Electricity generation and carbon emissions
In signing up to, and then ratifying, the Kyoto treaty the UK government made a legally binding commitment to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 12.5% (on 1990 figures) by 2012. The UK government also made an independent commitment to reduce GHG emissions by 20% by 2010.

Carbon emissions account for the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions.

Generating electricity currently accounts for 30% of the UK’s total carbon emissions, with 66% of these emissions – or 20% of the total - resulting from the inefficiencies inherent in our current highly centralised generating model. And it is likely that this picture is mirrored in most western developed countries. (See Distributed energy and geo-pressure for more information.) So geo-pressure, being an efficient, carbon free and distributed means of generating electricity could potentially play a major part in helping the UK government meet its carbon reduction targets.

Why is reducing the level of carbon emissions so important?
Because we jeopardise the future of our planet future if we don’t. The scientific community now believes, almost unanimously, that our ever increasing rate of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions - causing the levels in the atmosphere to rise from 290 parts per million (ppm) in the 19th century to 380 ppm in 2005 - is causing our climate to change with potentially disastrous consequences. CO2 Measures Graph

At the beginning of this year, Tony Blair asked a panel of scientists to give a maximum (CO₂) ppm figure for the world. They said 400. Any higher and we risked serious consequences for the health of the planet. Worryingly, on November 1st 2005, Claude Mandil, Executive Director of the International Energy Authority, IEA, said that 550 was a much more realistic maximum, given the rate at which the developing nations, particularly China and India are ramping up their (CO₂) emissions level.

There is a solution
Wherever possible, switching to geo-pressure, and other renewable and clean energy sources, to generate electricity in the UK and elsewhere, would make a significant contribution to achieving or even beating both our Kyoto target and the UK government’s more ambitious target. The technology for using geo-pressure to generate electricity exists today and there are more than 2,000 suitable pressure reduction stations in the UK alone.

Geo-pressure has been used for many years to generate electricity in Europe and North America - indeed the Italian government made its use a legal requirement some time ago – so the technology is fully tried and tested. All we need now is for the UK government to get behind the geo-pressure technology and provide the financial incentives to encourage owners of pressure reduction stations to invest in this green electricity opportunity.