Tackkling climate emergency
John Redwood’s views (Westminster Diary 31st March) on energy policy lack the sense of urgency needed to tackle the climate emergency. In this he reflects the Government’s failure to match its planned actions with its promises made at COP26.
He supports the idea that we can carry on with business-as-usual, using fossil fuels for another decade “as we await the technologies and investments in a greener future”. This is dangerously complacent .
The world needs to cut carbon emissions in half by 2030 if we are to have a chance of avoiding the desperate consequences of exceeding a 2ºC rise. So, we must start seriously now. Carbon emissions globally are still rising, caused by ever-increasing fossil fuel use. Irrespective of which country is producing these emissions, the rise is driven by advanced economies like ours, committed to economic growth and financial returns on global trade and investments. This is not consistent with a sustainable future without rapid replacement of fossil fuels by renewable energy.
Therefore, we need to lead the way to renewable energy now, and not delay. This includes taking seriously our responsibilities to help poorer nations make the transition to renewable energy too. It includes restoring the cut in overseas aid the Government made after 2019.
We cannot accept a distinction between a business-as- usual shortterm plan and a longer-term plan. That is like deciding not to bother leaving a burning building until more of it has burnt down. There is a need for a single plan starting now to cut carbon emissions by all means possible. The latest report from The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), just published this week, makes it clear that it is now or never, if we want to limit global warming to 1.5ºC. It calls for a dramatic reduction in the use of fossil fuels starting now. The next few years are critical; and what is more, we have the tools and the know-how already. There is no need to wait.
John Redwood dismisses the potential of wind power too readily. Britain could be a world leader in this field bringing much-needed skilled jobs to regions currently lacking employment opportunities. But at present the UK is lagging behind Germany in battery production and development.
The intermittent character of wind is a red herring given the rapid innovation. There needs to be much more than a doubling of wind capacity - more like 20-fold - but this is entirely feasible and less expensive than nuclear and it needs to start now.
He also appears to support a plan to increase massively the use of nuclear power as if the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters can be forgotten.
Even aside from the unnatural risks which nuclear presents, it is not economically viable and far more expensive than investing massively in renewables.
An immediate and massive expansion of renewable energy sources with investment in battery and hydrogen technology is the effective way to reduce both our carbon emissions radically and our dependency on foreign oil and gas, whilst “keeping the lights on”.
An increase in home-grown fossil fuel production would include fracking, a word John Redwood does not use but surely intends to include in his solutions. It is a completely inadequate ambition given the scale of the challenge facing the world. Greenhouse gases and their impact on climate are no respecters of national borders. We call upon the Government to produce an energy strategy which will genuinely protect us from climate disaster and upon our MP to stop promoting fossil fuels more vigorously than renewable energy sources.
David Chapman, Wokingham, Peter Barrett, The Revd Canon
David Hodgson, Lorraine Hodgson – members of the “Climate Matters Group” at All
Saints Church Wokingham