Lee Anderson savages Ed Miliband in burst of ‘breathtaking madness’ | Politics | News

Lee Anderson has launched a scathing attack on the government after a revealing new study showed that exported liquefied natural gas (LNG) is actually more harmful to the environment than coal.

The Reform UK MP read out the publication of research from scientists including Robert Howarth from Cornell University.

This suggests that LNG emits 33 percent more greenhouse gases than coal over a 20-year period, contradicting the popular belief that gas is a clean transition fuel.

Mr Anderson is deeply critical of the environmental policies of the Labor government, led by Energy Security Secretary Ed Miliband, and recently lamented the decision to close Ratcliffe-Upon-Soar, a coal-fired power station in his native Nottinghamshire.

In a post on X, the former miner raged: “Who would have thought?”

“We have just closed a coal-fired power plant while we are still importing liquefied natural gas on ships. The madness is shocking.”

For years, LNG has been marketed by the fossil fuel industry as a “bridge” fuel, enabling lower emissions while renewable energy infrastructure is developed.

However, Prof Howarth’s study undermines this theory and highlights the significant emissions associated with the extraction, transport and processing of LNG, particularly when it is exported from the United States to Europe and Asia.

He warned: “The idea that coal is more damaging to the climate is wrong – LNG has a larger greenhouse gas footprint than any other fuel.”

He also branded the further expansion of LNG as a climate solution as “greenwashing”.

Prof Howard stressed that the fossil fuel industry has greatly underestimated the environmental damage associated with LNG.

He added: “To think we should pass on this gas as a climate solution is just wrong.”

The report, published in the journal Energy Science & Engineering and not yet peer-reviewed, details the enormous energy needed to drill for gas, transport it to export facilities, cool it to -162°C to convert it into a liquid. and transport it overseas in huge tankers.

Once LNG reaches its destination, it is regasified and ultimately burned – but by then the emissions from the process are already significant.

According to Prof Howarth’s work, only a third of total emissions come from actual combustion in homes and businesses, with the other two thirds coming from the extraction, transport and liquefaction processes. Significant methane leaks contribute to the overall footprint.

Methane, the main component of natural gas, is a particularly potent greenhouse gas, trapping about 80 times more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over a two-decade period.

Prof. Howarth’s research shows that around 3.5 percent of the gas enters the atmosphere unburned, a figure that is significantly higher than previously thought.

These leaks, combined with the energy-intensive transportation process, mean LNG’s emissions far exceed those of coal, considered the dirtiest fossil fuel.

Reacting to the closure of Ratcliffe-Upon-Soar earlier this month, Mr Anderson said: “It is a sad day indeed. My father worked in a coal mine that supplied coal to this power plant, and I also worked in a coal mine.”

“It is once again a massive act of self-harm for our country. We’ve seen the steel mills, the oil refineries, the coal-fired power plants close, and guess what… we still need those things.”

“It’s absolute madness. The Net Zero crazies will celebrate tonight, but many people in this country are scratching their heads and thinking, ‘Why do we let this madness continue?’

He added: “Just look at Drax Power Station – they once burned coal from a local mine and now we import timber from North America. We cut down trees, ship them across the Atlantic and process them into wood pellets, etc. and burn it.

“We were told this was renewable energy and guess what – it costs us £1 million a day in subsidies to keep it open. It’s absolute madness. The crazy people have taken over the institution.”