Fuel For Thought 22 Recap
By Amal Pouzoulet
We kicked off the new year with a session on renewable energy, mining, and the military.
First up, we heard from London Mining Network’s Daniel Selwyn, who placed the mining industry in its rightful historical context: as the “arsonists of our planetary incineration.” Drawing on the industry’s roots in the UK’s colonial history and military violence to control people and steal their resources. A relationship which continues today.
Indeed, Daniel highlighted the military industry as the largest global consumer of mineral and fossil resources, directed towards producing deadly weapons of murder and war. And therefore, the industry which should come under greatest scrutiny for global social and ecological harm linked to mining and climate-busting emissions.
The mining companies who are portraying themselves as the industry that’s going to bring about a green industrial revolution […] are the very arsonists of our planetary incineration. They are the ones who are responsible for the colonial, social and ecological harms that have accumulated over centuries.
Daniel Selwyn, London Mining Network
Following on, we heard from Global Systems and Policy Manager at the Climate and Community Institute (CCI), Lorah Steichen. She spoke about the direct emissions of militaries, the military consumption of minerals needed to decarbonise the economy, and how terminology around minerals relates to mining policy.
It can’t be understated how damaging mining is for the environment, but a key difference […] is that unlike fossil fuels, minerals can be recycled at scale. Really, the only way to ensure a mineral never becomes a part of a circular economy is to blow it up in a bomb.
Lorah Steichen, Climate and Community Institute
Last but not least, we had Dr Philip Johnstone, expert in nuclear energy, to talk us through where nuclear power fits into the discussion. Simply put, Philip illustrated how so-called civil nuclear, supposedly to produce household energy, is in fact underpinned by the UK’s military nuclear power programme.
It’s become government policy that civil nuclear should continue for it’s military applications, specifically for its nuclear submarine programme. As such, he demonstrated how military nuclear power is subsidised through our energy bills to the tune of £5bn a year, a staggering cost to bill-payers, at a time when people are already having to choose between heating or eating.
The UK nuclear complex is, by far, the most dangerous threat we face in terms of the immediacy of the catastrophe we face if these weapons were used. It warps energy policy, […] it adds at least £5bn to our national energy bills per year, and it distorts the democratic process.
Philip Johnstone, Visiting Professor University of Tartu, Postdoctoral researcher University of Utrecht, Visiting Research Fellow, University of Sussex.
