Carbon Capture: Don’t get carried away

Following months of heated debate on the controversial new European waste laws, I am now speaking for The Greens / European Free Alliance (EFA) Group in the debate on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). In January the European Commission published what they called the “Climate Change Package” - a set of directives looking at various aspects of combatting and adapting to climate change. I will be speaking for The Green / EFA group on the CCS issue.

Of course, for someone born and brought up in the Rhondda, coal has always been close to my heart. When I was growing up we waited for the school buses alongside the miners waiting for the NCB buses. It was still the major employer and a massive part of Rhondda life.

I was active in the support groups across the coalfields in the 1984/85 miners’ strike. In fact, I believe I was the only woman ever to go underground in Maerdy pit before it was closed. I still have the lump of coal I brought home.

But things have changed. It was never a secret that coal was a massive polluter. Miners’ lungs,old coal tips, felled forests and dirty rivers bear testimony to that. But no now we also realkize there’s a climate change crisis to which coal is contributing to in a big way. In Wales, Aberthaw power station is a major polluter, despite efforts to reduce emissions. The UK government seems intent on building new coal fired power stations, despite the damage they do.

Now a new technology is being hailed as the saviour of coal - CCS. It literally means extracting the CO2 from power station emissions and storing it at high pressure deep underground. This is not reducing our pollution, it’s moving it to another place. If the storage facilities are not available near the power station, the CO2 will have to be taken by pipeline (and we all know about the ongoing controversy over the LNG pipeline) to where it can be stored. It will have to be kept there for ever.

Of course, this may be a way of reducing the CO2 we pump out into our atmosphere and that would be a good thing - if it works. At the moment we don’t know if it will work. Yes, there is a lot of research going on. We also know that it is massively expensive, which is why so many trial projects have been abandoned already.

One of my concerns is the leaking of CO2 from underground storage sites. In a meeting with the European Commission I proposed that one of the criteria for approving a storage site should be that there would be NO risk of leaking instead of the no “significant” risk of leaking they had suggested. They will look at the draft again to see if it can be changed. If we are going to pursue this new technology we have to have all the safeguards possible to protect against anything going wrong.

We are still at the early stages of this fascinating debate and development. But one thing is clear to me: CCS is not the answer to the problem of climate change. We need to make very fundamental changes. We need to conserve energy and we need renewable energy. Wales is extremely rich in that resource. CCS is not the green light for going back to coal - even if that was possible or we wanted to. The monster that is Ffos-y-Fran opencast site in Merthyr Tydfil should teach us that.

We have to wait and see whether CCS will work and where it will be used. There has been talk of using old coal mines for storage - which sets alarm bells ringing for me - but for now it’s just talk. If we could use our past legacy in the coalfields of Wales to help ensure a cleaner future I would be the first to welcome it. But we’re nowhere near that yet. Let’s not get carried away.

In vino veritas: the alarming truth about pesticides in wine

A first-of-its-kind study by the Pesticides Action Network Europe, presented at the European Parliament recently, had some alarming findings on pesticide residues in European wines.

I was amazed when I read some of the report’s comments quoted by German Green MEP, Hiltrud Breyer. She said,

“For the first time, 40 wines were tested for dangerous pesticides. The results are alarming, but also predictable given the intensive use of pesticides on grapes. All conventionally produced wines in the sample were contaminated and each of these bottles had an average of four different pesticides present. A total of 24 different kinds were found. Among these, five are classified by the European Union as being carcinogenic, mutagenic, reprotoxic (CMR) or endocrine disrupting.

We are particularly concerned that so many different kinds of pesticides have been detected. Even if the pesticide concentration is lower than has been recently found in fruit and vegetables, the residues contain a higher quantity of pesticides - a toxic cocktail with unknown additive or combined effects.

The study’s results highlight an urgent need for Europe to get to grips with the problem of dangerous pesticides. Europe produces and consumes two thirds of the world’s wine, and is also the world’s biggest exporter.

