Like any liberal do-gooder, my first reaction to hearing the Government had cleared the digging of a £165m mine in Whitehaven with “dismay” – or an expletive not fit to be published.
My second reaction was “what do I know”
- Apparently the coke being dug out from under the sea is not for power stations but the stuff needed for steel smelting where steel is still manufactured in the UK.
- Apparently the blast furnaces cannot be converted to be fired using naturally sourced energy from tide, wind or sun.
- And this being the case , the mine – which is predicted to operate till 2049 may mean that the blast furnaces remain productive and don’t become another stranded asset.
The world needs steel and we want a steel industry in the UK. We currently import coke and until recently we imported from Russia. If the coke was delivered to Scunthorpe and Port Talbot by boat, what would be the net impact compared with what happens today?
If the price of coke paid by the steel makers is lower , what is the economic impact, not just on Whitehaven but on the steel towns. What is the social impact on steelworkers?
I don’t know the answers to any of these questions but I think that many of the questions can be answered by the measures that are being developed to measure climate and social impact.
I don’t think you can disassociate the social and the environmental in ESG and as the governance of this is in the hands of the Government, the E and the S are the key factors in the decision.
I really do care about the environment and I care about social issues – I’m a proper pinko liberal (as Al Rush tells me). But I am a confused one.
I know that I am pro onshore-wind farms as I can make the economic and social trade offs and do not see the environmental pollution in them.
On more complex issues , such as this, I am less sure. I invest 50% of my pension pot in a fossil fuel fund , I am fully invested in helping steelworkers understand my pensions. How do I manage my personal conflicts – how can anyone?
Which stranded asset should I pick?
