Last updated 15:54, Wednesday, 07 May 2008

COPELAND MP, Jamie Reed, says he will press for Britain’s Co2 reductions to be cut by 80 per cent rather than 60 per cent “if possible”.

MUSH ADO: Copeland MP Jamie Reed prepares for his dog sled expedition to the fragile Svalbard environment.The short incursion into Adventland left a lasting impression on him.

This comes in the wake of a global warming study expedition in the Arctic Circle, at the invitation of the Norwegian government.

He was invited as part of a small cross-party group of MPs because of his involvement in energy and environment policy.

The study was funded by the Norwegian Government and took place during Parliamentary recess.

It lasted four days and took him hundreds of miles north of the Norwegian mainland and the northernmost inhabited settlement on the planet and saw him deep inside the ice caves of a glacier.

Mr Reed said: “I was keen to see what global warming looks like, the speed at which it is happening and for the opportunity to discuss environmental policy with some of the world’s leading scientists.”

He said melting ice could so reveal new shipping routes and warming seas mean fish stocks could leave, decimating northern fishing communities and upsetting eco-balance, probably forever.

Mr Reed said the realities of global warming in north Norway are vas, ecologically, environmentally and economically.

“Instead of simply allowing local economies to whither, the Norwegian government is producing policy solutions to help. Norway wants to exploit its oil and gas reserves for the good of its economy, and its national pension fund, which is supported by these revenues, but it is aware that more oil and gas use means more Co2 emissions… unless a solution can be found.

“Norway has called for a collective scientific effort equivalent to the one behind the moon landing, to find policy solutions. So far, hopes are pinned on the development of carbon capture and storage – whereby the Co2 is prevented from reaching the environment.

“The Co2 has to be stored and the rocks and cliffs and beneath the frozen Svalbard landscape is an area being investigated by scientists as a potential geological store. They hope to be able to inject liquid Co2 into stable geological seams for it to remain there indefinitely.”

At Longyearbyen he went underground, inside an ice glacier where glacial slip is being studied glaciers to understand its long term consequences.

"After only a few hours I developed a clearer understanding of global warming than ever before; for mankind the ground is literally moving beneath our feet and action is already overdue.

He explored the fragile Svalbard environment by dog sled.

The 12 kilometre incursion into Adventland left a lasting impression.

Mr Reed said: “If my generation does not stop global warming, then my children will never experience a landscape such as this.

“Global warming will not be solved by governments acting alone; it will not be solved solely by renewable energy sources.

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is vital and scientists say “it has to work. But it might not. In truth, the science and the politics of CCS make the storage of radioactive waste look incredibly simple and straightforward in comparison and leads to the inescapable conclusion that we need nuclear energy.

"If West Cumbria – and Furness – can fulfil its role in facilitating our nuclear renaissance, then we can lead the fight against climate change Britain.”