Long since relinquishing it's privilege of being the party of the people, we now have a Labour Party hell-bent on fast-tracking planning consent for both developers and energy companies, to build hundreds of thousands of new homes (green light for greenfield sites) and decarbonising electricity generation (Net Zero by 2030).
This 'growth at all costs' approach - with token public consultation at best - not only shows disdain for those who choose their elected representatives, but is also unashamedly driven by quick-return profit. And the looser the regulation, the more hollow the promise of cheaper energy bills sounds... Equally maddening is the arrogance with which the argument is framed - as if there are no other options, when of course there are. A report about my own city of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne showed that there were nearly 800 residential and 8.5 million square meters of commercial space lying empty as of 2023! And for decades, Germany has buried its electricity cables, respecting local objections to pylon construction. (Of late, unfortunately, Germany too has started prioritising pylons, although their target of 80% carbon neutral by 2045 perhaps offers a more realistic, and therefore a more flexible approach ) Yes, climate change is the most significant challenge facing the world today. But the conversion to green energy done in haste and 'on the cheap' - with environmental vandalism and wildlife destruction presented as unavoidable collateral damage - is neither ethical nor sustainable.
If we are serious about climate change and the protection of the landscape, we need governments who show genuine courage, shouldering the responsibility of re-structuring budgets (less spending on defence for example) and re-distributing private profit (the money is there!) to secure long-term infrastructure which belongs to and serves the people. Future-proof now with weather-proof, underground cabling. According to data from the International Energy Agency itself... More than 600,000km of lines will need to be added or replaced by 2040 based on the age of existing transmission and distribution lines, for the rollout of renewables and growing electricity demand. This means cables will need to be rolled out at a pace of almost 100km every day for 17 years. Pessimists like to be pleasantly surprised... I stumbled across The Wall of Truth by accident while lost in maps soaked in the rich pre-history of your area. People of Brora, I wish you luck from the bottom of my heart in your current fight.
