Lib Dem Councillor opens renewable energy conference

12.01.00am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 28th Sep 2006

'Realising the Promise of Bioenergy' was the title of a major conference held last week in Oxford. The Conference was formally opened on Monday by Dr Royce Longton, Lib Dem Environment Spokesman on West Berkshire Council. Dr Longton was speaking in his capacity as Chairman of the Conference organisers, Thames Valley Energy, an agency charged with promoting the use of renewable forms of energy throughout the Thames Valley and Hampshire.

Dr Longton told the Conference that:

"There can now be no doubting the reality of human-induced climate change and the threat that it poses to the global ecosystem. There are forecasts that 2 million people will die in Africa alone during the next few decades and that wild polar bears will be extinct within 25 years. These effects are probably now irreversible and represent only the tip of the iceberg if urgent action is not taken NOW to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We need action from national governments, regional and local authorities, from the commercial sector and from individual citizens. From Government in particular we need not just words and strategies but bold and resolute action".

Dr Longton was keen to promote positive action, and ways forward from the current situation:

"The good news is that renewable forms of energy can substantially reduce dependence on fossil fuels in a way that is truly sustainable. Renewables also lack the potential danger and high financial cost of nuclear power. Biomass in the form of wood from existing forests, specially planted coppices, and other crops such as those yielding liquid biofuels, represent one of the major potential sources of renewable energy in the Thames Valley. Moreover, if sympathetically managed biomass offers an opportunity to enhance biodiversity and to revitalise a rural economy so severely depressed by the decline in demand for local agricultural produce."