Judith Russenberger

Counting on … day 83

12th June 2025

Diesel – or petroleum diesel – is made from fossil fuels.

Biodiesel is a similar product which is made from plant based oils, animal fats and recycled cooking grease. Once treated using a process of ‘transesterification’ it can be mixed with regular diesel for use in combustion engines – it is not sufficiently similar chemically for use a complete substitute for petroleum diesel.

Renewable diesel or HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) is also made from plant and animals based fats, and waste oils using a process called ‘hydrotreating’. This diesel substitute closely mimics regular diesel and can be used as a direct replacement – ‘drop in’ – fuel for combustion engines.(1)

Again the issue that makes the sustainability of renewable diesel questionable is the available supply of plant and animals based fats and waste oil needed in its production. There is a risk that virgin forests in South America and Asia may be cleared to make way for soy and palm oil cultivation – as fuel crops – exacerbating the imbalance of CO2 emissions (virgin forests are net absorbers of carbon dioxide). Equally relying animal based fats (also known as tallow) that come from beef farming adds to the growing trend in deforestation to make way for grass and fodder crops. And, ironically for a product sold as sustainable, when demand for waste oil exceeds supply, the shortfall is made up by substituting virgin plant oil. (2)

Replacing fossil fuel diesel with plant based diesel does not provide a sustainable low carbon solution. Plants and animals are best farmed to provide food and not as a fuel source for energy.

Counting on … day 82

11th June 2025

Biogas is a mixture of methane, CO2 and other gases produced from plant and/or animal material via anaerobic digestion. It comprises between 45-75% methane by volume. Biogas can be used for cooking, heating and for electricity in biogas adapted power stations. Biogas can not as a direct substitute for natural gas. Biomethane on the other hand is nearly 100% methane and can be used to replace natural gas without changing the means of transmission or the end-user’s equipment.(1)

Biomethane is produced by upgrading biogas (ie removing the other gases by various means). Carbon dioxide produced as a byproduct can be used for industrial processes or combined with hydrogen to create more methane. At present biomethane represents about 0.1% of natural gas demand. (1)

The biomaterial used to produce both biogas and biomethane comes from the same sources as for SAF – ie waste material from farms and forestry work, solid municipal/ household waste (including food waste and packaging), recycled cooking fat ( I think MacDonald’s trucks advertise this), animal fat, virgin corn/soy/rapeseed/palm oil, sugar cane and beet, aide and other grains, grasses such as miscanthus, algae etc – and therefore has the same issues around the sufficiency of supply.

Should agricultural land be used to grow crops for provide biofuels or to provide food?

National Grid notes that “UK households, hospitality and food service, food manufacture, retail and wholesale sectors produce around 10 million tonnes of food waste per year. If this was all treated through anaerobic digestion, the industry could generate 11 TWh of biogas – enough to heat 830,000 homes – and cut emissions by 8.8 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, or 2% of the UK’s annual emissions.” (2) On the other hand, as 70% of that food waste was edible, would it have been better used feeding people? Equally given that it represents £22billion (3) would it not be better if the waste been avoided in the first place and the money used for home insulation or public transport?

https://www.iea.org/reports/outlook-for-biogas-and-biomethane-prospects-for-organic-growth/an-introduction-to-biogas-and-biomethane

(2) https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/energy-explained/what-is-biogas

(3) https://www.wrap.ngo/taking-action/food-drink/actions/action-on-food-waste

Counting on … day 81

10th June 2025

Not only do fossil fuel companies promote their oil and gas as being cleaner on the basis of reduced scope 1 and 2 emissions, they also promote themselves as offering the consumer ‘low carbon products.’ For example this from Shell:-

“Shell Low Carbon Solutions offers products and solutions to help customers in heavy transport and industry reduce emissions and deliver more value. Learn about their low-carbon fuels, carbon credits, CCS, DAC, hydrogen, and how they work with partners in aviation…” (1)

But what are low-carbon fuels? For Shell, low carbon fuels include sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), biomethane which is also known as renewable natural gas (RNG) and renewable diesel known also as HVO and HEFA.

SAF is a biofuel meaning that it is produced from plant or animal based materials rather than from fossil fuels. SAF is designed to as a ‘drop in’ fuel for aviation is it can be sued in airplanes without any alteration to the plane’s fuel systems and engines. SAF is seen as low carbon because the carbon dioxide emitted in use is what would have been what as the plant/ animal material had absorbed in its life time. There is of course a carbon footprint in producing SAF which means it would cut emissions compared with tradition jet fuel by 80% rather than 100%.

However at the moment SAF only accounts for about 0.1% of total aviation fuel consumption. Whilst scaling up production facilities is part of the issue, the bigger issue is availability of plant and animal material from which to make SAF. The bio materials used including waste material from farms and forestry work, solid municipal/ household waste (including food waste and packaging), used cooking fat, animal fat, corn/soy/rapeseed/palm oil, sugar cane and beet, aide and other grains, grasses such as miscanthus, algae etc.(2) However the supply of such material is at present insufficient to match the demand for aviation fuel and this raises the conundrum that to supply enough plant and animal material, it would be necessary to set divert agricultural land away from growing food to growing aviation fuel.

The Royal Society has made estimates as to how much biomaterial would be needy to meet UK aviation fuel demand. “Used cooking oil in the UK can be utilised to provide 0.3 to 0.6% of the total amount of jet fuel required every year in the UK. The report also calculated that to meet the 12.3 million tonnes of jet fuel per year will require 42.4 million tonnes of rapeseed biomass per year and 68% of UK’s agricultural land. The report suggests that utilising Miscanthus for alcohol-to-jet in the UK will require 10.3 to 6.2 million hectares to meet UK fuel demand.” (3)

Clearly SAF is not in reality a sustainable option. If net zero is a real ambition, then reducing air miles will have to be a major part of the solution.

