Introduction
On or around 19 July 2022, the Isle of Man Government published what it described as “A detailed plan that demonstrates the Isle of Man’s commitment to tackle climate change”, to outline the actions the Government must take to cut greenhouse gas emissions over the next five years, so that the Isle of Man remains on track to be net zero by 2050.
The Green Party’s Response
The Isle of Man Green Party welcomes the fact that Isle of Man Government has produced a long overdue Climate Change Plan with interim targets for 2030 and 2035. The Party sets out its summary observations on the Plan as follows:
● Electricity: We strongly support the commitment to 100% reduction in fossil fuelled generation by 2030 and the addition of at least 20 MW of renewable capacity by 2026.
o Given that there is just over 3 years to implement this, we question why the Plan does not contain any details of how this will be done. We call on the Government to issue details as soon as possible, and expect that this will mainly consist of a commitment to commence immediate installation of wind power, a policy of installation of solar panels on public buildings, and facilitation for residents and business to greatly expand private solar installations.
o We call for the Government to adopt the longer-term strategic goal of utilising the Island’s abundant potential by installing renewable energy generation capacity above the Island’s needs, exporting the surplus to our neighbours with the added benefit of diversifying the Island’s economy.
o The Green Party strongly opposes the construction of a biomass-burning electricity generation plant which seems implied by the use of the term “carbon neutral energy” and in the image on page 5 but is not explicitly mentioned anywhere in the document.
o We contend that this technology would inflict air pollution on the Manx people, and require use of the Island’s limited land area for biodiversity poor timber plantations which could otherwise be used to produce eco-friendly building materials, returned to nature or farmed for local food production.
● Buildings:
o The ban on fossil fuel heating in new homes should start in 2023, along with all the other ‘deliverables’, most of which have no start date in the Plan.
o A ‘public engagement campaign’ will not insulate people’s homes.
o Training is required to support the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates.
● Transport:
o The transport section omits any mention of public transport. The island is well placed to provide low or no cost (to the user) electric public transport, which would be a major public good and reduce the number of vehicles and hence the future load on the grid.
o There is no commitment to switch Government’s vehicle purchasing, including the bus network, to electric vehicles.
● Agriculture, land and sea:
o The threat to adequate water supplies needs to be included and addressed. This includes meeting the needs of any proposed population increases.
● Business:
o We support the deliverables as far as they go; especially 5.7, implementing the outcomes of the Isle of Man Retrofit and Low Carbon Skills Analysis.
o Rather than ‘exploring the scope’ or ‘exploring the creation’ of schemes, Government needs to support on-Island green energy companies with immediate, tangible, practical incentives.
● Waste:
o We support the improvement of waste management, but the points listed do not include any specific plans or deliverables.
o We support the adoption of a ‘circular economy’ approach and urge the government to broaden its application.
o The best way to reduce waste is to prevent the initial use of wasteful materials. The island is well placed to do this with government leadership.
● Part 2 – Supporting the transition
o We support the principles listed in the five key areas of the transition.
There are many elements to the plan which appear incomplete and unambitious. The first action point in some sections is to “develop a strategy”, i.e., a plan to make a plan. The commitment to rebooting the active travel strategy in is welcome but, as this has been under development for many years, an embarrassing admission of failure, and so on.
The Green Party calls for the Government to add flesh to the bones of this plan and looks forward to some long-overdue action and the Isle of Man Government finally playing its part in addressing this global crisis.
Photo credit to Mr Frank Schuengel.