre Silveira said in a press briefing that the world's developed countries had 'no interest' in helping developing nations industrialise, and that Brics members would need to work together to achieve this goal. The minister veered into the diatribe after a question about criticism about Brazil's oil exploration in the equatorial fringe of the Amazon. 'There is not a single time when I go to France where Le Monde and other French media do not question Brazil's position ... to [insist on] a global energy transition ... and, at the search for oil off the Brazilian coast.' 'I always respond, very objectively, that it's a shame that France doesn't have oil and has one of the biggest oil companies in the world, even exploring off the Brazilian coast,' he said. 03:18 Developing nations blast US$300 billion Cop29 climate deal as not enough Developing nations blast US$300 billion Cop29 climate deal as not enough Silveira, who is chairing the Brics Energy Working Group in Brasília this week, also excoriated 'those who proclaim international interests that are most certainly not ours'.
