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Climate change must be thrust to the centre of UK politics – Labour is urged

Labour Must Put More Focus On Climate Change, Morning Star, 12 July 17 

Though the election didn’t focus much on the environment, the Labour Party must now thrust it into the political arena, argues IAN SINCLAIR

THERE is a tendency in Britain to look contemptuously upon the US political system. And nowhere are the deficiencies of the “shining city on a hill” more glaring than its sidelining of climate change — “the missing issue” of the 2016 US presidential campaign, reported the Guardian. According to the US writer Bryan Farrell, the topic was discussed for just 82 seconds during the 2016 televised presidential debates, which was actually an improvement on the 2012 debates, when it wasn’t mentioned at all.

Tragically, this omission was mirrored in the recent general election here. “The issue of #climatechange was completely marginalised during the #GE2017 media coverage,” Loughborough University’s Centre for Research in Communication and Culture tweeted about its election analysis.

This absence, the media watchdog Media Lens noted, is “the great insanity of our time.” Why? Because climate change is arguably the most serious threat the world faces today.

In January 2017 writer Andrew Simms surveyed over a dozen leading climate scientists and analysts and found none of them thought global temperatures would stay below 2°C — the figure world leaders agree we cannot exceed if we wish to stop dangerous climate change.

Last year, top climate scientist Professor Kevin Anderson told the Morning Star the pledges made by nations at the 2015 Paris climate summit would likely lead to a 3-4°C rise in global temperatures. Frighteningly he also told the author George Marshall that it’s hard to find any scientist who considers four degrees “as anything other than catastrophic for both human society and ecosystems.”

Surveying the environmental policies of the main parties just before June 8, Friends of the Earth scored the Green Party top with 46 points, followed by Labour on 34, the Liberal Democrats on 32 and the Conservatives trailing last with a poor 11.

The environment and climate change did not play a significant role in the Labour Party’s hugely successful election campaign. And though Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn himself rarely mentioned the topic on the campaign trail, the manifesto was a pleasant surprise to many.

“I’ve been really encouraged by Corbyn’s commitment to safeguarding our environment,” Nancy Strang, the women’s officer in Brent Central Labour, tells me. “The 2017 manifesto pledges to increase renewable energy production and investment, to tackle our air quality with a Clean Air Act, to protect Britain’s wildlife, and to ban fracking are all huge steps in the right direction … these pledges go beyond those in any previous Labour Party manifesto that I remember.”

The Green Party’s Dr Rupert Read agrees. “Corbyn’s Labour have some good environmental policies,” he tells me. “For example, their new-found opposition to fracking is much to be welcomed.”

However, he highlights a “fundamental problem” with Labour’s manifesto. “It is their unreconstructed insistence on ‘faster economic growth’,” Read argues.

The environment and climate change did not play a significant role in the Labour Party’s hugely successful election campaign. And though Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn himself rarely mentioned the topic on the campaign trail, the manifesto was a pleasant surprise to many.

“I’ve been really encouraged by Corbyn’s commitment to safeguarding our environment,” Nancy Strang, the women’s officer in Brent Central Labour, tells me. “The 2017 manifesto pledges to increase renewable energy production and investment, to tackle our air quality with a Clean Air Act, to protect Britain’s wildlife, and to ban fracking are all huge steps in the right direction … these pledges go beyond those in any previous Labour Party manifesto that I remember.”

The Green Party’s Dr Rupert Read agrees. “Corbyn’s Labour have some good environmental policies,” he tells me. “For example, their new-found opposition to fracking is much to be welcomed.”

it is clear external political pressure from the Green Party — “they have led where others were not so bold,” says Van Coevorden — also has an essential role to play in pushing Corbyn’s Labour in the right direction on green issues. It should also be noted that Corbyn personally opposes some of the environmentally damaging policies the broader Labour Party currently supports, such as Heathrow expansion and Trident renewal.
So, arguably, increased backing for the Labour leader and sidelining his neoliberal opponents within the party will likely improve Labour’s environmental policies.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. First, because against all the odds Corbyn now has a realistic chance of becoming Prime Minister — YouGov’s latest poll has Labour on 46 per cent and the Tories on 38 per cent. And second, because climate change continues to be an existential threat to humanity, with the Guardian reporting “scientists said they feared for their children” after hearing of US President Donald Trump’s vow to pull out of the Paris climate agreement.

It is, therefore, essential the environment and climate change are thrust to the centre of the national political debate as soon as possible — something Green Party and Labour Party members can both agree on, surely?

It is, therefore, essential the environment and climate change are thrust to the centre of the national political debate as soon as possible — something Green Party and Labour Party members can both agree on, surely?
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-de1a-Labour-must-put-more-focus-on-climate-change

 

 

July 15, 2017 Posted by | climate change, politics, UK | Leave a comment

French government spends €2.0 billion and then €2.5 billion – steps in restructuring nuclear corporation AREVA

 

World Nuclear News 13th July 2017, The restructuring of France’s Areva group has taken a step forward with the implementation of a €2.0 billion ($2.3 billion) capital injection from the French state.

