The UK has been going through a green energy transition from coal and gas to renewables. Labour have promised to accelerate this, in part by creating the Scotland-based Great British Energy. But it faces significant challenges. In their Manifesto Labour promised to “work with …
The election – climate change has gone missing
If you have been watching the leaders’ debates and the announcements from the political parties, you may be wondering what’s happened to climate change. A recent poll showed that two thirds of people in Scotland think that climate change should be a …
New reactor for Scotland not as improbable as it seems
Last week’s surprise revelation that the UK Government is planning to build a new nuclear station in Scotland is perhaps not as unlikely as it seems. Despite nuclear power making no economic or environmental sense. When Alister Jack said that the 2026 …
Renewables energy’s rise and rise
Renewable energy prices are tumbling and installation rates are surging ahead. In almost every part of the world, it is cheaper to install wind and solar than it is to invest in new fossil-fuel power generation. Globally renewable energy grew by a …
Nuclear PR push can’t change the facts
The UK’s nuclear enthusiasts have been on another PR offensive, with announcements of new reactors and possible life extensions to old reactors. All of it denying the reality that nuclear is much too slow and much too expensive to be …
Energy trends give hope on climate
Green energy is progressing in leaps and bounds around the world but the UK Government is still backing the wrong horses. New figures from the International Energy Agency show that almost all the global electricity installed in the next three years …
German nuclear phaseout signals the end for nuclear in Europe
Future generations will look back at our flirtation with the most unsustainable and most expensive form of energy production – nuclear power – and curse us for the mess we have left them. But the end is beginning to be in sight …
UK climate plan still falls short
Revised UK climate plans continue to fall short of delivering on internationally-agreed targets while new energy plans continue to back expanding oil and gas production. Last week the UK Government released 44 climate and energy documents, including a revised version …
Nuclear still not the answer
The nuclear industry and their friends are stepping up their propaganda war but their terrible track record shows that new reactors are still not the answer to reducing emissions or supplying affordable power. The UK Committee on Climate Change, official …
What the Energy Strategy really said about fossil fuels
In response to last week’s Scottish Government Energy Strategy one newspaper ran a front page headline announcing the end of the oil and gas industry. The truth is less clear. The long-awaited new Strategy is a draft and public responses are …
The environment in 2022
In the midst of war and a cost of living crisis, some good things were achieved for the environment but we also went backwards in 2022. The climate scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change produced a report on …
Nuclear at Ineos – a gift to campaigners
The talks between Ineos and Rolls Royce about siting a nuclear reactor at the Grangemouth refinery are a huge early Christmas gift to campaigners opposed to a new generation of nuclear. The idea contains the perfect combination of elements needed to …