ABSOLUTE ZERO! – Utopian Dreams – Magical Thinking – China Stock Market Rebound? – General Motors Moves to Hybrids – Tesla Moment of Truth – Volvo Abandons Polestar EV – [02-04-24]

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Absolute Zero is a report produced by the ‘UK FIRES Group’, dated 29th November 2019. FIRES stands for ‘Future Industrial Strategy Resource Efficiency’. Why they called it the ‘FIRES Group’ instead of the ‘FISRE Group’ is a mystery.

The Absolute ZERO Report reveals alarming plans to change British society rapidly and dramatically so that “climate change can be avoided”. However, it does not set a target temperature for the planet or for anywhere on the planet. There is no plan to monitor or audit outcomes or to measure success. This is a one way trip to Climate Utopia from a group of University academics ensconced in their ivory towers high above any industrial activity.

In the Executive Summary, the first sentence states, “We have to cut our greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050: that’s what [some] climate scientists tell us”. There is no rationale presented for this statement. It’s simply presented as an ultimatum or perhaps an article of faith.

BOOM searched for the word “target” in the document. It does mention “zero emissions”, net zero”, a “legal target”, “target challenges”, “Reaching Absolute Zero requires a collaboration between individuals, government and businesses. None of them can act unilaterally, so reaching the target will be a process”, “annual global emissions from human activities must be reduced rapidly and should be eliminated by 2050 – in thirty years”, the target of Absolute Zero”.

Human beings emit Carbon Dioxide which has been labelled a “greenhouse gas”. So — will all human beings be required to stop breathing by 2050 to meet the Absolute Zero Emissions Target?

The report hides behind a legal imperative to justify its existence. It states — “In her last significant act as Prime Minister, Theresa May changed the UK’s Climate Change Act to commit us to eliminating all greenhouse gas emissions in the UK by 2050.” Note: ALL Greenhouse Emissions.

The report rightfully explains that current “solutions” to the “problem” are not going to make enough difference.  Quote: “We’re concerned that most plans for dealing with climate change depend on breakthrough technologies and thus won’t deliver in time.

The authors state rather flippantly, We’ll only have to cut our use of energy to 60% of today’s levels.”

The word “only” is the alarm bell. BOOM interprets this into economic and social outcomes. Perhaps a more honest and more thorough statement should have been made. For example: “You will have to make dramatic, drastic changes in how you live by reducing your energy use by 40% from today’s levels, leaving no room for any significant economic growth. This will lead to economic stagnation at best and possible dramatic economic contraction at worst with huge increases in unemployment, bankruptcies, and possible starvation. All of this can only be achieved via Totalitarian Government controls. Massive social unrest will therefore be inevitable.”

[AP Comment: ‘Smart Meters’ come to mind – I have already reduced my energy consumption by 76%!  Quote: “A typical household in Britain uses 2,700 kilowatt hours (kWh) of domestic electricity and 11,500 kWh of (heating) gas/oil per annum; here are my energy statistics from when I lived in the UK.  In South Africa, it’s 76% less than the UK at 3,377 kWh per annum!]

But they appear uninterested in the possible economic consequences. They move on to state “…. we’ll all stop using aeroplanes.”  That statement concentrates the mind of any reader.  Perhaps it should have been followed by the admonition, “You will do as we say, or else”. Does that mean all of us? Perhaps the elite alone will be allowed to travel using aircraft?

And “We must stop eating beef and lamb”.  Again, what (exactly) do they mean by “we”?  Do they mean YOU/US?  Correctly, they realise that cement is a major issue. BOOM has previously read that cement is responsible for 10% of all global CO2 emissions.  “However the most difficult problem is cement: making cement releases emissions regardless of how it’s powered, there are currently no alternative options available at scale

The Report is produced by a group of academics from the following UK educational institutions with little input from industry, consumers, or financial experts. Tellingly, the report states, “The authors of this report are funded by the government”.

  • University of Cambridge
  • University of Bath
  • University of Nottingham
  • University of Strathclyde
  • University of Oxford
  • Imperial College

To demonstrate that some consultation has taken place, the report states, The UK government has invested £5m in the UK FIRES research programme, bringing together the academics from six universities who have written this report with businesses across the supply chain in a ‘Living Lab’.” BOOM is not sure what a “Living Lab” is but it is costly to construct. They show a cute diagram to explain this one sentence that deals with the consultation process:

The real world of economic activity where goods and services are produced and funded by the financial sector appears to have been essentially ignored. Most of the references provided appear to be from academic or government publications.

