Posts tagged ‘UK’
UK and Canada pushing coal closure Alliance at UN climate Conference COP23
Anglesea coal mine
The United Kingdom and Canada have formed an alliance to champion phase out of unabated coal at the UN Climate Conference in Bonn – COP23 – in November 2017. After hearing the latest energy policy announcement from Prime Minister Turnbull on the National Energy Guarantee, I doubt that Australia will be up to the task of joining this alliance. We are falling further behind the new climate leaders.
Canada’s Minister for Environment and Climate change Catherine McKenna and her UK counterpart, Minister of State for Climate Change and Industry, Claire Perry, issued a joint statement on 11 October, following a successful meeting:
“Today, we announce that Canada and the United Kingdom (U.K.) will champion a global alliance on the transition from unabated coal-fired electricityat next month’s United Nations climate change meetings in Bonn, Germany. From cleaner air, to public health, to sustainability, the benefits of moving towards low or non-emitting sources of power are clear.
(more…)
Europe Diary: Report from the UK on renewables
John Englart reports from the UK that Shell has abandoned Arctic oil exploration for foreseeable future citing the costs involved and the regulatory environment, but this is really a win for the climate movement who have campaigned against Arctic oil as fossil fuel resources that need to remain unburnt. We must remember that BP is undertaking deep water oil exploration in the Great Australian Bight including in a marine sanctuary. All Deep Sea oil needs to remain unburnt for a safe climate.
John visited northern Wales where Hydro power and pumped hydro power is generated. The Dinorwig Power Station, a 1,728-megawatt (2,317,000 hp) pumped-storage hydroelectric scheme, near Dinorwig, Llanberis, with 16km of tunnels, is located at the site of a slate quarry and provides short term operating reserve power for the national grid. It was completed in 1984 after 10 years of construction.
On the southern side of Mount Snowdon the Cwm Dyli Hydro Power Station at Nant Gwynant is one of the oldest grid connected continuously operated hydro schemes in Wales. It was originally commissioned in 1906 to supply power to the slate industry in the area and was upgraded in 1988. A single turbine produces up to 9.8 megawatts of electricity for the National Grid. It is noted as the first power station in the UK to generate alternating current (AC) electricity.
On his travels south he paid a visit to the 23Mw Alltwalis Wind Farm near Pencader consisting of 10 110-metre tall towers at Blaengwen on the hills above Gwyddgrug, Pencader in Carmarthenshire, Wales. This wind farm went into operation in January 2010.
Like Australia, there are the detractors here concerned about visual impact on the landscape who oppose new wind and solar farms in the planning process. But there is general support for more solar farms and wind farms.
The conservative Cameron Government has been going backwards winding back incentives for both solar and wind energy. The IEA has scaled back it’s UK #renewables forecast, citing policy uncertainty under Cameron.
Climate Action Merribek: people in Brunswick, Coburg, Fawkner and Glenroy wanting action on climate change 