Now the EU is reviewing the authorisation of pesticides, it must seize the opportunity to ban those that are dangerous. Contrary to claims by the chemical industry and lobby groups, a ban of CMR pesticides and those harmful to the hormone system would only affect 4.5% of the 507 currently authorised in Europe. This would represent a small step for industry, but a stride forward towards better protection of health and the environment.

As the EU Council of Ministers prepares to adopt a common position in May 2008, we call on all EU Member States to support the drive towards better food safety and a ban of dangerous pesticides.”

Good news for Gwynedd

In Gwynedd on Friday I paid a visit to Siemens in Llanberis, where I met Finance Director Judy Owen. This is a real success story and recent developments there have given a great boost to the area.

The work which is carried out at present in their Los Angeles plant will now be transferred to Llanberis, meaning the creation of almost 200 new jobs in Gwynedd, and the consolidation of the existing 327 jobs in Llanberis.

As you can imagine, this has been very well received, not only in Gwynedd, but across Wales, and great credit is due to the management team in Llanberis, as well as the work force. Not surprisingly, Judy Owen told us that they had already received a large number of applications for the new vacancies.

Electric Disability Scooters

Some of you may have seen pieces in the local media and television recently highlighting the preceived problem of using electric disability scooters or mart carts.

The issue was brought to my attention when Rhondda resident Keiron Shepherd of Ton Pentre, was asked by staff to leave Asda’s Tonypandy store while shopping with his mother. The 13 year old schoolboy, who suffers with cerebral palsy, says he was left bewildered and embarrassed as he was escorted to the front of the store.

I have finally succeeded in securing a meeting with Asda management in an attempt to resolve the store’s ban.

I’m pleased that Adsa have finally responded to my repeated attempts to contact them. I’m hoping that an amicable agreement can be made, so that young people under the age of 16 are able to use their scooters in store.

I don’t understand Asda’s stance on this, as there’s no legal age limit to drive these scooters. It would seem that this policy was introduced ‘off the cuff’ by the Tonypandy store, as I understand that Keiron has used these scooters in several other Asda stores around south Wales with no problem.

I will be asking that Tonypandy Asda change their policy, but the least Keiron deserves is an apology for the way he was treated.

I sincerely hope that this issue can be resolved, as I find it unacceptable that some of our young people are discriminated against. I’ve been in contact with the Equality and Human Rights Commission and if I don’t get a satisfactory answer then I’m prepared to take this further.

My reports from Palestine

I’m visiting Palestine this week, and as a member of the European Parliament’s Delegation we’ll be meeting with UN (UNRWA and OCHA), Members of the Knesset, Members of the Palestinian Legislative Council, the Mayors of Hebron, Bethlehem and Nablus, and representatives of various Israeli and Palestinian NGOs.

I’ll be reporting on my visit via The Daily Post. You can find the latest update here.

Wales disadvantaged yet again!

Today the official proclamation of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights took place in Strasbourg, and the UK Government insisted on opting out of the provisions of the Charter.

The opt out puts Wales at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the European Union and proves the need for Wales to have its own voice in Europe. The UK is opting out from the Charter whilst the Polish government has indicated that it intends to drop its opt out, leaving the UK as the only member state not to sign up.

Nothing highlights our disadvantage in Europe more than watching everyone except Britain and possibly Poland sign up to the Charter of Fundamental Rights. We have called for many years for a written charter of rights. Now the EU has it but we in Wales don’t. Our human and social rights are less protected.

This charter is an instrument for political action on social rights, the environment, workers rights, equality of men and women, rights for children and the elderly. Members of parliament stood and cheered as the charter was signed. Those of us who are denied the protection of the charter could only stand on the sidelines.

The lesson for today is that Wales can not afford to be on the sidelines and needs to have its own voice in Europe.

The European Charter of Fundamental Rights was signed at a special proclamation ceremony in Strasbourg by Hans-Gert Pöttering, European Parliament President, José Manuel Barroso, Commission President, and José Sócrates, Portuguese Prime Minister and President-in-office of the EU Council.

