How ironic is this?

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There is a lot of concern at the moment about climate change and the effects of increased carbon dioxide (CO2) from human activities contributing to global warming. So in an effort to reduce the UK’s emissions of CO2, the government has helped promote renewable energy generation, especially solar and wind power, and reduce use of coal in power stations. But at this time of year solar power is not so useful in the UK as the sun is lower in the sky, there is more demand for energy for heating as the weather cools, the bounce-back of the economy after lockdown has led to increased demand for power from industry, and the weather has been less windy than expected meaning less power from wind. So the UK has had to import gas from other countries including Russia, which has put up prices. As a result one company, which manufactures fertiliser, has actually shut down its production facilities as the gas it needs is too expensive. Turns out that a by-product of fertiliser production is CO2, which is needed in the food industry especially for meat production but also bakery products and fizzy drinks. And they are warning that they are just days away from a major crisis shutting down supplies due to the lack of the usual CO2 supply from the fertiliser producer. How ironic is it that efforts to reduce release of CO2 into the atmosphere has resulted in a lack of CO2 for use in industry! This does make me wonder whether carbon capture technology could not be used to divert the CO2 to where it’s needed. All rights reserved. © Text and image copyright Fleur 2021.