A report from MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, confirms what a lot of people have thought for some time, there is no way that CO2 emissions can be cut to safer levels without cleaning up coal fired power stations.
MIT agree that it is going to be expensive to clean up coal in the US, and will no doubt cost just as much in the UK, but there is no choice. The UK government were right to insist that all new coal fired power stations must be built with CO2 capture in place. The reaction from the power companies was predictable - asking for exemptions if the technology was not ready by the time the stations were built. That’s just a case of profits coming before responsibilities and should be ignored.
Despite all the whinging from the energy PLCs there is no doubt now that electricity produced from coal is severely harming the planet. It must go and be replaced by renewables and energy saving measures on a huge scale.
One day soon governments will turn their attention to the impact of climate change is having on food supply. All the main UK political parties are so fixated on energy security they cannot even consider that there is a similar crisis looming in food security. The two issues are irrevocably linked; they just need to be able to see that and do something! (See this post)
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