The event was designed to publicise the Charter and give a legal basis article which refers to the Charter in the EU Reform Treaty (the Lisbon Treaty). The United Kingdom has an opt out from this part of Treaty and the UK Prime Minister will not be present in Lisbon for the joint signing ceremony which takes place tomorrow.

From Pontypridd to Brussels

I attended the Welsh-themed British Beer Club Christmas Reception in Brussels on Monday. A total of forty five brewers from Wales were invited to take part, one of which was the Otley Brewery from Pontypridd.

Events like this are important in promoting Welsh produce overseas and I’m always keen to lend my support. My congratulations to the British Beer Club for their work, and to those Welsh brewers who took part.

It was great to see a number of local brewers from Wales taking part, and both Nick and Matthew Otley from the Otley brewery in Pontypridd were there to promote their selection of real ales.

I hope this will help open new markets for their fine Welsh produce, perhaps not in time for this Christmas, but certainly in time for the next!

International AIDS Day

Today is International AIDS Day. I will be wearing my red ribbon to help raise awareness of this terrible disease. In the year 2000 all the EU countries signed up to the Millenium Development Goals. Fighting HIV/AIDS is a real test of their commitment.

5 million children have been orphaned by AIDS. Many pregnant women are denied the drugs to prevent them passing on the virus to their unborn children.

A few years ago I did a report in the Parliament on this issue and worked closely with Medicines Sans Frontiers. I learned a lot about their fantastic work but also about the scale of the problem. Then in 2002 I visited Kwazulu Natal in South Africa. There I saw it at first hand. We had a meeting with the King of the Zulus who had made fighting AIDS his top priority because they were burying a child in the village every week and he just couldn’t stand it any more. But I also went to watch a group of young people performing a play for schools which was really inspiring. It carried a very strong message about the importance of using condoms.

Wearing a ribbon isn’t much but it is important. If nothing else it reminds people who make promises that we expect them to keep them.

Asking the right questions

Following my last blog entry when I was being attacked by several Labour MPs for daring to ask questions about St Athan, I have been delighted to receive countless messages of support from people I know and many I don’t know. Thank you all.

We had a very good debate on defence and St Athan in the Plaid National Council meeting and passed a resolution which I’ve printed below. You’ll probably have read in the press that it was either thrown out or just “noted” but that’s not true. There are people who support the project but still want to ask questions about the arms companies involved and what kind of jobs might be created. And of course this is a massive privatisation of military training - putting it in the hands of private companies. As usual, Plaid is asking the right questions. If the right answers are there, why should anyone be so outraged? I won’t be bullied into keeping quiet over something that is so important and which so many constituents have raised with me. That’s why they elected me.

There was a lot said last week about the St Athan development that’s not true. Only the first phase of the project is going ahead at the moment which will not create the 6,000 jobs some people keep claiming. It’s more like 2 - 3,000 and we don’t know yet how many will be moved from other areas and how many will be local. We’ve heard promises like this before, remember! We need a lot more answers.

Polisi Plaid Cymru ar Sain Tathan, cytunwyd yn y Cyngor Cenedlaethol 17/11/07

Ar ôl trafodaeth o’r papur a gyflwynwyd gan Jill Evans ASE a nifer o welliannau, fe gytunwyd:

Mae’r Cyngor Cenedlaethol:

• Yn nodi’r papur safle atodedig ar amddiffyn
• yn nodi taw penderfyniad Llywodraeth y DU yn unig oedd sefydlu Academi Hyfforddiant Amddiffyn yn Sain Tathan
• yn nodi fod nifer o aelodau’r Blaid – am resymau crefyddol a moesol – yn rhan o’r ymgyrch yn erbyn y datblygiad hwn
• yn cadarnhau gwrthwynebiad Plaid Cymru i breifateiddio, gan gynnwys o hyfforddiant milwrol

Mae’r Cyngor Cenedlaethol ymhellach yn:

