Although a commitment to end fossil fuel burning was agreed in principle at the last COP, there has been little movement. Carbon emissions look set to continue for a long time and crucially, we are absolutely failing to halt global warming.
Are we doomed?
We are left with one last option. We refuse to halt the burning of fossil fuels with sufficient speed, so we must catch the resulting emissions as they are created or even after they have reached the atmosphere. Developing ways to extract carbon emissions at factories and power plants and sequestering them seems a necessity. This process is carbon capture and storage (CCS) and is one that New Forest residents recently became familiar with when ExxonMobil announced their intentions to build a pipeline either across the New Forest National Park or across the SSSIs of the Isle of Wight. Obviously, all routes were unacceptable to us. Amongst huge and justifiable public outcry, Exxon withdrew. (See previous blog posts)
In addition, we had a strong feeling that the reason Exxon were so keen to remove carbon was to allow the extraction of hydrogen from methane, CH4. Carbon would remain as a result of the process of methane cracking or methane pyrolysis. This extraction of 'blue' hydrogen would allow Exxon to extend fossil fuel use indefinitely. We would like to see investment in green hydrogen which is obtained from the electrolysis of water. it is powered by renewable energy so generates no polluting gases into the atmosphere. It is the cleanest and most sustainable hydrogen, and we would like to see this as the energy of the future.
On the same day as Exxon's withdrawal, the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, announced a £22bn investment in CCS schemes that would eventually lead to 8.5m tonnes of carbon dioxide a year being removed from emissions from British industrial plants. As the UK emitted 384m tonnes of carbon dioxide last year, the scheme will make little difference to our overall contribution to global warming. However, if successful, it could offer an additional weapon in the fight against global warming; a weapon that sits alongside renewable energy, electric cars and home insulation. This seems laudable, but questions remain.
Is the construction of a pipeline across a national park or an SSSI ever permissable? We think absolutely not. Should industries such as concrete and cement, in which carbon dioxide release is an inevitable consequence of production, the so called hard-to-abate industries, be treated in the same way as those that burn fossil fuels? Should public money really be spent on cleaning up emissions created by the fossil fuels that make private companies such as Exxon so rich, for example? There is much to consider. And remember: Exxon have withdrawn for the moment .
New Forest Friends of the Earth will discuss future policy at their next meeting on October 22. Come along if you have a view on this issue.
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