The motion reaffirmed union commitment to the TUC’s Clean Coal Task Group, which promotes CCS as a viable approach to reducing carbon emissions and maintaining an indigenous source of energy.
Mover Chris Kitchen, national secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, stressed that indigenous coal was vital to ensure a secure source of supply and to prevent reliance on imports for the UK’s energy needs.
In support, Prospect deputy vice-president Craig Marshall, who works for EDF Energy, said CCS represented the only viable future for coal and gas stations.
Marshall said that following the collapse of the Longannet CCS demonstration programme last year, the government had at last announced a long-awaited CCS competition.
“Prospect emphasises that CCS must be integrated with electricity market reform,” he added. “Market uncertainty remains a key barrier to investment across energy industries.
“The £13m to be invested in a new CCS research centre is a useful first step and needs to be followed up by commitment to a publicly-funded long-term research and development programme.”
He stressed that support for coal must be as part of a balanced energy policy and that after more than a decade of consultation, early decisions were now needed to deliver investment. The energy bill, due to start its parliamentary progress this autumn, would be key to achieving this aim.
MPs on the energy select committee had rightly pointed out that the proposed reforms were complex and lacking in detail.
“However, there is nothing new about complexity in this sector – indeed it has long been a significant feature of the privatised electricity market,” Marshall said.
The select committee had recognised the urgency of the situation by asking the government to get the bill passed by May 2013.
A strong, coherent TUC campaign would be needed to make this a reality. “There is no room for failure or delay.”
NACODS delegate Terry Fox said coal still provided 20–30% of the UK’s electricity, which could rise to 50% at peak times.
Fears over fracking
Earlier, conference debated a motion from the Trades Union Councils Conference expressing concern at the development of two new energy sources: the extraction of natural gas through ‘fracking’, and the generation of energy from waste incineration.
The motion questioned the environmental sustainability of both sources and said fracking should be condemned unless proven harmless for people and the environment.
These concerns were recognised in a statement from the general council made by Prospect general secretary Paul Noon. However, he said the general council also acknowledged the economic opportunities available from fracking and stressed that the motion did not preclude support for the gas supply industry as a whole.
“In broad terms, Congress policy supports investment in a sustainable, low-carbon energy mix, involving a balance of renewable energy, coal and gas and new nuclear power, and other new forms of energy supply. ”
The motion also expressed support for the work of trade union environmental or ‘green’ reps and encouraged them to share initiatives through local networks of reps.