Quote: “The fossil fuel, cement, shipping, and aviation industries face rapid contraction, while construction and many manufacturing sectors can continue at today’s scales, with appropriate transformations.”  Here are its most disturbing proposals including the end of aviation (for most people), massive airport closures, and no new roads. Travelling:

  • Stop using aeroplanes
  • Take the train not the car when possible.
  • Use all the seats in the car or get a smaller one
  • Choose an electric car next time, if possible, which will become easier as prices fall and charging infrastructure expands.
  • Lobby for more trains, no new roads, airport closure, and more renewable electricity.

The authors’ Utopian vision for the future includes an idle populace, left with no meaningful employment. That is revealed under the heading of  “Leisure, sports, creative arts, and voluntary work.” The report states “These sectors can expand greatly”. They want the Mining and Materials industries to contract dramatically, as if by some kind of magic; there is magical thinking throughout the document.

They have done some sums/math and reached this conclusion on electric cars: “By 2050 (we) will have only 60% of the electricity required to power a fleet equivalent to that in use today. Therefore, we will either use 40% fewer cars or they will be 60% the size.”  It is more magic as if everyone will be happy to discard their freedom of movement to happily jump on publicly provided electric trains, taxis, and buses for every trip. However, they are concerned about car batteries, “The rapid expansion of lithium battery production may hit short-term supply constraints and create environmental concerns…”. Hmm, environmental concerns?

On Aviation: Quote: “There are no options for zero-emissions flight in the time available for action, so the industry faces a rapid contraction. Developments in electric flight may be relevant beyond 2050.

On Energy: Quote: “All coal, gas, and oil-fuel supply from extraction through the supply chain to retail must close within 30 years”.

By 2029, in the next five years, beef and lamb consumption is planned to drop by 50%. By 2049, there will be no beef or lamb production and all imported foods (not transported by electric train) will be banned. Quote: “… the best estimates of science today predict that annual global emissions from human activities must be reduced rapidly and should be eliminated by 2050 – in thirty years. This target, which requires extraordinarily rapid change, is now law in the UK, and several other countries. However, despite the science and the laws, global emissions are still rising.”

Quote: “The two renewable technologies now being deployed widely are wind turbines and solar cells. These critical forms of electricity generation are essential and should be deployed as fast as possible, but Fig. 1.3 shows that combined with nuclear power and hydroelectricity, they still contribute only a small fraction of total global energy demand.”

The real truth finally emerges in this sentence, “the only solutions available in the time remaining requires some change of lifestyle”.   The authors request a “discussion” to resolve this roadblock.  “This report therefore aims to trigger that critical discussion.” Some “change of lifestyle” will be required.  Some “specific restraint in our lifestyles.” And all we need to do is have a “discussion” to settle the matter?

To BOOM, that sounds like an ultimatum from a crime boss or perhaps from the leader of a Boy Scout group.  In this discussion, do they plan to make us an offer we can’t refuse?  Or do they want us to all hold hands and joyfully sing Kumbayah? [Kum ba yah (“Come by here”) is an African/American spiritual song known to be sung in the Gullah culture in the islands of South Carolina and Georgia, with ties to enslaved Africans.] Note, the enslaved aspect of the song.  Is enslavement part of this plan?

On and on the report goes for 54 pages with dense images such as this one which seeks to explain Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

Please Note: The population of the UK is 67.8 Million. But only 37,400 people have viewed the Download page and there have only been 153,000 Downloads of the Report (according to the statistics provided).  In other words, very, very few people in the UK have seen this ‘£5m Absolute Zero Report’ which strongly supports dramatic, draconian changes to life in Britain. Social, financial, and economic reality is missing.  BOOM suggests the Absolute Zero Report be given a score of Absolute Zero.

[As AP observes: HMG is very good at obfuscation when implementing new laws – who has time to read 54 pages?  Thanks, BOOM for reading so we don’t have to!]

Download the 54-page Absolute Zero Report HERE.  [Hit the Download Button, then go to the PDF link under the Heading “Files”. That will Download a PDF Version to your Download Folder.]

