Some common sense – oh, where has that been – emerged from the Chancellor’s speech at the Conservative Party conference.
Mr Osborne promised that the Government’s green commitments would not be allowed to derail Britain’s recovery.
Green targets were “piling costs on the energy bills of households and companies,” he said.
So, rather than lead the way, he added, Britain would now cut emissions only in line with our neighbours.
This is a welcome change of tack compared to the slavish tendency we have adopted with the EU to date.
In a week when share prices plummeted and the country wallows in debt, it’s an important promise.
Already, each family in England faces a £300 bill to underwrite our costly green initiatives.
They’re imposed by the 2010 Climate Change Act, which will see us spending £18 billion a year until 2050, chasing what many view as ludicrously unachievable carbon reduction targets.
The government currently pays subsidies of half a billion pounds a year for expensive, inefficient and unsightly wind turbines.
Worse, two thirds of that figure goes to foreign companies, which have been smart enough to spot a great money making opportunity.
Unbelievably, some wind farms have been given millions not to generate electricity, for fear of overloading the network during occasional high winds.
The problem is, we are paying for all this – and we have no choice.
So, the only thing we can do to reduce our bills, according to Energy Secretary Chris Huhne, is to shop around.
And certainly the Energy Bill, now going through Parliament, will demand that tariffs are better tailored to customers’ needs.
Householders will also be given money up front to fund insulation and solar power.
The bad news is that the mechanics of all this is unclear, especially where the money’s coming from.
Of course, we must do our best to conserve energy and research renewables.
But, surely, as an island nation, we should explore tidal power, which is utterly reliable and predictable, unlike wind.
It’s worth noting, though, that whatever green initiatives we adopt, they will never provide all of our electricity.