Real solutions for a climate-resilient future
3 min read
The recent floods in Spain are a stark reminder that climate change demands urgent, practical action. Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb states that the government should focus on investing in mass insulation, public transport and renewable energy to lead to genuine progress
The floods in Valencia are the latest awful reminder that a shifting climate is our new reality. We are in the early stages of a changing world, and it all gets progressively worse from here. Any belief that we can fix it by merely adopting a new set of technologies is a complete fallacy.
While I’m a believer in borrowing to invest, this government has made a series of bad environmental choices on which technologies to support. Carbon capture and storage is a £22bn bribe to keep the oil and gas industry quiet. Ditto, blue hydrogen. The £8bn for nuclear power is burning yet more taxpayers’ cash on something that we won’t need by the time it is built.
The best way to reduce energy bills and reduce emissions is a street-by-street mass insulation programme. Put £22bn into that. The best way to reduce people’s transport costs and reduce emissions is a reliable and integrated system of public transport. Stop the freeze on fuel duty and put all the money raised directly into making rail and bus fares cheaper.
If we want innovation, then we need to think about how we can do things differently, using the technologies we already have.
For example, I want all vehicles to become electric, but I’m realistic enough to know that it doesn’t solve the issues of air pollution due to particulates from tyre and brake wear. Nor does it reduce road casualties or congestion. It doesn’t even solve climate emissions if powered from a grid that is run off gas and oil. Electric vehicles are expensive, so why doesn’t the government invest in car clubs on every street? Renting is far cheaper than owning a car, and with a generation that has become used to downloading films, music and electric scooters, why not use the opportunity to promote a cultural shift that sees the car as one of many transport options that you can integrate into your lifestyle?
Behavioural change is a key ingredient on the Climate Change Committee’s menu of policies to achieve net-zero, but it is ignored because it threatens so many vested interests.
“If we want innovation, then we need to think about how we can do things differently, using the technologies we already have”
The move away from a meat-dominated diet is a necessary step on the path to saving the planet. Mainstream politicians won’t promote the idea, but it is happening anyway. Other cultural shifts that should be mainstreamed include the growing movement against plastic packaging, highlighted by the rise of local refill stations. Plastic is the oil industry’s biggest growth industry, and so much of it in the UK ends up fuelling local incinerators. The government must ban incinerators and restrict the use of packaging where better alternatives are available.
I’m all in favour of the government’s aim to double onshore wind, triple solar power and quadruple offshore wind capacity. I want more renewables, faster, along with the energy storage solutions that are a key part of making this green economy work. Instead of backing the failed status quo, why not support genuine innovations like geo-thermal energy or localised forms of energy storage?
Above all, stop listening to the lobbyists in the nuclear and fossil fuel industries. They are the industries of the past, not the future.
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