THE CHINA STOCK MARKET MAY BE CLOSE TO A REBOUND.  On 21st January, two short weeks ago, BOOM wrote “BOOM’s China trade indicator has turned upwards in the last two months and is gaining strength. This is a reliable sign of increased Chinese trade which usually precedes a resurgence of the domestic economy.”

And “… if the upswing in external trade continues, then we should soon see a rebound in the Chinese economy and a subsequent rebound in stock prices.

Over the last two weeks, BOOM’s China trade indicator has continued to show a sharp recovery. The indicator has increased by 20% in that time frame. This is a significant change in direction. It suggests strength in both the Global economy and the Chinese economy.

And, since BOOM made that forecast, investors have poured US$12bn into the Chinese stock market as reported by Reuters. This is the largest inflow of funds in eight years and is the second largest on record.  Perhaps BOOM’s Japanese readers are influential?

Technically, the Chinese stock market indices have not yet shown a base formation. However, with huge investment inflows and a recovering trade picture, there is potential here for a significant turnaround soon in stock market valuations.

The Shanghai Composite Index Total Market Capitalisation is around US$6tn. In comparison, the S&P 500 stock index in the US is valued at around US$42tn. Total market cap is calculated by summing the market capitalisation of every company in the index. The long term charts are certainly interesting.

The Shanghai Composite Stock Index has been falling since 2015. This 25-year chart reveals two sharp price peaks in November 2007, and in June 2015.  Since 2015, there has not been any joy for investors. A turnaround would appear to be long overdue.

The Hong Kong Hang Seng Stock Index shows four sharp price peaks including the peak in 2007.  However, the market has been in steady decline since February 2021.

In the 25 years under consideration, the annual GDP of China, measured in US Dollars, has grown from US$1tn to $ US18tn. But China’s GDP measured in PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) is now above US$30tn which is considerably higher than the United States.

The Chinese New Year begins next week, on Saturday, February 10th and this year is the year of the Dragon.  In Chinese mythology, the Dragon is powerful, endlessly energetic, full of vitality, goal-oriented yet idealistic and romantic, and a visionary leader.  Sounds perfect for a stock market turnaround, n’est-ce pas?  For this to happen the Chinese government will have to encourage its people to become investors in the stock market.

GENERAL MOTORS MOVES TO HYBRIDS.  General Motors, one of the “Big Three” US car manufacturers, has decided to move away from electric cars and towards Hybrids. They claim that this is only an interim measure as they move towards all-electric.

The CEO said, “Let me be clear, GM remains committed to eliminating tailpipe emissions from our light-duty vehicles by 2035, but, in the interim, deploying plug-in technology in strategic segments will deliver some of the environment or environmental benefits of EVs as the nation continues to build this charging infrastructure.”

However, in BOOM’s opinion, that is more a political statement rather than a true indication of their intentions. They currently make only one Hybrid car model for the US market so this is a big change of direction.

The announcement was made last Tuesday and investors responded rapidly and improved earnings helped.  GM shares rose sharply and finished the week up by 10.6%.

BTW – Ford has recently announced a huge cut in electric vehicle (EV) production. It is losing $36,000 on each EV vehicle sold and around 50% of its dealers refused to take any EV cars in 2023 and its unsold EV inventory is 92,000 vehicles.

TESLA’S MOMENT OF TRUTH. US Shareholders have abandoned many electric car companies over the last 2-3 years. Investors have largely decided that electric vehicles are not commercially viable in the long run.

Tesla shareholders are the hold-out of true believers. However, Tesla shares have been falling since the peak in late 2021.  Last week, after a mixed week of trading, they found some support (which appeared less than enthusiastic) above $180 to close at $187.91.  If the tenuous $180 support level is broken, the market will almost certainly move lower from here towards $150 and $100 levels – watching closely. This could well be the moment of truth for Tesla shares.

BOOM has previously documented the share price collapse in almost all other companies in the sector. The share price falls have been dramatic and some are arguably the greatest collapses in history.

Mullen Automotive shares, for example, have fallen from $451,000 per share on August 5th, 2020 to $7.00 per share last Friday. This represents three years of terror for any Mullen investors who held on.

