The overriding issue here is cleaner air for all our citizens. EU countries are transitioning too away from coal.

I think the overriding issue here is the spiraling cost of energy.

The threat of pensioners going cold this winter due to energy costs that are three times more than in the United States for example 

The consequential issue then becomes excessive profiteering from the energy companies.

Why haven't windfall taxes been imposed to cover the cost of the winter fuel allowances?

 

Just putting a windfall tax on energy companies isn't the answer. Prices will continue to spiral.

OFGEM, have to do their job and cap prices to the consumer at a reasonable level, so pensioners don't have to choose between heating their home or having enough to eat.

Yes OFGEN need to be more aggressive. Perhaps a rise in fuel duty could help reinstate the winter fuel allowance, together with a windfall tax

The cancelled coal mine proposal in Cumbria.... that coal wasn't suitable for coal burning UK power stations

The cancelled coal mine has good quality coal that can be used in our steel industry, but unfortunately our steel industry will be non existent soon.

Our navy ships will have to be built abroad. What a shambles.

And China is flooding the market with cheap steel, where their steel industry is supplied by hundreds of their coalmines.

Like I said, the Chinese are laughing at us.

Net Zero? Never going to Happen, because China Russia and India won't stop using Fossil Fuels. Those countries along with others in Central America will keep pumping stuff into the Earth's Atmosphere and the only people who will Suffer are those in Western Countries like the UK, who's Governments persist in trying to reach an Unobtainable Goal of Net Zero, and being forced into paying More and More in Taxes. The Elites aren't bothered about Net Zero all they want is a Poor and Weak Population which they can Dominate and Control.

@Wheelbarrow repair man. Totally agree, In the early sixties my mum would get up and make the coal fire in the sitting room, then make one in the lounge. The water was heated from a boiler behind the coal fire.

Some people had a coal fire in the kitchen which had an oven next to it. Later the coal was replaced by coke & an enclosed fire that was smokeless.

Now it is all gas heating and they want us all to have a heat pump eventually. But what people don't realise. With a coal fire you always had an independent source of heat. No one could switch your fire off. Coal was cheap because of competition & you could use wood or logs too. Now the government can have your gas & electricity switched off if they wanted. They have control.

The price of energy now is so extortionate & takes a big part of your income. But now the ability to have alternative sources of heat is being taken away. New houses don't have chimneys. Chimneys for open fires have been converted to gas flues.

But the government doesn't say anything about  the chemicals that are put in food to preserve it. Chemicals that are long term harmful.

On 17/09/2024 at 12:21, Robbie said:

The cancelled coal mine has good quality coal that can be used in our steel industry

No, steel industry is moving / has moved to electric arc furnaces!

Where are you getting this info from?

Oh dear. Not very environmentally friendly are these EAF furnaces.

"What are the hazards of electric arc furnaces?

The slag generated from the EAF process can contain toxic metals, which can be hazardous to human and environmental health".

Source Google 

And what happens when there's a power cut?

The problem with net zero is that it is a fallacy. In its current state, net zero is effectively translated to greenwashing and climate virtue signalling.

 

The practical reality is we now import the co2 or other pollutant creating products from other countries, often countries that have less environmental protections or standards. You have the increased energy cost of transporting whatever it may be that is being imported and the resulting earth cost is.... Net gain. 

 

But we can stick a green sticker somewhere and a politician can be congratulated for the amazing work that they haven't done. 

Never a true word spoken.

 

 

It's ludicrous to say that it's "as simple as leaving fossil fuels in the ground". 

 

If you did that today, millions would be dead in weeks.

 

The only way out I can see is technological advancement that is as cost effective as burning fossil fuels. You can get away with higher prices for "green" - quotations for a reason - energy in Germany, other western nations, for a time, while the economy is fine-ish. Eventually even this will come to a crux.

The important thing is price efficiency. Whatever replaces fossil fuels must be economically as viable, or, cheaper than the alternative. Currently, the only thing that comes close to that is nuclear power plants, yet Germany is closing theirs down. France doing a pretty good job in building their number up though, hence why we import from them while Wallace from Wallace and gromit is building a few wind turbines in Scotland. 

 

One thing that will not convince anybody, nor bring a solution any closer, is wearing an orange shirt and gluing yourself to the motorway. Perhaps we could set up giant hamster wheels for these people, directly fed to the grid. That would be both environmentally beneficial and cover their prison sentences. 

It's a sad day as far as I'm concerned with this coal fired power station closing, when we are having to import electricity from abroad at peak times.

One could easily call the "Race to Net Zero", as the "Race to this Country's Self Harm"

And added to this today is the closing of the blast furnaces in South Wales.

As I said, it is the "Race to this County's self harm"

USA, China, Russia & India are having a big chuckle to themselves today at the UK's expense..

Dear @Robbie Lets be clear "It's a sad day as far as I'm concerned with this coal fired power station closing, when we are having to import electricity from abroad at peak times"

This is because : The Tory government over the past 14 years dithered on nuclear power and failed to build wind turbines inshore / on land because of nimbyism.

These policies have let the country down big time.

Again, the closing of the blast furnaces at Port Talbot hasnt been flagged for donkeys years. Other European countries protected their steel industries by moving to electric arc furnaces. The last UK government of 14 years just sat on their hands and watched Port Talbot employees just lose their jobs.

This government now owns the fact that they allowed the last coal fired power station to close. They will allow the proposed Coal Mine in Cumbria to die a death 

Our energy prices are going up & other Country's energy prices are going down.

This is terrible for the poor & hard up pensioners. It's terrible for people on low incomes. As I said, this government now owns it.

@Robbie"This government now owns the fact that they allowed the lady coal fired power station to close."

The last coal train to the power station  was under the last Tory government. So nothing to do with the current government

Spain invested in nuclear, have extensive inland wind turbine farms. Spot the difference why Spain has lower energy prices!

 

 

 

6 hours ago, Robbie said:

 

 

The tweet exposes Claire's misunderstanding of the oil and gas industry

"Why? We won’t stop needing oil and gas - we’ll just import it instead."

North Sea oil and gas are sold directly on to international markets. It is not ring fenced for the UK!

Wouldn't you know, Tony Blair & Labour messed up regarding the UK's future Nuclear Energy needs.

"Tony Blair's plan to pave the way for a new generation of nuclear power stations by the time he leaves office was in disarray yesterday after the high court ruled the government had carried out a "misleading" and "seriously flawed" consultation on its energy review".

 

Judge deals blow to Blair's nuclear plans | Labour | The Guardian

WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM

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Court rules consultation on power stations was 'misleading and flawed'.