USA’s Mayor Pete Schools Repubs on EV Prices, Will the Next UK PM be Greener? The UK’s Conservative Environment Network

MAYOR PETE SCHOOLS  REPUBLICANS ON EV PRICES

U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg may also have a new title, Chief EV Educator. “Mayor Pete” as he is affectionately known, helped dispel rumors Republican congress folk are spreading about the cost of EVs during a recent House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

According to footage from C-SPAN, Congressman Scott Perry’s (R-Pennsylvania) complained about the price of electric cars, saying, “You have implied that Americans should buy an electric vehicle.” Perry tried to paint Buttigieg and other Democrats as out of touch because some electric vehicles cost upwards of $55,000.”

While Secretary Buttigieg admitted that nobody in the Biden administration thinks most Americans can easily afford electric vehicles, he also said, “I’m struck by this $55 thousand number that keeps going around. I knew this might come up; so I pulled a few of the latest prices.” The transportation secretary then produced figures that showed a Chevy Volt, an American-made 2022 EV, costing $26,595; in the pickup truck world, a Chevy Silverado EV or a Ford F1 50 Lightning starting prices beginning at $39,900 and $39,974 respectively.

Buttigieg was actually at the hearing to defend the Biden administration’s goal of having 50 percent of vehicles on the market be electric by 2030. Despite feigned alarm from Republican Kentucky congressman Thomas Massie  that President Biden’s proposal might strain the country’s electrical grid, Buttigieg countered that America must prepare.

He said, “Look, the fact that people who have electric vehicles are going to use more electricity can’t be a reason to give up. The idea that America is inferior to the other countries that have figured this out just doesn’t sit well with us, and that’s why we’re investing in a better grid.” And that’s why Mayor Pete matters to us.

DEEPER DIVE: MSN, The Hill, Satire, Infrastructure Bill Analysis

WILL THE NEXT UK PM BE GREENER?

Penny Mordaunt is the MP for Portsmouth North. She’s a conservative and a member of Britain’s Tory party. And she’s running for outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s job. She recently told Conservative critics of net zero that “environmentalism and conservatism go hand in hand” as she vowed to create “millions of green jobs” if elected leader.

She’s the only Tory leadership candidate so far to properly set out views on climate change and the environment. Speaking at a televised debate, Mordaunt said, “The net zero transition provides the opportunity to create millions of jobs over the next decade. Fast. Investing in the domestic renewable energy sector reduces the UK’s reliance on fossil fuels like gas, which are exposed to volatile global prices. Low carbon electricity already provides about 50% of the UK’s total generation on average each year.”

Mordaunt is a big fan of Britain’s plan to pay farmers not to farm and instead conserve Nature. According to an interview in the Guardian, she said: “I have pledged to reform EU land subsidies and instead will reward those farmers here at home who champion nature and sustainable management of the countryside. Sustainable farming for the longer term is an absolutely crucial part of how we, together, can protect our natural world.”

She went on to say it’s important to support those farmers actively taking steps to leave a cleaner, greener environment for the next generation.

Why does what a conservative Tory MP for Britain’s Portsmouth North says matter to us?  Because for her, “Environmentalism and conservatism go hand in hand. It’s a core principle of who I am – someone dedicated to the future of our world and the legacy we leave.”

Hear that, United States conservatives and pay heed! Mordaunt’s stance is great for the planet. Unfortunately, she did not make the cut.

DEEPER DIVE: Guardian, Conservative Environment Network

THE CONSERVATIVE ENVIRONMENT NETWORK

American politicos have the Conservative Climate Caucus, championing the cause of fighting climate change. They believe the climate is changing, and decades of a global industrial era that has brought prosperity to the world have also contributed to that change. The UK has the Conservative Environment Network. They claim to be “the independent forum for conservatives in the UK and around the world who support net zero, nature restoration, and resource security.”

According to its history, CEN traces its roots all the way back to American President and Father of our National Parks, Teddy Roosevelt. It’s not quite that old. CEN was incorporated in 2013. The Conservative Environment Network is an independent forum, Parliamentary Caucus, and membership organization for conservatives who support conservation and decarbonization. The group aims to promote and champion conservative environmentalism in the UK and overseas; find consensus within the conservative movement on environmental issues, and direct it towards positive environmental policy change; while providing a platform for different parts of the conservative movement to express and debate views on how to achieve better environmental outcomes.

Part of CEN’s mission involves

• coordinating environmental action within the conservative movement and mobilizing conservatives to achieve positive environmental policy change, through education using peer-reviewed research. 

• Promoting conservative voices within the environmental policy debate.

• And supporting conservative environmentalists to become the next generation of political leaders.

If images mean much, the images of so many young, diverse Brits on its Our People page exemplify CEN’s commitment to young conservatives taking a stand on the climate. 

So why does the Britain’s Conservative Environment Network matter to us? Because it’s producing outspoken Tories like MP Mark Menzies, who recently told Sky News that UK government should not lift the moratorium on fracking in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. And also because it’s got a 74-page manifesto.

Viva la revolution!

DEEPER DIVE: CEN UK, CCC USA, Sky News, Daily Express