Renewable energy plan

Some good news at last - the consultation published this week on the UK's renewable energy strategy, a belated attempt to meet the commitment to generate 15% of the UK’s energy from renewable sources. The plans involve building 7000 more wind turbines.

There has been enthusiasm from environmentalists, such as Greenpeace, but the government will need to deal with headlines about rising energy bills as a result.

If 15% seems ambitious, we should look at what is happening not so far away in Portugal. Already generating 20% of its energy from renewables, this is expected to rise to 60% by 2020. Portugal is building the world's largest solar photovoltaic farm and the world's largest windfarm. In the past three years, it has trebled its hydropower capacity and quadrupled its wind power. More information in the Guardian, along with some great pictures.

A couple of updates from the political world

Firstly, if you want to make sure that your MP supports crucial amendments to the Climate Change Bill, here is an easy way to email them or write a more detailed letter.

Secondly, the recent speech by David Cameron mentioned not only a cap on carbon emissions from coal power stations, but also feed-in tariffs from renewables and criticism of the plans for a new runway at Heathrow (although aviation expansion more generally was not discussed). So, are the Tories really going green? Michael McCarthy is almost convinced.

Climate change and plastic bags

I was at the Campaigh against Climate Change Climate Forum at the weekend. The main debate was 'Are we losing the fight against climate change?'. To sum up the speakers, the answer was, frankly, yes. Overall, we have not yet lost, but we are losing. Even in an optimistic international policy scenario, things are going to be pretty bad. If current trends in policy continue then it will be very bad. Very bad indeed. See this article by Mark Lynas, one of the speakers, and you get the general idea. But we have not lost yet, and there are lots of practical things that can be done to stop the worst happening.

So why is the government, which knows all this, still continuing with policies such as more aviation and new coal power stations, which are going to make things worse. It is difficult to understand, but part of the reason is a lack of public pressure because most people in this country don't really 'get' climate change either.

While public awareness of climate change has risen dramatically in the last few years, driven mostly by media coverage of increasingly alarming scientific reports, individual action lags far behind. Frustratingly, people tend to feel that they have 'done their bit' with a few minor actions such as recycling and using fewer plastic bags. The things that can really make a difference, such as cutting down on flying and car use and getting good home insulation, are still not really seen as mainstream, but the province of 'eco-hippies'. The blog climatedenial.org sets this out very well.

So how do you make people have a sense of urgency, but not feel so overwhelmed that any action seems pointless? Particularly when rising fuel prices and rising house prices are taking media attention away from the big picture. Anyone with the answers - your planet needs you!

Cleaning up dirty coal

According to the Guardian, the Conservatives are set to take the moral high ground on coal-fired power stations. Apparently, next week they will announce a policy to set a strict limit on CO2 emissions from new coal power stations that would rule out any being built without carbon capture and storage technology (CCS). This is similar to a policy already in place in California.

Carbon capture technology works by separating and liquefying carbon dioxide emitted by power plants. This is then stored deep underground, often in depleted coal or gas fields. Although still unproven on an industrial scale, and expensive, estimates suggest that the technology could cut global emissions by between 28-50% by 2050. Recent reports from the Policy Exchange thinktank and WWF have criticised the government for appearing half-hearted on CCS technology. as did a letter to the John Hutton from the eminent scientists of the Royal Society.

When it comes to CO2 emissions, coal burning is the dirtiest form of energy generation. However, the government is planning to build a new generation of coal-fired power stations with the requirement only that they be 'capture-ready' to fit the new technology when it is proven - an insufficient guarantee. The first of these would be the controversial new power station at Kingsnorth, which has caused outrage among environmentalists.

The Environmental Audit Committee is currently carrying out an inquiry into the government's policy on carbon capture and storage. The chair of the committee has already been quoted in the Times calling the government 'reckless' for backing new coal power stations with no guarantee if or when CCS would be available. On this one, the Conservative party seem to be ahead of the game.

Climate Change Bill in the Commons

Having now left the Lords, the Climate Change Bill has just been debated for the first time in the House of Commons. The text of the debate can be read on Hansard, and MPs discussed a wide ranges of issues such as the need to include aviation in the Bill; the need for limits on the UK's ability to buy credits from abroad, rather than making cuts in our own emissions; and the scale of the cuts required.

As yet no amendments have been voted on - so it's not too late to write to your MP to ask them for to strengthen the Bill. The website www.theyworkforyou.com lets you email your MP very easily. A wide range of organisations have got involved in the campaign for a strong Climate Change Bill. This briefing, which sets out the key issues very simply, is from a church coalition.

Finally, a (dis)honourable mention for those MPs who voted against a second reading of the Bill, in other words who believe there is no need for it: Peter Lilley, Ann Widdecombe and Andrew Tyrie.

Grow your own positivity

I was cheered by this article in the Guardian on Friday. It asks the question, 'Why bother to make lifestyle changes to combat climate change when anything we can do is a drop in the ocean compared to the size of the problem?' The author concludes that while personal changes are not sufficient, nor is waiting passively for governments to act. He suggests starting by growing some food - a small positive action that can inspire further self-sufficiency and creativity in the cause of sustainability.

On a growing theme, here are a few links:
22 reasons to grow your own rocket from the Times Eco worrier blog.
The Real Seed Catalogue - an exciting range of rare, heirloom, and unusual vegetable seeds.
Feast from your window box - ideas on what to grow in tiny urban corners
A guide to growing your own vegetable garden and Ten rules of eco gardening - again from the Times.

Big NO

The demonstration at Heathrow got good media coverage, but just in case you missed it, here's a picture of the NO. (See Campaign against Climate Change website for the original)

Planning Bill setback

In the face of a back-bench rebellion, the government has just defeated amendments to the Planning Bill currently in the House of Commons. This means that the new Independent Planning Commission (IPC) will not have to take climate change impact into account when considering major developments such as power stations, roads and airports.

Friends of the Earth is asking people to write to their MP to ask them to support two more amendments: to make the IPC democratically accountable, and to ensure people and communities have a meaningful right to be heard.