George Osborne seems to love the fossil fuel industry, offering perks at every opportunity. The autumn statement on the 5th of December was no exception.
Nobody was surprised that the statement contained details of the controversial gas generation strategy – aka the dash for gas. This involves generous tax incentives to encourage companies to exploit the UK’s shale gas through fracking and drilling.
This would inevitably lead to an increase in carbon emissions, something which neither the country nor the world can afford, as well as the local environmental problems caused by fracking. These include small earthquakes and water pollution.
At a time when the impact of climate change is becoming ever more obvious, the UK should be expanding renewables, not investing in yet more exploitation of fossil fuels.
Tell George Osborne to rethink this thoughtless and short-sighted plan.
We the undersigned ask that you rethink your gas generation strategy immediately. We cannot afford yet more incentives to be offered to the fossil fuel sector while the world suffers from the impact of carbon emissions.
These very generous incentives would provide a more sustainable future if they went to the development of renewables. Encouraging the exploitation of shale gas at the expense of wind and solar is so short-sighted that it borders on the farcical. The timing, just as crucial international climate change talks are taking place, is utterly ridiculous, only highlighting how unsustainable this plan is.
The gas generation strategy would also break this government’s own commitments to reducing emissions. Chances are high that it would not even be beneficial in economic terms, given the competition of cheap gas coming from Asia. This environmentally disastrous strategy could, in fact, accelerate our economic decline, in the short as well as the long term.
Politically, economically and socially, this is an ill-thought out decision and we demand that you reconsider the whole thing.
Thank you for your attention.
