Boris Johnson’s speech on climate change: just empty words?

Rory Beveridge

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It’s no secret that climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today, and it is clear that the vast majority of nations are not doing enough to tackle it. inevitable catastrophe awaits him. Boris Johnson has been an advocate for climate change for many years, but is he doing enough?

Johnson himself admitted only awakening to the realities of the climate crisis when he was mayor of London, telling reporters that after delving into the science he decided there was no questions we need to deal with [climate change]. His recent speech at the United Nations General Assembly, where he told the world to to grow on the issue, also bodes well for environmentalists, but these are just words, and it would be interesting to know if Johnson, and the UK in general, have been up to the task?

From initial statistics this looks good for the UK as there has been a forty-four percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions since 1990, which is higher than in many other developed countries. In addition, this use of coal – the dirtiest fossil fuel – to create energy has gone from forty-one million tonnes in 2010, to just over two million tonnes in 2020, and this figure is down from eighty-four million tonnes in 1990. This is a dramatic reduction, and although natural gas has reduced much of the load on coal, renewables and low-carbon sources have also increased.

So far the UK has been the world leader in reducing carbon emissions and creating a greener environment, and much of that has been done under Conservative governments.

The Conservatives’ current attitude to climate change had a precedent, with Margaret Thatcher putting green issues on the national agenda. In the late 1980s, she gave several speeches, including a famous one at the UN, where she implored the global community to do more to protect the environment – reflecting Johnson’s recent speech. So far the UK has been the world leader in reducing carbon emissions and creating a greener environment, and much of that has been done under Conservative governments.

However, it is still very clear that there is still a long way to go and that some clear solutions are not being advanced as much as they should be. Nuclear power – powerful, low carbon and reliable will be this country’s saving grace if the climate crisis is to be resolved. Currently the UK operates seven nuclear reactors, all of which will be decommissioned by 2035, and only Hinkley Point C will be newly built in the next decade. Yes, they are expensive, and extremely difficult to harness, but the crisis we face if our energy supply is not revolutionized will undoubtedly cost more.

Unfortunately, we cannot simply rely on the weather for our electricity. This is why it is so disconcerting when environmental groups are so fiercely opposed to nuclear power, like the Greens who want to phase out all nuclear power plants and have wind power as the main energy producer.

If we are to avoid a future with progressive power outages and unreliable energy supplies, the government must invest in nuclear power.

The Scottish government has also banned all new nuclear power plants in Scotland, and for what? The new Hinkley Point station takes four hundred and thirty acres of land to produce twenty-six hours of energy terrawhatt per year, it would take up to four hundred and ninety thousand acres of offshore wind to produce the same amount, and it’s not as reliable as nuclear. If we are to avoid a future of progressive blackouts and unreliable energy supplies, the government must invest in nuclear power, which it unfortunately does not do.

The need to create positive business news in a post-Brexit environment has trumped the concerns of environmentalists

The new trade deal between the UK and Australia has also come under fire for violating climate commitments the government has made. The deal, details of which have yet to be released, would see the potential to increased beef imports from deforested land and significantly lower animal welfare standards. Australia was also ranked worst country in the world for climate action. It seems, at least on the surface, that the need to create positive business news in a post-Brexit environment has trumped the concerns of environmentalists.

The climate crisis is pressing, and despite the UK’s success in decarbonising in recent years, it is clear that not enough is being done. It is difficult to see, without resorting to solutions such as nuclear energy, that the crisis is avoided in a successful and lasting manner.

Rory Beveridge

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Featured Image Courtesy of Markus Spiske Going through Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes have been made to this image.

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