2018 is here and I wish you all a very happy new year. At the end of each year, it is normal to look back over the year just gone, but sometimes it can be many years in the future before a major significance of a particular year is widely recognised.
I believe that in the future, 2017 will be mentioned as the year that saw the beginning of the fundamental shift in how our energy is produced. Our country had an exceptional year for renewable electricity production with 2017 being the greenest ever year for clean electricity production.
Since 2012, Britain has halved carbon emissions in the electricity production sector, making us the 4th cleanest in Europe and the 7th cleanest in the world. Green energy records continue to be set. Last summer saw the first full day since the Industrial Revolution where there was no electricity whatsoever produced from coal power. On the 7th of June, wind, nuclear and solar power were all generating more than both gas and coal combined for the first time ever. The whole summer period saw over half of all our electricity produced from low carbon sources with one day seeing over a quarter of all electricity used coming from solar power alone.
The following recent quote from the WWF (Worldwide Fund for Nature) is very encouraging: “2017 has been an amazing year for renewable electricity in Britain; we have never been cleaner or greener - and we are on course for an even better year in 2018. Climate change is wreaking havoc on our nature and wildlife, but we are at last facing up to the challenge, turning our backs on polluting fossil fuels and embracing a new clean future.”
As a global leader in clean energy production is another field where our country is innovating and excelling under the Conservatives. Local councils, businesses and all of us as individuals are continuing to consume energy more efficiently, but making big strides in greener energy production is something that we should also all welcome and encourage in 2018 and beyond.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
3rd January 2018