Green groups endorse M4 relief road decision

Environmental groups have endorsed Plaid's decision to focus investment on public transport and to scrap plans for an M4 relief road:

GREEN GROUP WELCOMES SCRAPPING OF GWENT LEVELS
MOTORWAY

Friends of the Earth Cymru today congratulated Transport Minister Ieuan Wyn Jones on scrapping the Gwent Levels motorway scheme.

The six lane toll road would have cost £1 billion, cut a
swathe through the protected Gwent Levels and led to an increase in traffic and
carbon emissions.

Friends of the Earth Cymru, a leading member of CALM, has campaigned against the Gwent Levels motorway, and proposed cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternatives, since the scheme was first proposed over 10 years ago.

Ditching the scheme is an opportunity to resolve the existing road's safety and maintenance problems by lower cost measures along the M4 and other local routes.

Neil Crumpton, Friends of the Earth Cymru campaigner said:

"The scrapping of the unaffordable and traffic-generating Gwent Levels motorway is vital to tackle climate change and cut Wales’ carbon emissions.

“It also provides a huge opportunity for the Assembly Government to resolve the M4's increasing safety and maintenance problems by investing in much more
cost-effective and less damaging measures along the M4 and other local
routes.

“The £1 billion road scheme is a victim of its own price tag in a credit crunch which was partly sparked by rising oil prices. To create a strong and resilient economy Wales must anticipate the global realities of rising fuel and carbon costs in its future transport and economic development plans.

“Ieuan Wyn Jones is to be congratulated for taking this bold decision in the face of a growing climate crisis.”

Severn Estuary Public Meeting

Last week Plaid organised a public meeting in Penarth to discuss the potential impact of a Cardiff to Weston or Severn Barrage. More than 150 people attended to hear Gordon James from Friends of the Earth, Peter Jones from the RSPB, and Plaid MEP Jill Evans spoke. In general, people opposed the Barrage because of the effect it would have on the envionment, the disruption it would cause to their communities and that it would take more than twenty years to construct. Most people supported harnessing energy in the estuary., but preferred the less damaging alternatives.

It was clear from the meeting that the UK Government has not disseminated enough information about its plans for the Severn Estuary. People at the meeting had not been contacted by any government agency and so it could be said that the local community's feelings are not being taken considered as part of the decision-making process. That's why we organised the meeting and why we have distributed information about the consultation. Hopefully the voice of communities in and around will now be heard.

Public meeting on proposals for the Severn

Chris Franks and I are hosting a public meeting on the plans for a Severn Barrage and whether the other potential energy projects would be less damaging to the environment and the surrounding communities.

A barrage will have an impact on the wider area of Cardiff and the Vale (not to mention the communities on the English side of the estuary).

It is an open meeting, admission is free and everyone is welcome to attend.

Date: Monday 6th April

Venue: The Paget Rooms, Penarth

Time: 7-9 PM

Speakers: Jill Evans MEP (Plaid Cymru), Gordon James (Friends of the Earth Cymru), Peter Jones (RSPB)

Wales - 13th Worst Carbon Dioxide Emitting Country in the World

Leaving aside that the "report" is one of a series of regular research briefings prepared by the Assembly's Research Unit to update AMs on the latest available data on climate change, this article makes some serious points.

Climate change is fast turning into a climate crisis. We are already witnessing melting ice caps, rising sea levels, more natural disasters such as floods, droughts and storms, unreliable and shifting agricultural patterns, the loss of wildlife and species extinction and the destruction of sea life habitats. Today we are watching the tragic consequences unfold from the fires in Australia. Very few serious people are now denying what professor Sir David King, Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government called back in 2004 "the biggest problem facing us globally this century. There is no bigger problem. The threat is quite simple; it's a threat to our civilisation."

Gordon James from Friends of the Earth is right when he says “The abundant political rhetoric we have had on the subject must be replaced by courageous action that will bring about big reductions in emissions in the very near future. Last week’s decision to give the go-ahead to a large power station at Pembroke instead of the far more efficient combined heat and power systems just shows how politicians are still delivering business as usual responses rather than the radical policy changes that are now essential.”

The story is taken up in the Western Mail editorial which says "Decisions like approving a huge opencast mine at Merthyr Tydfil and a gas-fired power station at Pembroke, which does not conform to the highest possible environmental standards, suggest the political commitment to combating climate change is no more than skin deep. It is no wonder that members of the public are confused by the very apparent mixed messages they are being fed."

The Assembly had no say over the LNG power station in Pembrokeshire. Recognising this lack of power as a major barrier to progress on cutting Welsh carbon dioxide emissions, the editorial goes on to argue for the Assembly to "have planning control over the biggest power station applications – the very plants that have the greatest impact on climate change." Of course, I agree that this would be a good step, but we've still got a long way to go before we resolve the jobs versus environment arguement in a way which doesn't involve building more and more massive polluters.

A new option in the Severn Barrage debate

Today the RSPB have issued a report proposing a 'Severn Reef'. UK and Welsh Ministers are currently overseeing a Feasibility Study into the generating power of the Severn estuary. Most people have heard about the Severn Barrage proposal, but other ideas are also being considered. The Feasibility Study is looking at the best way to harness the tides in the Severn, which are the 2nd most powerful in the world. We must use these tides to create renewable energy in a way that does not fundamentally harm the environment. The RSPB and others say that the proposed Barrage would alter the Severn's tides forever and could have a huge impact on wildlife, especially birds.

An alternative is to deploy a number of tidal lagoons, which could be linked to local communities onshore. Friends of the Earth have said that tidal lagoons could generate even more power than the Severn Barrage, for a fraction of the cost, although they accept that more aggregates would have to be used in the construction. Tidal lagoons are untested technology, but are nevertheless being considered by the joint Feasibility Study.

The RPSB are now adding another alternative to the debate. They tasked an engineering company to draw up ideas for a 'reef' project which would cost about £2billion less than the Barrage and produce around 20,000 GW of electricity, which is more energy than the Severn Barrage's projected 17,000 GW. The RSPB say that their Reef is "more in tune with the way the estuary works" and would be able to produce electricity for longer and more sustained periods than the Barrage. I intend to raise this idea with the One Wales Sustainability Minister Jane Davidson to ensure that the RSPB's proposal is fully considered as part of the debate on the Severn estuary.