The push for Net Zero is another element of liberal progressivism which is infecting the West, says Mark Dolan

Praise the Lord. There seems to have been, an outbreak of common sense, at number 10.

Britain is to open its first coal mine in 30 years. Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary gave the green light, for the project on Wednesday, paving the way for an estimated investment, of £165 million that will create 500 new jobs in the region and produce 2.8 million tons of coking coal a year, largely for steelmaking.

For too long now, the green agenda, which has seen us ignore The colossal natural resources on our own shores, has exposed us to unscrupulous regimes like Saudi Arabia, and of course Vladimir Putin is Russia, for our supplies of fossil fuels.

In the west, we have indulged in the eye watering hypocrisy of decarbonising our own country, whilst importing coal, oil and gas from other nations.

Creating the illusion that we've gone green. That's what I call, cooking the books. It's unforgivable, that we face a winter energy crisis, given the fact that beneath our feet we have an estimated two to three decades of shale at our disposal, three decades worth of natural gas and oil, and potentially 100 years of coal.

Now, I want to clean up the planet, and get those carbon emissions down. Who doesn't want clean, green, sustainable energy, or cleaner air?

Who doesn't want to hand the planet to future generations, in better condition than we found it. After all, it was a focused effort to clean up the air in Dickensian London, which saw off a public health crisis, due to shocking air quality and those famous pea soupers.

So where there's a will there's a way. But the transition to a more eco-conscious, planet-friendly economy must be a gradual one, which sees investment in Green tech and innovation, in which we are a world leader, but which also sees us take advantage, of the vast natural resources at our disposal.

If you think that importing coal from somewhere else makes more sense than digging for our own, generating jobs, and a national income, then I can’t help you.

During the pandemic, Covid measures were handed down, as a fate accomplish, with the government dispensing with democracy for a couple of years, in what was my view a doomed experiment to control a virus.

with the eco-agenda, we are once again guinea pigs in an experiment. This time to clean up the planet. As with the Covid measures, the current eco-agenda, looks set to expose this country to a lower standard of living, high debt, because green renewables are flaky and eye wateringly expensive, and a further encroachment, on our way of life.

I mentioned in my monologue, while sitting in for Mark Stein this week, that the city of Oxford is already rolling out plans for a climate lockdown, in which residents will only be allowed to drive in certain streets on certain days of the year, being forced to stay in their own zones, which has terrifying echoes of Communist China.

I've got no doubt, that in time, the government will try to forcibly ration energy. And give us all, some hellish carbon allowance, which means, that once we've done a couple of flights a year, driven our kids to school, and heated the living room, we've used up all our tokens and will be left shivering in our homes.

Unable even, to turn on the kettle and make a cup, of rosy lea. If every country in the world, was embarking on this push, for net zero, I guess it would have some merit.

But why should us Brits make ourselves, poorer, whilst countries like the USA, Brazil, India and China, burn fossil fuels for fun.

I think the push for net zero here is another element, of liberal progressivism, which is infecting the west. Now, they are ruining energy policy.

Go woke, no smoke. I've always said, when it comes to energy, we need a mix. Long-term – nuclear and renewables.

I've got no problem with that. But in the short to medium term, coal, oil and gas must play their part. And given that we've got so much of it here, my message is a clear one – drill baby drill.