Joy as climate vandal Kingsnorth is 'postponed'

Last modified: 08 October 2009

Power company E.On has announced it is to shelve plans for a new coal-fired power station in Kent for three years.

The RSPB believes this is great news for the environment.

Had it gone ahead the Kingsnorth plant would have pumped millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Ruth Davis, the RSPB’s Head of Climate Change Policy, said: “This is a victory for the thousands of campaigners who have spent the last three years fighting this proposal.

“It was sheer madness to consider building a new, dirty coal station just when emissions need to be slashed to avoid dangerous climate change.”

However, while the ‘postponement’ of Kingsnorth is good news, it has not put an end to the threat from dirty coal.

Other plants are planned, including at Hunterston in Scotland, which, as well as contributing to climate change, would destroy hundreds of acres of wildlife habitat that is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest on the Clyde Estuary.

Ruth Davis said: “If this is to be a real 'green letter day' for the climate, the end of Kingsnorth must also signal the end for dirty coal, full-stop. The Government in Westminster now has a fantastic opportunity to start again with a clear slate, and implement a truly sustainable energy policy for the UK.

“We also call on Ayrshire power and the Scottish Government to abandon plans for the climate wrecking power station at Hunterston to help realise this goal.”

This autumn, the Government will introduce a new Energy Bill to Parliament, offering a real chance to get the UK’s energy policy on the right track.

The RSPB and its supporters will be campaigning to make sure that the Bill includes the tough pollution standards for all power plants, which are needed to create a zero-carbon power sector by 2030.

There also needs to be increased investment in Carbon Capture and Storage technology, which takes the emissions from coal stations and buries them underground.

Ruth Davis said: “Power stations that capture all their carbon emissions in this way offer the chance to dramatically reduce emissions from fossil fuels, yet successive Governments have put off making the investment needed.

“This isn't good enough. There are CCS projects out there waiting for the green light - projects which, unlike Kingsnorth, will not produce millions of tonnes of new carbon dioxide pollution.

“When we get the Energy Bill we are looking for, we will know that today's announcement by E.On really did signal the dawn of a new era of green, clean power for the UK. Until then, this is just a welcome step on the way.”