WESTBURY Gasification Action Group (WGAG) has joined the newly-formed Wiltshire Climate Alliance who are demanding Wiltshire Council take a more decisive lead on climate change.
The alliance, made up of members from sustainability groups across the county, are to form a procession from Trowbridge Railway Station to County Hall at 9am on Tuesday 25th February, the anniversary of Wiltshire Council’s climate emergency declaration. They will present a petition to Wiltshire Council demanding that they take a more decisive lead on the urgent actions needed to avert climate disaster.
Members of WGAG also met with MP Andrew Murrison last month to discuss the climate change impact on Westbury and the surrounding towns and villages if the Advanced Thermal Treatment (ATT) plant continues to go ahead as planned.
The group’s hope is for Andrew Murrison to join other MPs around the country in calling for a moratorium on new incinerators, and the introduction of an incineration tax to stop it being a cheaper option than landfill.
During the meeting, the local MP agreed to take up the issue of the ATT’s CO2 emissions with Wiltshire Council.
Margaret Cavanna who attended the meeting with Harriet James last month said, “I am pleased we have been able to let the MP know the scale of the CO2 emissions involved, if the plant is built as intended by Northacre Renewable Energy.
“Dr Murrison seemed surprised that the ATT facility would emit 31.79 tonnes gross of CO2 equivalent per hour over its operating life of 20 to 25 years. This single plant would be adding significantly and needlessly to Wiltshire’s total CO2 output. Although it would now be required by a planning condition to be carbon positive, it is unclear how this could be achieved or monitored.
“We put across our view that the original planning application was submitted in 2014, but we are now in 2020 and things look very different. Climate change declarations have been made at all levels, by Westbury and Wiltshire councils, as well as central government. It is not acceptable to build new incinerators in a climate emergency!
“The company’s argument that emissions would be reduced as waste wouldn’t have to be transported to incinerators in Europe doesn’t hold water. Over a transition period during which unrecyclable waste needs to be radically reduced, there should be other options to process it in facilities within the UK.”
The Wiltshire Climate Alliance petition can be signed on the Westbury Gasification Action Group Facebook page or by emailing westburygag! gmail.com. You can also follow the group on Twitter @WestburyGAG.
