News Release
***For immediate release: 12 August 2009***
Climate Camp Cymru and the Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme
Stephen Tillman, joint managing director of Miller Argent, said:
“Miller Argent (South Wales) Limited respects the right of people to make peaceful protests provided that they do not interfere with, disrupt or intimidate others from carrying out their lawful activities and that they do not cause damage to property.
“Safety is a major issue at this site and any direct action could put the safety and lives of the protestors and our workforce at risk.
“It is very disappointing that they choose to protest in such an extreme way rather than by entering the public debate based on the facts.”
The Facts (for publication)
The Scheme
The Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme represents the third and final phase of the East Merthyr Land Reclamation Scheme, where phases 1 and 2 have already been completed and restored to beneficial use. Both of those phases clearly demonstrate the benefits of such reclamation schemes and have contributed notable and lasting benefits to the community at no cost to the public purse.
Ffos-y-fran is a hugely important reclamation scheme for South Wales, and provides enormous economic benefits including direct employment for over 200 people and indirect support for a further 400 jobs. It generates millions of pounds for the local economy and to the benefit of the local community.
The reclamation of this large area of acutely derelict and unsafe land has for many years been a policy of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and was subject to full scrutiny at a Public Inquiry before permission was granted for it to proceed by the Welsh Assembly Government.
The reclamation and improvement of the land has already resulted in the removal of historic waste tips and unstable land, saving the community millions of pounds worth of liability. All of the project costs are paid for from the sale of the underlying coal, ensuring that there is no contribution from taxpayers.
In addition Miller Argent has created a multi-million pound Community Benefit Fund for the duration of the project, which is administered by the Council and will fund a variety of community projects for the direct benefit of the people of Merthyr Tydfil and surrounding areas.
Coal
Coal is a valuable national energy resource. It is used to generate some 35% of the UK’s electricity supplies, a proportion which can rise to 50% in winter. It is, and will continue to be, an integral part of the UK’s strategy for a balanced and secure energy supply.
The mining of coal in the UK, particularly surface mining, is often the subject of protest and opposition on environmental grounds. However, any restriction on UK production will merely lead to an increase in imports whereby the environmental impacts of coal production are not avoided, merely displaced, and result in an even greater carbon footprint.
Indigenous coal production, including from surface mines, contributes to the security of the UK's energy supplies and minimises global environmental impacts.
The majority of the coal from Ffos-y-fran goes to Aberthaw Power Station, which produces 42% of the electricity consumed in south Wales.
If the coal from Ffos-y-fran was stopped and no other indigenous coal was available then Aberthaw would import more coal, probably from Russia, where the carbon footprint for the transportation of coal to Aberthaw is 60 times greater than transporting it from Ffos-y-fran.
We accept that CO2 is a global issue and that all countries throughout the world should do what they can to reduce their CO2 emissions. That is why Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology, which can cut emissions by up to 90%, is so important and why Miller Argent fully supports the European Commission’s programme for a minimum of twelve demonstration plants to be in operation by 2014.
In the Government’s “Energy Security” document published in August 2009 it is stated that the UK should remain at the forefront in developing and demonstrating CCS technology and we fully support that view.
The report also states that energy supply must be a national priority as the UK makes the transition to a low carbon economy, adding that in charting the UK’s move from a position of relative energy independence to a greater dependence on energy imports, the move to a low carbon economy is as vital to energy security as it is to tackling climate change, recommending that government pursues energy efficiency and home-grown sources of energy with maximum pace and ambition.
The report analyses the challenges facing the UK on energy security and explains that by 2030 the world will still need fossil fuels. It states that the International Energy Agency predicts that even with ambitious climate change targets the world will continue to use coal, gas and oil to meet over two thirds of its energy needs. The global consumption of coal is estimated to rise by 61% by 2030, reaching over 7 billion tonnes per year.
To put this in perspective the UK last year consumed 58.2 million tonnes of coal (and has commitments to reduce its dependency on coal by 2030) – some 0.75% of the World’s consumption.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Miller Argent (South Wales) Limited, is the general partner of the Ffos-y-fran Limited Partnership. A joint venture specifically set up to carry out the Ffos-y-fran Land Reclamation Scheme between The Miller Group Limited and Argent Group plc.