The challenge
There is a growing awareness of the importance of environmental responsibility and the need to address the problems of climate change.The world is warming up and, without change, by 2100 the planet is likely to be hotter than it has been at any point in the past two million years. However catastrophic climate change can be prevented by addressing the key causes.
The Stern Report assessed a wide range of evidence on the impacts of climate change and concluded that scientific evidence is now overwhelming: climate change is a serious global threat, and it demands an urgent global response.
The report's key messages included the need for policy changes to support innovation and the deployment of low-carbon technologies. It concluded that “Effective action on the scale required to tackle climate change requires a widespread shift to new or improved technology in key sectors such as power generation, transport and energy use”.
Greenhouse gas emissions result from the burning of fossil fuels. Adopting new technologies such as AD can dramatically reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and reduce our emissions now. The UK has signed up to the Kyoto Protocol and is now committed to reducing emissions of Greenhouse Gases to 12.5% below their 1990 levels over the next ten years
Cleaner energy is needed; and it starts with producing energy in smaller, local combined heat and power (CHP) plants. A number of countries around the world are already doing this using renewable technologies, that if adopted in the UK, could double the efficiency of energy generation and slash our carbon emissions. As a result, there is now a concerted drive for creating energy from renewable sources in the UK, as Sweden, Germany and other European countries have been doing successfully for a number of years. Plants such as BIOGEN's will be fundamental for the UK in terms of meeting its targets and driving forward greener technology.
Transportation is responsible for 22 percent of the UK's carbon emissions and the movement of materials, including food stuffs and waste, therefore has a negative impact on the environment. The Proximity Principle proposes that waste should be treated/disposed of as close to its place of origin as possible; and it's not just waste for which finding local solutions is important. Any solution that reduces or removes the need for transportation has obvious environmental benefits.
