Helen Blenkharn, Climate Change Policy Officer
'Carbon Bomb' projects threaten explosion in global emissions
Yesterday, this was a headline in BusinessGreen. The article was about a new Greenpeace report called ‘Point of No Return’ which suggests that the world’s 14 largest planned fossil fuel projects will increase emissions by 20 per cent. It seems absolutely crazy to me that despite all the warnings about climate change, the world ploughs on with burning fossil fuels regardless.
Climate change isn’t just a problem for future generations. It’s already affecting birds and wildlife in the UK and globally. One study published in ‘Nature’ indicates that climate change could cause up to 35% of species to be committed, by 2050, towards extinction. That’s easy to read but hard to take in – yes, 1 in every 3 species!!!
As well as long term impacts, the extraction of fossil fuels is causing environmental damage here and now. Some of this damage is unavoidable if we want to extract fossil fuels, like loss of land for open cast mining. Some of it is potential for damage i.e. risk, for example, the risk of oil spillages. Usually the level of risk depends on how carefully the site is managed and how well they respond in an emergency. We’re concerned that these ‘risks’ are only going to increase as new techniques are explored and oil and gas reserves that have previously been considered uneconomical are reconsidered, for example using deep sea oil drilling techniques, and in increasing hostile but unique environments like the Arctic.
Pink footed goose by David Tipling (rspbimages.com)
Here are a few things to remind you why birds don’t mix with coal, oil and gas
Disturbance to Species - Both construction and ongoing use of mines and drilling sites can disturb wildlife, for example by loss of habitat or the levels of noise, activity and traffic movements, even pipelines as obstacles. Exploratory drilling for shale gas is currently taking place not far from Morecambe Bay and the Ribble Estuary, two internationally important places with huge numbers of wildfowl. Species like Pink-footed goose and Whooper swan could be particularly affected by disturbance from drilling and activity.
Some types of fossil fuel extraction, particularly surface coal mining, require large areas of land, not just for the extraction process but also for infrastructure related to storage, processing and transportation. It’s likely that some loss of habitat and connectivity between different habitats will occur, making it more difficult for species to move through the landscape.
Air pollution –Emissions to air and water from fossil fuel extraction processes can include a variety of harmful substances such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxides and sulphur oxides. Sometimes these emissions are planned for and captured but quite often they’re not. One of our big concerns about the ‘fracking’ process is the amount of ‘fugitive’ methane emissions i.e. the ones that escape uncontrolled. Exposure to sunlight causes some of these gases to react with other gases in the atmosphere to form ground level ozone (O3). Evidence suggests that O3 can reduce rates of plant and tree growth, rates of photosynthesis and the ability of vegetation to act as a carbon sink, thereby making tackling climate change even harder.
Water pollution – There are serious issues around contaminated water from extraction processes leaking into surface and ground water, causing pollution. For example, fracking fluid contains toxic chemicals and the fluid that returns to the surface will also contain ‘NORMs’ - naturally occurring radioactive materials. This waste water needs to be carefully contained and treated to make sure it doesn’t find its way into the groundwater.
Oil spillages can cause horrific water pollution. For birds in particular, the oil impairs their ability to use their feathers for waterproofing which exposes their skin and makes them likely to either overheat or get too cold. Swallowing oil also causes severe damage to internal organs.
Result of oil spill in Shetland. Chris Gomersall RSPB Images
Renewable energy isn’t perfect, but deployed with care it’s a whole better than this. Oh, and then there’s the carbon aspect to consider...