VOLVO ABANDONS POLESTAR ELECTRIC.  In this bizarre world of electric cars, there was another notable event last week. The Swedish brand Volvo, listed as Volvo Cars (Volcar) on the Swedish stock market and which is now principally owned by the Chinese company, Geely, announced that it would no longer provide financial support to the all-electric Polestar company which it founded with the Geely Chairman, Eric Li. And Volvo Cars is aiming to sell its remaining holding in the company to Geely.

Volvo Car shares (VOLCAR-B.ST) are listed in Stockholm. The leadership of the company appears devoted to becoming all-electric. As a result, the shares are also showing the typical decline of electric car companies, even though only 16% of its sales are currently electric. The leadership’s devotion to an all-electric future has not inspired its shareholders, quite the opposite. The share price chart over the last two years reveals what investors are thinking.

Volvo AB, the parent company, sold off its Volvo car division to Ford in 1999. Ford subsequently sold Volvo Cars to Geely in 2010.

In contrast to Polestar and Volvo Car, Volvo AB shares have performed well over the last five years. Volvo AB makes trucks, buses and construction equipment. It also supplies marine and industrial drive systems and financial services.

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COMING NEXT:

  • Letter from Great Britain – Broken Britain – Saturday, February 10, 2024
  • BOOM Weekly Global Review – Tuesday, February 13, 2024
  • The Financial Jigsaw Part 2 – Chapter 3 – Reality Check – Saturday, February 17, 2024

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Author: Austrian Peter

Peter J. Underwood is a retired international accountant and qualified humanistic counsellor living in Bruton, UK, with his wife, Yvonne. He pursued a career as an entrepreneur and business consultant, having founded several successful businesses in the UK and South Africa His latest Substack blog describes the African concept of Ubuntu - a system of localised community support using a gift economy model.

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14 Comments
BigMoe
BigMoe
February 6, 2024 8:56 am

The Brits should concentrate their efforts on their own personal oral hygiene instead of the climate hoax.

m
m
February 6, 2024 10:22 am

Polestar only in 2017 was rebranded as an all-electric car company, previously being the Volvo “sports” brand.

On a positive note, Volvo car quality has not declined after it became owned by Geely. (I’m driving a 2012 Volvo.)
However, at least here in Russia I can get a new, top-end Geely car for about half the price (~$30,000) of a similar Volvo. Then why would I buy a Volvo anymore?

m
m
  Austrian Peter
February 10, 2024 2:41 pm

Immigrated in June, still working through the bureaucracy, but next month I should receive my work and residency permit (this basic version is limited to 3 years validity).

Nobody will ever be able to say 100% for sure –
but I believe he is a good guy, maybe even the good guy today, and I buy him being of Orthodox belief (now), to have 95% likelihood of truth.
I basically bet all my money and effort and energy on him, and this is ‘the hill I have chosen’. I dearly hope he stays prez until 2032. (Demanding more would be greedy.)

Not much different view in geopolitics from here -after obviously easily discounting all the Western lies on Russia, and by extension China and Iran-,
but the Gaza genocide forced me to up my prognosis if this goes all-out nuclear, before all is said and done, to now 90%. Entirely by decision of the US. When it happens, and if I survive, I will try to be one of the rebuilders – as I’m a die-hard realistic optimist.

Here in Russia it’s not all milk and honey, respectively morals and values, either – about 10% are steadfast moral Orthodox people, the super-majority is basically “weak-orthodox” clueless about geopolitics and philosophy/religious underpinnings, and 20% are (partially) brainwashed by the West while believing themselves to be nationalist conservatives! 😂
And I might be even seeing these ratios a bit too rosy, as I meet more rural area people than city folks…

BTW, this Canadian immigrant family is making the rounds, first in English and German immigrant TG channels, now they already were on Russian TV:
Starting vid from their YT channel

Maybe I’ll try to visit them in summer, they’re about an 8 hour drive away.

Yahsure
Yahsure
February 6, 2024 12:10 pm

One of the many problems is that no one can afford these new cars. TPTB seems to think the economy can run on fairy dust or something.

Anonymous
Anonymous
February 6, 2024 3:25 pm

Goal Zero=busy work for the useless eaters marked for destruction.

