WWF-UK: WWF-UK welcomes Cameron's move on coal
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WWF-UK welcomes Cameron's move on coal
Monday 16 June 2008
WWF-UK welcomed the announcement on environmental policy by the Leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron on 16 June as a big step forward for controlling climate change.
"Today's statement by David Cameron is a big step forward for the climate. WWF-UK strongly supports David Cameron's plan to introduce a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standard, similar to that already in force in California. We hope that the Conservatives will be actively supporting an amendment to the Energy Bill currently passing through the House of Lords that will allow such a standard to be introduced," said the chief executive officer of WWF-UK, David Nussbaum.
WWF-UK also hopes that the Conservatives will be actively supporting an amendment to the Energy Bill currently passing through the House of Lords that will allow such a standard to be introduced.
WWF-UK, along with Greenpeace, RSPB and Friends of the Earth, is calling for an emissions standard to be set at 350 grammes of carbon emitted for every kilowatt hour of energy generated (g/kWh) in all new power plants.
We are also calling for similar action to be taken at EU level. The standard of 350g/kWh level could be achieved by efficient gas-fired power stations, which make good use of waste heat, and also by coal-fired stations where most of the carbon emissions are captured. By contrast, even a relatively efficient new coal-fired power station without carbon capture and storage (CCS) - such as that being proposed by energy company, E.ON at Kingsnorth in Kent - would emit some 700-750g/kWh.
If, as David Cameron proposes, the carbon emissions standard was set so that all emissions from new power plants couldn't be higher than those emitted by a modern gas plant, it would mean that Kingsnorth could not proceed without a significant element of CCS from the outset.
"A greenhouse gas emissions standard set at the right level will avoid the risk of locking the UK into a high-carbon future, and offers much greater certainty to investors than vague hints that carbon capture might be required at some point in the future. The standard would support and strengthen the framework of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and help to ensure that the UK can move quickly towards a clean and secure energy future. Both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats now accept that new coal-fired power stations without carbon capture and storage have no place in the UK, if we are to fulfil our role as a global leader in the fight against climate change," said Keith Allott, head of climate change at WWF-UK.
WWF-UK also hopes that the Conservatives will be actively supporting an amendment to the Energy Bill currently passing through the House of Lords that will allow such a standard to be introduced.
WWF-UK, along with Greenpeace, RSPB and Friends of the Earth, is calling for an emissions standard to be set at 350 grammes of carbon emitted for every kilowatt hour of energy generated (g/kWh) in all new power plants.
We are also calling for similar action to be taken at EU level. The standard of 350g/kWh level could be achieved by efficient gas-fired power stations, which make good use of waste heat, and also by coal-fired stations where most of the carbon emissions are captured. By contrast, even a relatively efficient new coal-fired power station without carbon capture and storage (CCS) - such as that being proposed by energy company, E.ON at Kingsnorth in Kent - would emit some 700-750g/kWh.
If, as David Cameron proposes, the carbon emissions standard was set so that all emissions from new power plants couldn't be higher than those emitted by a modern gas plant, it would mean that Kingsnorth could not proceed without a significant element of CCS from the outset.
"A greenhouse gas emissions standard set at the right level will avoid the risk of locking the UK into a high-carbon future, and offers much greater certainty to investors than vague hints that carbon capture might be required at some point in the future. The standard would support and strengthen the framework of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and help to ensure that the UK can move quickly towards a clean and secure energy future. Both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats now accept that new coal-fired power stations without carbon capture and storage have no place in the UK, if we are to fulfil our role as a global leader in the fight against climate change," said Keith Allott, head of climate change at WWF-UK.
"Both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats now accept that new coal-fired power stations without carbon capture and storage have no place in the UK,"
Keith Allott, Head of Climate Change, WWF-UK