Green solutions need to be truly global

THIS inept Johnson-led Tory government claims to be a climate leader with plans to mobilise huge investments in ‘clean energy.’

However, their dirty secret is that they are still backing new fossil fuel projects and heavily into impossibly expensive nuclear power (with financial dependence on China) and its joined-on nuclear bombs twin.

Their vision for the transition to renewables is rooted in massive increase in mining extraction, exploitation, and injustice, intensifying unsustainable mining of so-called ‘transition’ metals and minerals, which are used to produce the technologies of solar panels, wind turbines and electric vehicle batteries etc. Equally a vision of ‘net zero’, whether by 2050 or before, again is not much of an ultimate winner since it relates to base readings of emissions at 1990 levels which were then pretty high.

From Chile to China, untold environmental destruction is, and will be, heaped upon indigenous peoples with communities driven from their homes, farmlands made barren, water supplies undrinkable, and polluted air unsafe to breathe.

Prince William’s Earthshot Cop26 awards also lack this common sense reality. Renewables, and all other carbon or greenhouse gas reduction initiatives, at best only can hope to be about 25% of the answer to avert climate catastrophe, the remaining 75% has to come from big reduction in ‘having and doing’ consumerist, workaholic, present lifestyle and similar global transition from big unneeded ‘defence’ spending to real pursuit of peace and disarmament.

The enormous Hinkley C new nuclear power station has trebled in estimated cost since its inception in 2008, it’s currently estimated at over £45 billion (near total education spending for 20/21) including the latest construction cost of £23 billion. The operational date is now delayed by nine years to 2026 and even greater cost overruns