Greens lead support for climate camp

4th August 2008

Thanks to Green Party Councillors, Sheffield City Council voted in last week’s Full Council meeting to send a message of support to the Climate Camp at the site of the Kingsnorth Power Station in Kent. The Council also demanded that the government does not build another coal-fired power station on the site.

Sheffield Green Party Councillor Bernard Little, who proposed the motion, said, “Kingsnorth will be the first new coal-fired power station to be built in
Britain for over 30 years. It will emit more CO2 every year than the world's
24 lowest emitting countries combined and contribute to a quarter of global
CO2 emissions from burning coal. The Government says they will ‘retrofit’ the power plant so that carbon can be captured and stored in old oil wells, but the technology is at least ten years away and we don’t even know if it will work.

“The UK has committed to cutting emissions by 40% by 2020, so why are the Government building more coal-fired power stations? We have also committed to producing 40% of out energy from renewable sources by 2020 Renewable energy also has the potential to generate thousands of jobs, especially in a city of technology and industry like Sheffield, we are saddened that the Labour group voted against our motion.

“The council will now write to Sheffield MPs and the Business Minister John
Hutton demanding a public enquiry into the proposed Kingsnorth power station and a stop on the building of coal fired power stations. We hope that the Government will listen to the message sent by Sheffield City Council and the Climate Camp at Kingsnorth”.

ENDS