Kingsnorth petition to be presented to Miliband
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A petition
against Kingsnorth power station was due to be handed to the
Government today.
It had originally been planned to hand over
the protest, with more than 1,600 signatures opposing plans to
build a new coal-fired power station at Kingsnorth on Tuesday.
The petition, which has been compiled by the
Kingsnorth Climate Action Medway (KCAM) group, will be handed over
to Ed Miliband, the energy and climate change secretary, by Medway
Labour MP Bob Marshall-Andrews.
Hundreds of people living on The Hoo
Peninsula, where the planned power station is to be built, have
signed it.
Mr Miliband is expected to announce a decision
on whether the plant will be built by the end of the year.
KCAM hope Mr Miliband will respond formally to
the objections raised by the signatories, as they say it will
have a negative impact on climate change.
Justin Geiss, a member of the group who also
lives in Medway, said: “I’m really appalled by the idea that we
might end up with a huge new polluting Kingsnorth coal power
station.
“A new plant at Kingsnorth would emit enormous
amounts of climate-changing carbon emissions - over six
million tonnes per year.”
Mr Marshall-Andrews said: “Not only would
dirty new Kingsnorth coal make it virtually impossible for the UK
to reach its carbon emissions reductions targets, it would leave us
in a very weak position when it comes to influencing the hugely
important climate change talks at Copenhagen in December.”
“I am pleased that so many residents feel so
strongly about this issue which, although of global importance,
involves a decision that is taking place on our very doorstep. It
is right that so many people are speaking out about this crucial
issue.
“The UK needs to be investing for the long
run, and that means creating low carbon sustainable jobs and not
pushing ahead with dirty and polluting unabated coal power.”
Opposition has been mounting across the
country against the introduction of new coal power stations.
In July this year, more than 1,000 protesters
from groups as wide-ranging as the Women’s Institute, the RSPB and
the World Development Movement joined forces in a demonstration at
the existing Kingsnorth plant to show their opposition to the
plans.
Saturday, August 22 2009
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