This story is the third part of a DeSmog series on carbon capture and was developed with the support of Journalismfund Europe and published in partnership with the Guardian. The UK government’s move to award £22 billion in subsidies to carbon capture projects followed a sharp increase in lobbying by the fossil fuel industry, DeSmog can […]
I don’t agree they’re looking at all areas at once, solar, wind and the net zero per mw by 2030 goal only relate to energy, not things like gas heating reduction, or public transport etc. Energy is also one of the few areas where as a country we’ve already made quite a bit of progress. There are points where only 10% of the UK’s energy comes from fossil fuels.
This ground-breaking technology, known as Carbon Capture Usage and Storage, is a game-changer in our efforts to fulfil our legal obligations to reach Net Zero by 2050 in a sensible way, while supporting jobs and industry.
Shifting focus onto onto bare minimum meeting of legal obligations and positioning carbon capture as a central part of that strategy.
To those drum-banging, finger-wagging extremists I say: I will never sacrifice Great British industry.
Said in opposition to people wanting regulation of carbon emissions over carbon capture investment.
But this is a third way that brings industry with us on our path to Net Zero
Again, in opposition to regulating emissions more strictly.
To be 100% clear, this is speculation from Labours messaging that implies they’re gearing up for a massive backslide, we won’t know for sure until their budget is announced over the next few weeks. I think this is where a lot of objection comes fron though. If we see large investment in public transport and heat pumps, and regulation of emissions, then I’ll be extremely happy to be proved wrong.
Completely agree the 2030 target is electricity, not the entire economy.
For me the key paragraph is in the middle of this section, emphasis mine:
I know some like Extinction Rebellion will lecture me on carbon capture investment. They’ll say it isn’t the right choice.
But it’s working people who come first. Without this tech, heavy industries such as cement, glass-making and chemicals will risk having to down tools.
The Budget in a few weeks’ time will be about fixing the foundations and continuing to show a decisive break from the past
The jobs of brickies, sparkies and engineers — the backbone of Britain — will be risked.
That means fewer new homes, fewer new roads and a slow decline to the dark ages.
These are not impossible industries to decarbonise, but they are very difficult especially with stuff like cement.
Back to your original reply, I don’t think it’s a fair reading of the manifesto to say they promised more than 2030 for electricity and ~2050 for the economy.
Yes I want this to be faster, I’m still pissed off that the £34bn/year for retrofitting, etc, has been watered down multiple times, but - so far - nothing from the manifesto has been scraped.
Come the budget at the end of the month, I may very well be wrong, and very angry.
I don’t agree they’re looking at all areas at once, solar, wind and the net zero per mw by 2030 goal only relate to energy, not things like gas heating reduction, or public transport etc. Energy is also one of the few areas where as a country we’ve already made quite a bit of progress. There are points where only 10% of the UK’s energy comes from fossil fuels.
In fairness, I did share the wrong article, sorry! Here’s the actual opinion piece it’s referring to (which was written in the Sun, I agree it’s a shit rag, but Kier Starmer chose to publish in it, so here we are): https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/30853358/keir-starmer-great-british-industry-net-zero/
Specifically, the bits I’m referring to are:
Shifting focus onto onto bare minimum meeting of legal obligations and positioning carbon capture as a central part of that strategy.
Said in opposition to people wanting regulation of carbon emissions over carbon capture investment.
Again, in opposition to regulating emissions more strictly.
To be 100% clear, this is speculation from Labours messaging that implies they’re gearing up for a massive backslide, we won’t know for sure until their budget is announced over the next few weeks. I think this is where a lot of objection comes fron though. If we see large investment in public transport and heat pumps, and regulation of emissions, then I’ll be extremely happy to be proved wrong.
Thank you for the correct link, much appreciated.
Completely agree the 2030 target is electricity, not the entire economy.
For me the key paragraph is in the middle of this section, emphasis mine:
These are not impossible industries to decarbonise, but they are very difficult especially with stuff like cement.
Back to your original reply, I don’t think it’s a fair reading of the manifesto to say they promised more than 2030 for electricity and ~2050 for the economy.
Yes I want this to be faster, I’m still pissed off that the £34bn/year for retrofitting, etc, has been watered down multiple times, but - so far - nothing from the manifesto has been scraped.
Come the budget at the end of the month, I may very well be wrong, and very angry.