Isle of Wight councillor, Nick Stuart, is urging Islanders to join him in opposing plans to route a waste CO2 pipeline across Island put forward by American oil giant, Exxon Mobil, which operates the Fawley oil refinery.
Councillor Stuart represents the Brighstone, Calbourne and Shalfleet area that stretches from the north to the south coast of the Island and is earmarked as one leg of the proposed cross-Island route for the pipeline (see details of consultation meetings).
Stuart: Appears to be a greenwashing attempt by a massive fossil fuel company
Councillor Stuart says,
“Exxon Mobil’s preferred route has implications for about 40 square kilometres – about 10 per cent – of the Island’s total surface area. That’s the size of the Island’s largest towns combined!
“If it goes ahead the pipeline would cause three years of major construction, damaging the Island’s seabed ecologies, national landscapes, heritage coast, ancient woodlands, and various protected nature sites – including those designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Ramsar sites, and Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC). This is particularly concerning given the Isle of Wight’s UNESCO Biosphere designation.
“Despite a glossy public ‘consultation’ process, Exxon Mobil is not offering residents a real choice, only a say in which of the company’s predetermined pipeline routes they prefer.
“This appears to be a greenwashing attempt by a massive fossil fuel company to avoid dealing with the shift from oil to renewable energy. It is disappointing – some might call it cynical – that the pipeline consultation is timed to avoid scrutiny between council meetings and over the summer.
“The Isle of Wight Council has no planning authority over the scheme as it is deemed a national infrastructure project, which only requires the approval of the Secretary of State.
“I urge all residents to join me in persuading the council to object to this dreadful project and asking the Secretary of State to reject it in the strongest possible terms.”
News shared by Councillor Stuart, in his own words. Ed
