Carbon Footprint
Keeping NI on the path to a low carbon economy.
For the past 10 years Northern Ireland has contributed to helping the Government reach its climate change targets, but there is still more to do.
To provide further insight; Richard Rodgers, Business Development Director with Phoenix Natural Gas, gives us a perspective.
The UK’s first May Day Business Summit on Climate Change has happened and some 1,000 business leaders across the UK pledged their commitment to ‘collective business action’ on combating climate change.
The good news for local business, public and service sector is that Northern Ireland is at the forefront of the opportunity to accelerate the reduction of the carbon footprint, a key factor in global warming. In the past 10 years the development of the natural gas industry has helped Northern Ireland move into pole position with respect to carbon emissions; local businesses and domestic households who have switched to natural gas have reduced their emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by over 1.6 million tonnes – significant progress already.
Right from the beginning of the natural gas industry in Northern Ireland, energy management was at the very centre of the switch from more polluting fuels – why? The public and private sector have been investing in converting to natural gas burning appliances and to optimise this investment, they took steps to reduce the amount of fuel they used at the same time. Lower energy bills followed lower energy usage, whilst at the same time natural gas produced significantly less carbon emissions than heavy fuel oil, gas oil and domestic heating oil.
By way of an example, the use of natural gas by the National Health Service in Northern Ireland makes up just over 10% of all the natural gas consumed in throughout the Phoenix licensed area each year. Although made up of many different premises, this one umbrella consumer had the potential to make a significant impact on the carbon footprint – traditionally the hospitals used one of the most polluting sources of energy, heavy fuel oil, not only very polluting for each unit consumed, but also not comparatively efficient to use – that is, more of the fuel was used compared to the picture after the switch to natural gas. In 2006 Phoenix made a special award to the NHS for its sustained energy efficient approach that it adopted to local healthcare management in its conversion and ongoing use of natural gas. In fact, in the last 10 years the local Health Service has delivered a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by almost 200,000 tonnes – this is around 1/8 of the total savings made throughout the whole Greater Belfast area.
Climate change, carbon footprints and energy efficiency are hot topics of debate and concern for us all. How can we continue to ensure that the natural gas industry makes a difference as it forges ahead? The evidence from the last 10 years across businesses in both the public and private sectors has demonstrated significant savings on energy and carbon emissions through their switch to natural gas; savings that would not otherwise have been experienced in such a short time.
The advance in renewable technology should be embraced, but in itself, it is much to early for it to be able to deliver the job on its own. However, in partnership with natural gas, Northern Ireland will be able to continue to lead over the next decade in the reduction of the carbon footprint. Support to deliver this will come through innovative partnership schemes between the private and public sector – the Carbon Trust, the EST, Actions Renewable, NIE and Phoenix – the sum is greater than the individual parts.
These platforms, coupled with the acceleration of the natural gas industry to maturity, have the potential to continue to keep us on the right track, ensuring not only will Northern Ireland be doing its bit to combat global warming, but in a way that will keep its industry and commerce globally competitive – natural gas remains the most economically and environmentally sensible bridge to sustainable renewable energy over the coming decades.