NewCo – Areva’s separated nuclear fuel cycle activities -is also to receive a €2.5 billion capital increase from the state by the end of this month.  http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/C-Areva-implements-capital-increases-1307174.html

July 15, 2017 Posted by | business and costs, France, politics | Leave a comment

Franc e’s Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) has doubts about EDF’s statements on financing of its decommissioning costs

Actu Environnement 12th July 2017 The Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) considers that the EDF file concerning the financing of its decommissioning costs “does not provide sufficient
information to enable it to take a position on the completeness of the
assessment”.

It would like the electrician to explain his calculations and
reconsider certain assumptions. It also considers it necessary for EDF to
present the reactor-to-reactor decommissioning assumptions, rather than an
overall cost estimate extrapolated from the study of a site.

This is themain conclusion of an ASN opinion on the financing of long-term nuclear
loads by French operators published on Wednesday 12 July. This opinion
comes as the level of provisions made up by EDF to cover the dismantling of
its reactors is questioned.

In February, a report from the NationalAssembly estimated that the dismantling costs calculated by EDF revealed a”plausible underestimation”. MEPs criticized among other things “the
optimistic assumptions [and] a number of heavy expenses neglected”.

Unlikemost operators of nuclear installations, EDF does not present an
installation-by-facility assessment. ASN can not therefore analyze the
electrician’s file accurately. For the time being, EDF is relying on the
“DA09” study, which assesses future loads by extrapolating a dismantling
scenario for the four 900-megawatt reactors at the Dampierre (Loiret)
plant. An audit requested by the ministry in charge of energy validated the
method in 2015.

However, the ASN refuses to rule on the accuracy of this
figure since it did not have access to study DA09 or to auditing. In this
case, the Nuclear Constable does not, as a matter of principle, oppose an
assessment to the entire fleet of an assessment based on the dismantling of
a reactor, but it wishes to have access to the documents before making a
decision. Before validating EDF’s estimates, ASN wants to study precisely
two points: the hypotheses considered for the dismantling of the Dampierre
reactor and the extrapolation method at each reactor.
https://www.actu-environnement.com/ae/news/asn-refuse-valider-evaluation-finaniere-demantellement-edf-29383.php4

July 15, 2017 Posted by | business and costs, France, politics | Leave a comment

Controversial choice for boss of UK’s energy price review

Renewable power critic is chosen to head energy price review, Government’s preferred choice of Oxford economist Dieter Helm is controversial owing to criticism of wind and solar power, Guardian, Adam Vaughan and Nick Hopkins, 13 Jul 17, An academic who is a vocal critic of the price of renewable power is the government’s preferred choice to head a review of the financial cost of energy in the UK.

Dieter Helm, an economist at the University of Oxford, has been chosen by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to carry out the review, the Guardian has learned.

The Conservative manifesto promised that the resulting report would be the first step towards “competitive and affordable energy costs”…..

Hannah Martin, head of energy at Greenpeace UK, said: “Dieter has a well-known preference for gas and has historically failed to grasp the full potential of renewables.

“At a time when the costs of offshore wind and solar are plummeting this review needs somebody with the vision to grasp the opportunities offered by clean energy to provide jobs, lower bills and slash carbon pollution.”

Other figures believed to have been in the frame for the job included Lord Turner, the former chair of a government advisory body, the Committee on Climate Change, who recently told the Guardian that Tory policy on onshore wind power was endangering cheap energy in the UK.

However, concerns that the review might be tilted against renewables could be allayed by Helm’s choice of colleagues to work on the report.Guardian

The Guardian understands that he will be aided by a former boss of the National Grid, Steve Holliday, who is a proponent of decentralised energy including batteries, and Richard Nourse of Greencoat Capital, an investment fund supporting clean energy.

Rounding out the proposed team would be Jim Gao, an engineer at an artificial intelligence company, Deepmind, owned by Google, which has been an enthusiastic supporter of renewables.

The review will look at all aspects of the energy industry and how they contribute to the cost of electricity, such as new technologies includingthe rollout of smart meters in millions of homes and the increasing number of electric cars drawing power from the grid………

Helm is also a strong critic of the cost of nuclear power, saying that just to get to the “starting line” of building a new atomic power station in the UK involves a “lengthy, complex and expensive process”.

He has also questioned whether any more new nuclear power plants will be built in the UK after Hinkley Point C in Somerset, which the public spending watchdog recently described as a “risky and expensive project”.

The new energy minister, Richard Harrington, has said the government is still committed to a new generation of nuclear power stations but Helm’s review could provide a justification for abandoning that ambition on cost grounds…… https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/12/renewable-power-energy-costs-review-dieter-helm

July 15, 2017 Posted by | ENERGY, UK | Leave a comment

Revival of Scotland’s onshore wind industry

Business Green 13th July 2017, Hopes that the Scottish onshore wind industry could be revived over the
coming years received a major boost today with the news EDF Energy
Renewables has acquired 11 wind farm sites boasting the potential for up to
600MW of capacity. The company, which is a joint venture between EDF Energy
and EDF Energies Nouvelles, announced it had purchased the sites from
development specialist Partnership for Renewables. Financial details for
the deals were not disclosed.   https://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/3013757/edf-snaps-up-600mw-scottish-wind-farm-portfolio

July 15, 2017 Posted by | renewable, UK | Leave a comment

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