Sign up to E-NewsHelp Hunterston go the way of Kingsnorth
If Scotland is to meet its targets on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to set an example to the rest of the world in the run up to the crucial negotiations on a global deal on climate change in December, then it must not allow any new, dirty, coal-fired power stations.
There are plans for a new coal-fired power station at Hunterston in Ayrshire. If it goes ahead, climate change emissions each year from this power station alone will be seven times that of the whole of Malawi.
A coal fired power station of similar size planned for Kingsnorth in Kent was shelved by E.On in early October. The power station had been a key target for a coalition of campaigners including World Development Movement and its postponement deals a serious blow to plans to for a plant at Hunterston.
Please take two minutes now to send this message to your MSPs that now is the time to scrap dirty coal-fired power stations in Scotland.
You can cut and paste the message below or, better still, change it into your own words.
Find out who here your MSPs are (you have one constituency and 7 list MSPs)
Dear
I was really encouraged to hear recently that E.ON are shelving plans for a new coal power plant at Kingsnorth in Kent. I am writing to you now to ask you to do what you can to make sure that the same thing happens to the plans to build a new coal plant at Hunterston in Ayrshire.
The scrapped coal fired power station in Kingsnorth was an embarrassment to the UK government, contradicting their claims to be leaders on climate change. The new power station would have emitted more carbon dioxide than Tanzania, and could have caused 20,000 climate refugees world-wide. The proposed power station at Hunterston would be of similar size and pose the same risks to the climate and those suffering the effects of climate change.
The Scottish Government hopes to be represented at the climate change talks in Copenhagen later this year, showcasing its world-leading climate change act that commits to a 42% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. However, a new power station at Hunterston that would emit seven times as much carbon dioxide as the whole of Malawi (which has more than twice our population) currently produces, will only be seen by others as totally contradictory and just as embarrassing as the Kingsnorth proposal was.
Scotland can meet between 60% and 143% of our projected annual electricity demand by 2030 entirely with renewable energy, with the right policies and investment(1 ). If we are to meet the targets in the Scottish climate change act, then this is the route that Scottish policies and investment should take, not investment in fossil fuels.
I would be very grateful if you would pass on my concerns to Cabinet Secretary John Swinney.
Yours sincerely
[INSERT YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS]
(1) http://www.wdmscotland.org.uk/documents/PowerofScotlandSummaryFINAL.pdf
Print this page
