For reasons you can probably work out I'm spending less and less time on this platform. I'm posting on Bluesky @dougparr.bsky.social.

New study says **even with carbon capture & storage attached**, forest impacts mean Drax operations will lead to higher CO2 levels in the atmosphere by 2050 . “CCS tech itself is less important than wood pellet sourcing on forest carbon stocks and flows”.

Pelleting plants for Drax biomass burning plant committing average of 5 environmental breaches per day . “Extreme. I don’t even think the worst-performing [English] water companies have got daily breaches of this number” says senior environmental lawyer.

RT @colinwalker79: "VW to shut three factories, axe jobs and cut pay by 10%". A sad consequence of companies dragging their heels in moving….

At current rate of progress, the United Nations' '30x30' nature target to protect 30% of land & sea by 2030, agreed by all govts at COP15 Biodiversity Summit will not be achieved for the world's oceans until 2107. #GreenpeaceCOP17.

In just over 50 years, nearly three quarters of the world's biodiversity has disappeared owing to climate change, habitat loss (esp to farming), pollution .

Good news. Tho I'm sure it will be an uphill task to keep UK govt honest and @ruthdavis27 will need all the help available from British civil society .

Astonishing level of pollution in UK, esp England, rivers. They contain a cocktail of chemicals incl nitrate & phosphate (61% of waters), caffeine (100%), nicotine (25%) antidepressants (30%) and painkillers (10%) from water company sewage releases & farms.

And although I might sympathise on this occasion, because the kind of BECCS model Drax is pursuing seems impossible to make sustainable, the longer-term positioning of the Tories on climate change action (‘if it costs money we’ll run away’) could become very problematic.

Importance of Tory change of heart is BECCS of size Drax is seeking is long-term engineering project that stretching over more than 1 Parliament. A heavily subsidy-dependent project like this needs cross-party support to maintain safety for investors cash.

More than 140 mn litres of raw sewage were pumped into Lake Windermere between 2021-2023 when it was not permitted. United Utilities failed to report most of it. Environment Agency awarded United Utilities the top 4* environment rating earlier this year.

All scenarios in @IEA Energy Outlook say global oil demand will peak in 2030 or before. Not quick enough for climate change. But still something to think about if you're an investor in oil. Risk is fossil fuels enter a period of abundance & low prices.

A study found new homes with heat pumps, solar panels & battery would typically save £46,600 on energy over 25 years. Installing is straightforward. Retrofitting would cost 5 times as much - when cost would fall on the householder not the housebuilder.

RT @mwarhurst: We predicted this 18 years ago, in the @friends_earth report "Dirty Truths":. Detailed study: http….

RT @andy_rowell: For more on the #lobbying tactics which allowed an #incinerator to be built in one of the poorest wards in the country in….

Drax shown to have taken wood from Canadian old-growth forest. "forests that are native species that [have] not been previously harvested” as described in internal emails. The wood will have been turned into pellets, shipped to UK, burnt for 'clean power'.

RT @Adam_Grant_Bell: Thoroughly agree with Doug on this one; any claim to favour deregulation without saying what specific changes you'd ma….

3.1% of UK electricity is provided by burning rubbish. Plastic waste - from fossil oil - means the power is as polluting as coal. Yet numbers of incinerators are on the rise. It’s an “insane situation” to UK waste management says Uni Southampton academic.

Problem with the water industry is that it was not regulated properly under the last Labour govt. Current situation must *not* mean whatever the monopoly utilities failings, they're safe knowing govt will make sure public have to stump up for shareholders.

RT @heatpolicyrich: When you're an investor in biogas and didn't make the move into heat pumps like many of your competitors.

5/5. Then Rishi Sunak's govt joined in 2023, yet another round of telling Brits they'd 'cut red tape'. It failed. They all failed. Every bit of 'red tape' for one person is someone else's protection against fraud, mistreatment, envt protection etc. ENDS.