By Fred Pearce–Gordon Brown is keen to take the high ground on climate change, in the run-up to the Copenhagen climate conference. Witness his eagerness to claim success when European heads of state discussed setting up a climate fund for developing countries last week.
But is it greenwash? Or, since we are now in the world of politics, is it green spin?
A key test of Brown’s seriousness will be how he treats the coal industry in Britain. And in particular his approach to the proposed technology of carbon capture and storage (CCS) – the idea of catching carbon dioxide emissions as they go up the stack and transporting them for burial in holes in the ground or under the ocean.
Bright and breezy in his first prime minister’s question time of the new term, Brown last month sounded tough on coal. Katy Clark, MP for North Ayrshire – where there are plans for a new coal power station at Hunterston – asked him whether the government would insist on the plant capturing its carbon emissions. He replied: “Any new coal power station has got to be carbon-capture compliant.” Full Story
