Another interesting day on the campaign trail. It ended with another hustings at St Aldhelm's Church in Weymouth. The topic was climate change and the environment. The candidates were asked excellent questions and the event was very well organised. Each of us was asked to make an opening statement, and mine is below. I drafted a script because I wanted to gather my thoughts on a topic which is rightly very important and to ensure my address did not drift too far off target. We had been given five minutes to speak, but this was reduced to 3.5 minutes just before the event started, so I have done my best to edit my original script to ensure it is an accurate record of what I actually said. The punctuation marks are mine, and help me to deliver an address. Here it is:
There is no doubt that evidence is pointing to the fact that the planet is getting warmer.
Most experts agree climate change is caused by human beings emitting carbon dioxide which contributes to the greenhouse effect.
This week … the World Meteorological Organisation in Geneva warned that carbon dioxide had reached a record high in 2018.
So – what to do?
First … the argument must be disciplined and science-led.
We have a record to be proud of in UK … though we can never be complacent.
We passed the world’s first climate change act in 2010 … setting a legally binding target of net zero emissions by 2050 – the first major economy in the world to do so – and have already reduced greenhouse gases by 25% since 2010.
Renewable electricity generation has quadrupled since 2010 and clean electricity now accounts for over 50 per cent of our total.
We’re global leaders in offshore wind generation and will increase our capacity to 40GW by 2030 … creating 9,000 green collar jobs.
We’re investing 800 million in carbon capture and storage clusters and half a billion in charging points for electric cars.
We’ve ended coal use in electricity generation through a huge shift to renewables and gas.
Coal use has tumbled from almost 40 per cent in 2012 to our first “coal free” generation day last April.
The low carbon sector is now providing almost 400,000 green collar jobs in the UK and growing much faster than the main economy … with potential exports of more than £60 billion by 2030.
And the government is investing more than £2.5 billion in low carbon technology over this parliament … the largest ever public research and development investment in clean growth.
All this is progress in the right direction … but as we produce only about 1% of global emissions … we cannot solve this problem alone.
We’ve got to work together to persuade the big polluters to come with us.
However, whatever we do … whether at home or abroad … we must ensure that economies are not disastrously damaged … with all the negative consequences associated with that.
The move across to greener energy must be based on common sense … achievability … affordability … and reliability.
At the moment … for example … our electricity prices for business are now among the highest in Europe … making many of our industries uncompetitive.
If this means jobs move abroad … the emissions are merely shifted overseas - and the jobs with them.
Our plans to meet net zero emissions by 2050 are extremely ambitious.
We will have to rely on gas for many years to come … and investment in nuclear has been woeful.
That needs to change.
More hydro … energy efficiency … good housing … planting trees … more research into carbon capture … nuclear fusion … expansion of the rail network and more electric buses all have a part to play in protecting the climate.
Wind and solar have a major role too … but at a reasonable cost … especially to those on low incomes.
Subsidies for these industries were paid for by consumers who were levied a charge on top of their energy bills amounting to about £140.
The Government decided this was wrong and support was reduced to a level that still made wind and solar profitable … but not at the consumers’ expense.
We can tackle this challenge … together.