Ellesmere Port MEP advocates cleaner ways to use coal to cut global warming

AN ELLESMERE Port Euro-MP has called for Britain's political parties to work together to develop new ‘clean coal’ technology.

Chris Davies told a major conference of power companies and Government representatives in Brussels on April 29 that the EU had an opportunity to leave the USA trailing in its wake as it invested in equipment to take carbon dioxide out of coal.

The Liberal Democrat MEP described as “bold and brave” the decision by British climate change secretary Ed Miliband not to permit construction of new coal power stations unless they incorporate carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.

He said the news was already having a major influence on thinking in the boardrooms of power companies.

Mr Davies last year played a key role in creating an EU funding mechanism worth up to £9 billion to support the development of CCS technology.

He said: “Coal used in power stations is the world’s largest source of carbon dioxide emissions.

“To slow the pace of climate change we must ensure that the CO2 is buried deep in former gas and oil wells rather than released into the atmosphere. The issue of global warming is too important for political point-scoring.”