“The branch that is not producing shall be cut off and cast into the fire. “

jane
jane
February 6, 2024 4:21 pm

Lets just be real. This climate change zero carbons is just another jewish scam, con game, grift, swindle, bait and switch. Just as the same people pulled off the 1927 depression, so they could buy up and monopolize all the communications media, to work their next scam, the holo-hoax which netted them billions and still counting. Also their own nation that sucks money from the rest of the world and the fake moniker of being God’s chosen, and poor defenseless victims, and the ability to start to take over all the land adjacent to them as their empire with wars paid for by idiot nations, they are infiltrating as dual citizens to eventually take down.
It has helped them with their divide and conquer tactic, pitting the Christians against the Muslims so they could kill each other off, as in Albert Pike’s letter to Mazzini.
9-11 was a jew con job, covid another jew con job, and now the climate change con is here.
It will never end, because they have never been caught or sent to jail for what they have already done.
Why? it is not possible, this way: all the jews would have to go to Prison for the crimes they commit.
They do it purposefully that way. IT is not like you can arrest the masterminds behind these crimes and swindles, because all the jews work together in it, and you can’t arrest them all as Hitler realized must be done to stop them, because they make you think Hitler is more evil than the jews are. How did they do that? By smearing him with lies, and projecting all the criminal activities and torture and 66 million dead Christians the jews committed in the Russian revolution on Hitler. The sick crimes the committed again in China where hundreds of millions of Christians were tortured to death and starved to death. They could not say more than 6 million in Germany, because the number of jews alive after the fake holo-hoax and the ones alive before the con job of the holo=hoax are basically the same number. Who should be arrested, all of them, and they take their orders directly from the Rothschild Pidar, Moloch Mammon, the alians of the con job of the greada treaty are the Rothschilds and their extended family, that includes the Rockefellers and the British royals, and most of the royals left alive after all the wars the Rothschild family has waged to profit themselves in wealth and power.
You can have 50% ashkenazi yiddish DNA and you are not considered by them a jew.
Unless it comes from the mother. You are only a jew if your mother is a jew and her mother was also, no matter if she has some gentile DNA from the father.
The elite are all interrelated by intermarriage with full blooded Rothschild daughters. Even Princess Diana was a jew.
Bill Clinton who will most likely dies soon, to shut him up about Epstein and more, has a gentile mother, so he is not a jew, but his father is a Rothschild. He is expendable. His daughter Chelsea, who is not really his daughter is a jew, because her mother is Hilary who comes from a jewish family originally from Krakow Poland. She had a jewsih mother. Also Donald Trump is expendable to the jews, His father has jewish blood but his mother was born in Scotland, and so he is not a jew. Trump’s children which are also not his own, (mumps) all came from jewish mothers
except for one daughter, so they are Jewish. Churchill had a gentile father but his mother was a jew Jenny Jerome. The jews paid his father impoverished by the war, as most aristocrats had to marry jewsih daughters.
That is another con they pull, and now all the wealthiest people are really jewish by marriage and procreating with jewish women. Even Jackie Kennedy was a jew. JFK’s children all Jewish. Jackie’s mother claimed her family name was Lee, but it was Levy. Onassis was also jewish.
That is how the jews that call themselves the elite have obtained their facade of royal prestige.
It is a swindle and a con.
That is jewish law.
If your father was a jew and your mother is a gentile you are not considered a jew by them, or by satan or by God.
Stop falling for their cans and arrest them for then as Hitler had to do, or you will ne up like the little old ladies who are swindled out of every dime they ever had, by Nigerians, that they have never even met on the internet, but they have a easy way to put on a fake mask.
Just like the jews wearing the false mask of being God’s chosen and victims.
Just look at the con they pulled off in Gaza, just to steal the land and billions in resources there: offshore gas, the canal and beachfront property for Israeli.
It is not a war it is a con game to profit wicked criminal jews and all the jews are in on it together.
Just stop being suckers for the jews because it make you all look very stupid.
They work together as a huge gang a wolf pack, so there is no one to arrest for their many atrocious crimes.
It is a trick, like calling themselves Semites when they are mostly Turkish and Mongolian by DNA.
Not only do the jews hate all gentiles, they know you are idiots they can easily fool and manipulate.

kiwi
kiwi
  jane
February 6, 2024 5:40 pm

spot on well said

rhsjr
rhsjr
  jane
February 9, 2024 2:13 am

All the Nations will gather against Jerusalem … 2/3 of Jews will die; it’s incubating now and Israel will become like Gaza. My Brothers & Sisters, read Is 53 and Zech 13 & 14; accept the Messiah, escape the slaughter, & Hell.