Kingsnorth

Prince Charles joins clamour against coal as industry greenwash steps up

Posted by bex — 14 February 2008 at 6:09pm - Comments

Blimey. First Al Gore, then Nasa's top scientist and now Prince Charles. Yep, Charlie has joined the clamour against new coal and, while he didn't go as far as Gore and call for "rings of young people blocking bulldozers," he did stand up in front of the European parliament and ask:

"Can we really understand the dynamics of a world in which energy and food security will become real issues for everyone? ... Can we possibly allow twenty years of business as usual before coal powered generation becomes clean? Are we truly investing enough in renewable energy?"

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, eon, greenwash, kingsnorth, prince charles

Kingsnorth, court cases and climate scientists - an update on our coal campaign

Posted by bex — 12 February 2008 at 11:09am - Comments

Greenpeace volunteers at the top of Kingsnorth's chimney

Jubilant climbers on top of the chimney at Kingsnorth power station in October

I've been so busy with the launch of EfficienCity (our blueprint for a climate-friendly town) that I haven't had a chance to update you on all the goings on in our coal campaign since we delivered our alternative energy speech at the government / industry shindig last Wednesday.

On Friday morning, listeners of Radio 4's Today programme heard a withering attack on the proposed new coal plant at Kingsnorth from top Nasa scientist (and the world's most eminent climate scientist) James Hansen. The plans for the UK's first new coal plant in 30 years were, he said, a "terrible idea" which “will destroy the efforts of millions of citizens to reduce their carbon emissions”.

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, james hansen, kingsnorth, legal

Kingsnorth - it's time for a public inquiry

Posted by jossc — 6 February 2008 at 5:42pm - Comments

Coal power? No thanks!

Following the disclosure last week that power-generating company Eon has been negotiating behind the scenes to get the government's backing to build the UK's first new coal-fired power station for 30 years, Greenpeace's lawyers have written to the energy minister, John Hutton, to insist that the government hold a public inquiry.

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, energy, kingsnorth

Greenpeace blockades government / coal industry love-in

Posted by bex — 6 February 2008 at 9:33am - Comments

Coal UK: cancelled due to climate change

Coal UK: cancelled due to climate change

This morning, energy minister Malcolm Wicks made his way to Lord's Cricket ground in London to deliver the opening speech for the coal industry's annual shindig.

He was expecting, we assume, to evangelise on the glorious future of coal in the UK, to the rapt and thunderous applause of his chums in the industry.

He probably wasn't expecting to find two metre fences blocking four of the entrances to the industry-government love-in, complete with climate change campaigners chained to the barricades.

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, energy, kingsnorth, malcolm wicks

Coal giant dictates government climate policy

Posted by bex — 31 January 2008 at 8:50pm - Comments

One email, four words and six minutes: that’s how long it took for the government to reverse its energy policy and trash our chances of meeting our climate change targets.

We’ve got our mitts on some government documents which show how a single angry email from E.on destroyed a central pillar of the government’s energy policy in just a few minutes.

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, eon, kingsnorth

The problem with carbon capture and storage (CCS)

Posted by bex — 3 January 2008 at 3:50pm - Comments

E.ON is arguing for its new coal plant on the basis that it will include carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. So, is CCS is a silver bullet? Or is it just another false solution, touted by an industry desperately trying to stay relevant in a carbon constrained world?

CCS is a means of separating out carbon dioxide when burning fossil fuels, and then dumping it - underground, or else at or under the sea bed.

CCS isn't commercially viable; there are no commercially operating CCS plants in the world. And for all the industry's obfuscation, the new plant at Kingsnorth won't be able to capture and store carbon; it will just be ready to incorporate CCS should the technology ever become viable in the future.

Article tagged as: CCS, clean coal, climate change, coal, kingsnorth

New coal: the battlelines are drawn

Posted by bex — 3 January 2008 at 11:15am - Comments

Coal fired power plant

It will be the UK's first new coal fired power plant in 34 years. It will emit as much carbon dioxide as the 30 least polluting nations in the world combined. And the world's leading climate scientist has called it "a tipping point for the world".

The proposal for a new coal-fired power plant at Kingsnorth in Kent has been given the go-ahead by Medway Council. At a meeting last night, only three of the 16 councillers objected to E.ON's application, meaning that the plant - which will generate electricity in the most climate-wrecking way known to humankind - has been approved, potentially starting a new coal rush in the UK.

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, energy, kingsnorth

Letter to the prime minister: your leadership is needed

Posted by bex — 19 December 2007 at 1:05pm - Comments

A couple of days ago, I wrote that leading climate scientist and director of Nasa's Goddard Institute James Hansen was planning to write to Gordon Brown, urging him to stop the new coal rush in the UK.

Here's the full text of that letter. It's powerful stuff, and piles the pressure onto Gordon Brown ahead of next month's decision by Medway Council, on whether to allow the first new coal plant in 30 years to be built at Kingsnorth.

Article tagged as: climate change, coal, gordon brown, james hansen, kingsnorth

No new coal (it's not rocket science, Gordon)

Posted by bex — 17 December 2007 at 4:02pm - Comments

No new coal

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that building a load of new coal power plants probably isn't the brightest idea for the future of our planet, but it's nice when a rocket scientist comes out and says it.

The director of Nasa's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Dr. James Hansen, has joined the debate on the UK's the new coal rush, and is writing to Gordon Brown to urge him to block plans to build up to eight new coal-fired power stations.

Article tagged as: coal, fossil fuels, gordon brown, james hansen, kingsnorth, NASA
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