Watching the current General Election hysteria in the media right now and one subject seems almost totally absent from the debate.

Climate Change.

Where on Earth is the debate on this or do we not care anymore? Now we all drive hybrids is the environment ‘problem‘ all sorted?

Of course, all the parties do mention climate to lessor (or in the case of UKIP, even lessor) extent but even the Green party leader Natalie Bennett hardly mentioned it in national exposure during multiple televised debates. And yet this is an issue we ignore at our peril.

Just today a report in the Guardian claims that the top privately owned fossil fuel companies between hold reserves that it burnt would release 555 GIGATONNES of CO2 (GTCO2).

A further 2,650 GTCO2 is said to be held by state-owned companies.

Put into perspective, 555 GTCO2 is about the amount which, climate scientists believe, is the total the world could ever release with a hope of keeping world-wide temperate increases below 2 DegC – the ‘climate tipping point‘.

There are industry experts who believe the current low in the cost of oil is simply the result of a race by major exporters to pump as much as possible before an inevitable transition to low carbon technology forces them to leave large resources below ground. If so, any optimism is misplaced since artificially low fossil fuel prices prevent investment in alternative green sources and push the Zero Carbon Day further into the future.

So in the run-up to Election Day ask your MP a few simple questions:

  1. Do you support renewable technology, including wind? – one of the UKs greatest assets.
  2. What further incentives will your party put in place to increase the future roll-out of low carbon energy?
  3. Do you support fracking? – if so why?
  4. Do you believe in Climate Change?