UK's progress on nature and the environment 'painfully slow'

 But we knew this already, didn't we?

MPs have been highly critical of the "serious delays" in implementing legislation and "disappointing progress" towards existing environmental goals. This is just another in the litany of DEFRA's failures. Perhaps it's time a few underperforming civil servants were cleared out.

Whitehaven Coal Mine - Nailing My MP's Complacency

 I couldn't let her flabby response to me go unanswered:

Dear Ms Richardson,

Thank you for your email of 18 February in response to mine of 5 February with respect to the proposed Whitehaven deep coal mine.

I am writing to you again because I find the details in your email alarmingly complacent.

IPCC modelling has clearly indicated that to limit warming to 1.5C requires that CO2 emissions are reduced globally by 50% by 2030. This requires urgent action across all sectors of the ecomony, including carbon intensive heavy industry. To provide the steel industry with a get-out-of-jail-free option when all the emphasis should be on encouraging it to seek low carbon energy sources is illogical to say the least. I refer you to the Swedish HYBRIT project aiming to make fossil free steel available by 2026. Even the conversion of Whitehaven coal to so-called "blue" hydrogen for such a purpose would be better than the current proposals.

I also note that the expectation is that only some 15% of the Whitehaven production would be destined for the UK steel industry with the other 85% being exported. Frankly this makes risible the claim that the overall carbon cost of the project would be reduced through lower transport needs. Furthermore it brings into doubt your claim that "the extracted coal would be exclusively for steel production rather than energy production". How would the UK control the use of the 85% exported portion? Granted, coal of this quality would not normally be used in power generation anyway but that is no justification for the proposed project.

Finally, in my previous email I refrained from mentioning the UK's role in the forthcoming COP26. The irony of hosting this pivotal gathering while at the same time sanctioning a retrograde deep coal mine is surely too stark to be ignored.

Yours sincerely

Richard Bawden

Whitehaven Coal Mine - Can You Believe This From My MP? Breathtaking Complacency

 This just leaves me spitting mad!! Her complacency is utterly breathtaking.

Dear Richard,

 

Thank you for contacting me about the Whitehaven coal mine.

 

Planning decisions are made at the local level, a fundamental and important element of local democracy at the heart of our planning system. Local councillors are elected to represent their communities and it is important that local autonomy is respected as much as possible. The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has the power to ‘call-in’ planning applications rather than letting the local authority decide, though this will typically only be done in situations where the application conflicts with national policy in significant ways.

 

I am aware of reports that the Council is having the planning application reconsidered by its Development Control and Regulation Committee.

 

As this is a decision for the Council, you may be interested to read the Executive Director for Economy and Infrastructure's conclusion on the planning application: "I am convinced that there are considerable benefits resulting from the development, not least the potential number of highly skilled jobs on offer and benefit to the UK economy. The project also contributes to the supply of coking coal for the UK steel industry, which is a critical raw material.

 

"Overall, the development and its wider impacts when considered as a whole would currently reduce global [greenhouse gas] emissions as a result of savings made from reduced transportation distances of coal to the steelworks and other emissions being neutral. This would be expected to remain the case until more environmentally friendly methods of steel manufacture and transportation are developed to be commercially viable."

 

It is worth mentioning that the extracted coal would be used exclusively for steel production rather than energy production. The Government has confirmed its commitment to end unabated coal-power generation from 2025 and is consulting on bringing this date forward to 2024. This would ensure that the deadline for the phase-out of coal from Britain’s energy system is 1 October 2024. I hope that coal-generated energy will soon be a distant memory as the UK builds a greener and more resilient in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.

 

Best wishes,

 

 

Angela Richardson MP Member of Parliament for Guildford House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA Tel: 020 7219 5851   Find me on:    To subscribe to my newsletter, please click here.

Blimey! A Response (of Sorts) from my MP

 Well, that's alright then!

Dear Richard,

 

Thank you for contacting me about the response to the pandemic.

 

The response in the UK has been guided by science, as the bedrock on which the Government is making its decisions. My colleagues across government have been working with the health, transport, business, education, and commercial partners, throughout this difficult time, ensuring we are doing all we can to support the NHS and to save lives.

 

It has been an ever-changing situation that has sometimes changed rapidly. Numerous Government Ministers have admitted that there have been shortcomings in the response, but whilst we are in the midst of a challenging period where a national lockdown is necessary all effort is going into doing everything possible to improve the situation.

 

This is a national effort, and I am grateful to NHS staff, key workers, and all members of the public doing their bit to slow the spread of the virus.

 

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.

 

Best wishes,

 

 

Angela Richardson MP Member of Parliament for Guildford House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA Tel: 020 7219 5851   Find me on:    To subscribe to my newsletter, please click here.