A better world is possible - Global Commons Institute

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Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. www.brucenixon.com Cut aviation emissions. The report recommends tackling emissions from the aviation sector by: Reducing demand. The government should promote video conferencing as part of business travel initiatives, and the current Air Passenger Duty should be replaced by a charge per aircraft, adjusted by weight and distance. Rail enhancements including high speed lines, for the longer term, planned as an alternative to short distance flights. Domestic aviation should pay fuel duty and VAT with money raised used to cut other taxes and charges and invest in rail. Conclusions Amongst the conclusions I draw, from this and other sources, about the future of our energy are as follows: Our energy future - Global A combination of radical reduction in energy use and waste and lifestyle change More efficient technology and new sources of energy An exciting, challenging and expensive transition Better ways to travel, better conditions in our towns, cities and countryside, better health, greater tranquillity – in short a better life New enterprises and new jobs Different nations and bio-regions within them will develop their unique solutions and take advantage of natural advantages The most promising renewable source for large scale use is concentrating solar power using moving mirrors, molten salt, steam, and heat engines from desert sources, where there is plentiful sunshine, large areas and low population densities The way forward for the UK. David McKay reaches some uncomfortable conclusions about the way forward for the UK. He calculates that UK will need to reduce its consumption of “stuff”, a high proportion of which is currently imported at a cost of at least 40kWh per day per person. For renewables such as biomass, wave power and wind power to make a significant contribution requires country-sized solutions. To meet 25% of current energy consumption, 75% of the UK would have to be covered with biomass plantations, not an unacceptable solution. To provide 4% of our current consumption through wave power would require 500km of our Atlantic coast line. Wind power would need similarly large areas and for that reason would be best located out at sea. Provided economic constraints and public objections are resolved, the average EU energy consumption of 125kWh/d per person can be provided. But UK needs to reduce it by electrifying transport and electrifying heating using heat pumps. Electrifying transport will require a substantial increase in electricity generation. For the UK, the best plan for green sources of carbon free energy will make use of a combination of many different sources, national, regional and local community schemes, that take advantage of our natural advantages of sea, coast, wind, water (hydro), wood together with pumped heat, a substantial source, photovoltaic panels and heat and power generated from waste. David McKay confirms that a plan that does not make large use of coal and nuclear will require a significant part of our needs to be met in collaboration with other countries in the North Sea area and solar power from the Mediterranean region. New buildings, like the German Passivhaus, can be carbon neutral, requiring no energy for heating. However as has been pointed out earlier, the big problem in countries like the UK is the very large legacy of “leaky” buildings requiring retrofitting that many people will find difficult to afford. For the domestic user, David 116
Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only. www.brucenixon.com McKay believes that turning down the thermostat is the single most effective strategy. Roof top solar heaters can supply half of a family’s hot water. In general, domestic roof mounted micro-wind turbines are too expensive to be viable, and never pay for themselves. Combined heat and power in buildings, generating local electricity and heat, are only slightly more efficient than the standard way, if fossil fuel is used. It is much better to generate from heat pumps using electricity. A main source for this section of the chapter has been David MacKay’s Sustainable Energy - Without the Hot Air. A New Green Deal If we want all this to happen, a Green New Deal is needed, as proposed by the Green New Deal Coalition initiated by the New Economics Foundation (nef). This offers not only a way of greening countries like the UK but also a way of reviving the global economy as a whole, providing new green jobs and combating escalating unemployment (next chapter). Action Resources The vested interests opposing these reforms may seem overwhelming. But ordinary people far outnumber them. We need to get proposals like these into the minds of our new coalition, other governments and negotiators for the next UN Summit in Cancun Mexico, 29 th November to 10 th December, 2010 and beyond. Be part of a mass global movement to lobby and participate in Demonstrations: Use Stop Climate Change Chaos Coalition, New Economics Foundation (nef), Christian Aid, Greenpeace, Operation Noah, Oxfam and the World Development Movement. 117
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A better world is possible - Global Commons Institute

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