An assessment which goes against the United Kingdom's environmental objectives, namely: to completely decarbonize its electricity system by 2035.
The situation of the electricity system in France
As the official government website specifies, electricity production in France is ensured through different means:
- nuclear power plants mainly
- fossil fuels (coal, gas, fuel oil)
- renewable energies (solar, wind, bioenergy) more and more.
Electricity production is therefore closely linked to greenhouse gas (CO2) emissions.
According to the 2023 report from RTE, “Electricity Transport Network”, the sole manager of the public electricity transmission network in France, in France, emissions linked to electricity production reached 16.1 MtCO2eq in 2023, the lowest rate since the 1950s.
This rate is among the lowest in Europe, less than 5%, compared to 22% for Germany, 19% for Spain and 21% on average for the European Union. As for the United Kingdom, the country is still largely dependent on fossil fuels for its electricity system, according to Energy Knowledge.
A BBC investigation
The thematic media states that “the British government plans to “totally decarbonize” the electricity sector by 2035, relying on the deployment of low-carbon sectors”. An achievable ambition? According to a recent BBC analysis, this could be in jeopardy.
Indeed, as relayed by the British media, burning household waste in an incinerator would be the most polluting way of producing electricity for the country, by producing “the same amount of greenhouse gases for each unit of energy as coal power” particularly because of plastic waste.
Construction of incinerators continues
Problem: this is the treatment intended for half of the waste in British homes. “[…] over the last five years, the number [d’incinérateurs] in England increased from 38 to 52” and 3.1% of the United Kingdom’s energy comes from these devices, underlines the BBC.
“This is an insane situation. The current practice of burning waste to produce energy and building more and more incinerators for this purpose is at odds with our desire to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Increasing its use is disastrous for our climate”, Dr Ian Williams, professor of applied environmental science at the University of Southampton, told the BBC.
Because the construction of incinerators continues. Currently, the United Kingdom has 58. As the BBC indicates, only four of them have “approved plans to capture their emissions”. Hopefully this BBC investigation serves as a wake-up call to the relevant authorities.
With an unwavering passion for local news, Christopher leads our editorial team with integrity and dedication. With over 20 years’ experience, he is the backbone of Wouldsayso, ensuring that we stay true to our mission to inform.