• cefnogi rhaglen datblygu economaidd llywodraeth Cymru’n Un a fydd yn sicrhau creu a chadw “cyflogaeth yn ôl egwyddorion cynaladwyedd, gan annog swyddi hirdymor o ansawdd uchel” ym mhob rhan o Gymru.
• galw ar Lywodraeth Cymru’n Un i lynu wrth y gofyniad statudol yn Neddfau Llywodraeth Cymru i hyrwyddo Datblygu Cynaliadwy.
• pwysleisio’r angen i’r Cynulliad gael gwybodaeth llawn o bob datblygiad yn ymwneud a’r Academi Hyfforddiant Amddiffyn ac i gael eu hymgynghori mewn penderfyniadau perthnasol i’r project yn y dyfodol
• nodi nad oes gwariant uniongyrchol gan Lywodraeth Cymru ar yr Academi Hyfforddiant Amddiffyn ond yn gofyn fod unrhyw wariant a ddaw yn sgil y datblygiad gan Lywodraeth Cymru’n hysbys i’r cyhoedd
• galw am wybodaeth mwy manwl am y mathau o swyddi fydd yn cael eu cynnig i bobl lleol a’r lefelau cyflog y cynllunnir
• galw ar Lywodraeth Cymru’n Un i ofyn am sicrhad nad yw’r cwmnïau sydd yng nghonsortiwm Metrix yn ymwneud a’r fasnach anghyfreithlon mewn arfau anfoesol ac i’r wybodaeth honno fod yn gyhoeddus
• galw ar Lywodraeth Cymru’n Un i ofyn am warant o Lywodraeth Prydain na gynigir hyfforddiant i wledydd sydd yn annemocrataidd neu’n euog o dorri hawliau dynol
• ail-ddatgan ei gwrthwynebiad i ryfel Irac ac yn nodi ei phryder ynglyn â danfon milwyr heb fod ganddynt yr offer addas.

Plaid Cymru Policy on St Athan, agreed in National Council, 17/11/07

After a discussion on the paper presented by Jill Evans and a number of amendments it was agreed:

National Council:

• notes the attached position paper on defence
• notes that the decision to establish a DTA at St Athan was the decision of the UK government alone
• notes that many party members – for religious and moral reasons – are campaigning against the development
• reiterates Plaid Cymru’s opposition to privatisation, including that of military training

National Council further:

• supports the economic development programme of the One Wales government which will ensure the creation and retention of employment “firmly guided by sustainability principles, encouraging long term, high quality jobs” in all parts of Wales
• calls on the One Wales Government to remain committed to the stautory requirement in the Government of Wales Acts to promote sustainable development
• emphasises the need for the Assembly to be kept fully informed of all developments relating to the Defence Training Academy and to be consulted on all future decisions relating to the project
• notes that there is no direct spending by the NAG on the Defence Training Academy but asks that any ancillary spending by the Welsh government is made public
• calls for more detailed information about the kind of jobs that would be offered to local people and the planned wage levels
• calls on the One Wales Government to seek assurances that the companies involved in the Metrix consortium are not engaged in the illegal trade of unethical arms and to make that information public
• calls on the One Wales Government to request a guarantee from the British Government that no training will be offered to countries which are undemocratic or guilty of human rights abuses
• reiterates our opposition to the Iraq war and notes our concern regarding sending soldiers without them having the appropriate equipment.

Whatever happened to mature debate?

Little did I think when I drafted a paper on defence at the request of Plaid’s National Executive Committee that I would end up being called everything from “dangerous” to a “nutter” by Labour politicians.

It’s hard to believe that I am under attack for debating defence policy – one of the most important issues we all have to deal with, and St Athan - one of the biggest investments in Wales’s history, but not without controversy.

Plaid will have this debate at our National Council meeting tomorrow (Saturday), and after that we’ll be very happy to continue the debate in public, when I hope the media will continue their interest. My paper was written for the members - putting forward ideas and proposals for us to talk about before making policy decisions. It’s a pity that such documents get leaked to the press and misinterpreted.

It should be no surprise to anyone that Plaid would not be part of NATO or would scrap nuclear weapons. It’s been our policy for years. But in a changing Wales we have to look at our changing defence needs as a small European country. It doesn’t reflect well on the maturity of political debate when some politicians react with such hysteria to a genuine and important discussion.