Fighting climate change

Generating energy from renewable sources instead of fossil fuels is key to reducing our carbon dioxide emissions and fighting climate change.

Norfolk's annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions per person are above the national average.  The County has therefore set a target of reducing CO₂ emissions by 11% by 2011.

Norfolk County Council's Climate Change Strategy states that by the 2080s Norfolk is likely to experience:

• An average temperature rise of 1-5°C
• Hotter, drier summers
• Wetter winters
• Sea level rise of up to 0.88m
• More extreme events (heatwaves, gales, storms, tidal surges and intense rainfall)

Over the coming decades, this could result in:

• Greater flood risk
• Water scarcity
• Accelerated coastal erosion
• Change or reduction in biodiversity and rare habitats
• Heatwaves and associated health risks
• Increase in pests and animal diseases

The Council's strategy also highlights "...that the actions of our generation will affect the quality of life of our children and generations to come. The full effects of climate change may not be felt for some decades, but decision time is upon us. The time to act is now."

Compared to generating energy from a gas-fired plant, Thetford Renewable Energy Plant would cut the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) by more than 120,000* tonnes every year, the equivalent of taking more than 45,000 cars off the UK's roads, by burning a renewable  fuel in place of traditional fossil fuels.

The proposed plant is just one way Norfolk can reduce its carbon footprint and continue to tackle climate change. 

*Note: this calculation is as a result of generation only and is based on equivalent CO₂ emissions from a gas-fired power plant; these numbers would differ for coal as a coal-fired plant would emit approximately 830g of CO₂ per kwh compared to approximately 380g from a gas-fired plant.