Vote Blue Go Green?

The real face of Tory environmental policy?

Looks like another promise broken. The Tory lip-service on climate change and sustainability is seen to be wholly flimsy tonight as Roger Helmer's poster truly does represent the mainstream opinion of Conservative MPs.

This is a party with a dogmatic view of what is considered to be fact by the majority of the scientific community.

A survey in February 2010, of 200 Conservative PPC’s listed Climate Change as the lowest priority with many, including members of the cabinet simply denying its impacts.

This is important for local government. The people of Medway want a party that accepts scientific reality and acts in a sustainable manner.

Based on Roger Helmers views positive action on recycling, energy efficiency and maintenance of parks and green spaces may be undermined as a principle by individuals and a Party who do not see the scientific merit of environmental sustainability.

This blog opposed the Kingsnorth proposal in 2008/2009 and supported the actions of peaceful climate change protesters. We need a more sustainable energy dynamic, not based on ignoring the truth. That climate is changing, it is anthropogenic and its consequences will harm us all.

The IPCC Policy reports make it starkly clear that the world needs to step up and deal with this fundamental issue.

Sadly, it seems, Cancun is looking to be a bigger flop than Copenhagen.

It is time dinosaurs like Roger Helmer are shown the back door.

End of the line for Kingsnorth

News this evening that plans to build a £1 billion coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth were shelved today as owner E.ON blamed lower demand for electricity because of the recession.

The Kingsnorth station had been at the centre of protests over fears that the new plant would increase carbon emissions and climate change. The original plan by EOm cited the fitting of unproven carbon sequestration technology with no evidence or proof that the science would work. There were also concerns about other emissions and the effect on the Medway conurbation.

German-owned E.ON cited “economic conditions” for the decision, which means the existing power station at Kingsnorth will close before the end of 2015. E.ON's UK chief executive Dr Paul Golby said: “The economic conditions are still not right for us to progress.”

This blog opposed the expansion of Kingsnorth in 2008/2009 because the science of carbon sequestration had not been proven. It however does not support the wholesale closing of the site which has the potential and infrastructure to remain a power plant for future development.

The Kingsnorth development became a major issue during the General Election when the company submitted plans for pipeline expansion. Both Labour and Conservative candidates supported the expansion of the Kingsnorth site. This blog took an independent position and opposed development.

E.ON first applied for permission to build the Kingsnorth power plant in 2006, but then asked for the decision to be put off until ministers had made a decision on whether it must be fitted with carbon capture technology.

Ed Miliband, then the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, correctly ruled that new coal-fired plants would have to fit the new technology.

Kingsnorth Resurrected?

Despite the victory last year by local activists against the expansion of Kingsnorth Power station, it appears that the Liberal Democrat and Conservative Government has once again showed its total and utter duplicity and dishonesty.

The coalition is watering down a commitment to tough new environmental emissions standards, resurrecting the very real possibility of the return of dirty coal-fired power stations, including at our very own Kingsnorth.

This blog supported Green organisations and local campaigners during the anti-Kingsnorth campaign because it did not believe that the science of sequestration had been tested or proven on the scale required for Kingsnorth. In addition, this blog raised the very real concern of air quality and the fact that Medway already suffers from poor quality air, but would only get worse if an expanded dirty coal power station was situated nearby.

Green groups are aghast that a flagship policy called for in opposition by both Lib Dems and Tories, and which they last year tried to force on the Labour government, will now not be implemented in the coalition's first energy bill to be published this year.

This is a bare-faced lie given to Liberal Democrat supporters. Local PPCs and MPs made political hay out of the issue and even attended the event. The same anti-Kingsnorth Lib Dems are now silent. Disgraceful behaviour which shows opportunism at its worst.

The criticism of the Liberal Democrat and Conservative commitment to green issues follows news last week that nature reserves could be sold off as countryside protection measures also bear the brunt of budget cuts in the Department for Environment.

Introducing a so-called "environmental performance standard" (EPS) for power companies would have restricted greenhouse gas emissions from coal and gas plants and encouraged companies wishing to build to use more efficient technology.

The introduction of an EPS was personally championed by David Cameron, George Osborne and Nick Clegg when in opposition; their opposition to Kingsnorth became something of a cause célèbre – and even features in the coalition agreement – but was opposed by energy companies and Tory backbenchers.

The chief executive at one coal-plant operating company warned that the UK's renewable energy technology – which would be used to help new plants meet the target – was too undeveloped to make the EPS feasible.

Now government sources confirm they will not be bringing forward legislation in the autumn and will instead spend the summer working on "the larger picture". They will open a consultation on the idea in the autumn with the results being presented to parliament as a white paper in the new year.

Green campaigners believe this is noncommittal for a policy both parts of the coalition said could be implemented immediately when in opposition.

They believe a delay in the introduction of the standard until next year – with a few years for the legislation to pass through the house and for it to be set up – raises the possibility of new coal-fire power stations slipping through the system.

The news comes as more than 14,000 people have objected to plans for a similar new coal-fired power station at Hunterston in Ayrshire

Greenpeace energy campaigner, Joss Garman, said:

"David Cameron made the introduction of new rules to stop the most polluting power stations one of his flagship green policies, and Nick Clegg helped ensure it was a key part of the coalition agreement.

Both Lib Dem and Conservative MPs voted for the introduction of such a measure just a few months ago, and if they U-turn on this and fail to put this measure into their new energy law, how can they claim to be the greenest government ever?"

This blog will continue to oppose any new Kingsnorth proposal until the science behind Carbon sequestration can be proven.