Sir, The letter from various environmental groups urging Ed Miliband to reject the Cardiff-Weston Barrage as one of the options to take forward from the Severn Tidal Power Assessment (Dec 17) appears to be one-sided and self serving. It emphasises only potential negative impacts that have been identified and ignores potential positive impacts, which the signatories’ organisations will be well aware of, having been represented on the Strategic Environmental Assessment study considering the various proposals.

For example, the reduced turbidity in the estuary that a barrage would induce would lead to higher levels of light penetration through the waters, lower bacterial loads and, consequently, increase the productivity of the waters and thus potentially increasing biodiversity. Aspects of flood defence that would protect delicate coastal areas (as well as property) along the water’s edge are also ignored.

Tackling climate change is an urgent task that will affect the entire globe, and environmental groups, more than any others, should understand that procrastination while we search for perfect solutions for a small local area will have detrimental effects on the rest of the globe. As engineers, we understand that compromise is required and that the costs of a barrage, both environmental and economic, must be weighed against the large environmental benefits to be gained by such a scheme.

As for the assertion that energy from the Severn is not essential to meet our 2020 renewables targets, this ignores the UK’s woeful progress so far in commissioning new renewable energy projects, and in this climate we feel it would be foolish not to be using every tool available to us to reduce the UK’s carbon intensity as quickly as possible. If we could overshoot our targets for renewable energy rather than just meet them, wouldn’t that be a good thing for the environment?

Scott Steedman

Vice-President, the Royal Academy of Engineering

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