(3) https://iuk-business-connect.org.uk/perspectives/feedstocks-for-a-sustainable-aviation-fuel-industry/

Counting on … day 80

9th June 2025

Last week leading economists from the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge and the London School of Economics and Political Science, wrote to the Prime Minister, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.

That letter includes the following paragraph re energy security:-

“Maintaining UK fossil production, in contrast, makes little difference to UK energy security; the price of oil and gas is set by the international market, and security is not achieved by modest increases in domestic fossil fuel extraction, such as through the Rosebank oil field. The risks are economic as much as environmental. North Sea oil and gas carry relatively high marginal extraction costs. Such facilities could easily prove uneconomic were the oil and gas price to fall much below present levels as global demand for oil and gas wanes. The government may have to pick up the tab of decommissioning.” (1)

(1) https://www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2025-06/PM_letter_No_trade_off_between_net_zero_and_economic_growth.pdf

Pentecost

8th June 2025

Reflection with readings below

Pentecost is traditionally seen as the birthday of the Church. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the small band of disciples in the upper room are transfigured into community of missionaries who will preach the gospel to all nations. They are so equipped by the Spirit that they can express the good news in different languages to diverse groups of people.

Overtime (and when we read Acts, really rather quickly) divisions appear in the unity of that community and so I guess we should not be surprised that over the centuries and over the millennia the One Church has splintered into a multiplicity of differing churches, as different people have differed over what is important, what should be included or excluded etc. And even now that there is such diversity, there are still disagreements about what a church should be like, whether it should be traditional or modern, principled or lax. And it is not unusual for individuals to opt out of church altogether because they cannot reconcile what they believe with what they feel the church represents.

Yesterday I was at my local Franciscan area day and our guest speaker was Claire Gilbert, the author of ‘I Julian’. Both Francis of Assisi and Julian of Norwich were inspired to each other have very radically different understandings of God from those presented to them by the Church. For Francis – at a time when the Church was very wealthy and its ministers prince-like in their power – to serve Jesus was to love poverty, rejecting all the trappings and the power that came with wealth and possessions. For Julian – at a time when the Church preached a message of sin and damnation for all who fell short – the overwhelming characteristic of God was love, and only love. There was no wrath in God, no desire to punish or exclude – only love.

But neither Francis nor Julian tried to leave the Church; nor to set up an alternative Church. It was as if they both saw the Church as both human made and therefore frail, and as created by God and therefore good. Both seemed able to sit with this dissonance, to see both what was positive and what was not, and through faith in Jesus as saviour – the one who heals all – to remain faithful to their calling.

So I wonder if we too can joyfully celebrate all that is good about the church – both locally and denominationally – and yet still acknowledge our church’s shortcomings with love and truth?

Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs– in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

`In the last days it will be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.

Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.

And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.

The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.

Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ “

Psalm 104:25-35, 37

25 O Lord, how manifold are your works! *
in wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

26 Yonder is the great and wide sea
with its living things too many to number, *
creatures both small and great.

27 There move the ships,
and there is that Leviathan, *
which you have made for the sport of it.

28 All of them look to you *
to give them their food in due season.

29 You give it to them; they gather it; *
you open your hand, and they are filled with good things.

30 You hide your face, and they are terrified; *
you take away their breath,
and they die and return to their dust.

31 You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; *
and so you renew the face of the earth.

32 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; *
may the Lord rejoice in all his works.

33 He looks at the earth and it trembles; *
he touches the mountains and they smoke.

34 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; *
I will praise my God while I have my being.

35 May these words of mine please him; *
I will rejoice in the Lord.

37 Bless the Lord, O my soul. *
Hallelujah!

Romans 8:14-17

All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ– if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

John 14:8-27

Philip said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, `Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.”

“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”

Counting on … day 79

6th June 2025

North Sea oil and gas which, because they are traded on the international market, have their price determined by international rates are there subject to geo-political fluctuations. Even if North Sea oil and gas comes ashore in the UK, it does not offer any price advantages to British consumers.

On the other hand energy from offshore sources of power – wind, wave and tidal – offers the UK, with our extensive coast line, vast amounts of energy at an affordable cost (and with reference to earlier posts this week, the more renewable energy in the power generation mix the greater the opportunity of bringing down the wholesale price). Research from Plymouth University demonstrates the scale of the benefits to be gained from offshore energy:-

the installed capacity of offshore wind has grown from 1 gigawatt in 2010, to over 10 gigawatts in 2020 – powering the equivalent of 4.5 million homes a year
by 2026 offshore wind is likely to provide almost 30 percent of the total UK electricity demand
the UK holds 35 percent of Europe’s wave energy resource and 50 percent of its tidal energy resource, with over 1 gigawatt of leased tidal stream sites and over 40 gigawatt hours of marine energy generated
wave and tidal energy technologies have the potential to provide at least 20 percent of the UK’s annual electricity demand. (1)

Renewable energy – despite what the fossil fuel industry says – is better able to ensure affordable and secure energy ongoing into the future, and in a way that also protects the environment.

https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/research/institutes/sustainable-earth/sphere/our-energy-transition-the-supergen-offshore-renewable-energy-hub

Counting on … day 78

5th June 2025

Energy security

Interestingly the International Energy Agency was set up in 1074 during the then oil crisis with a mandate to ensure oil security. Since then it has expanded that role to include the security of natural gas, electricity and renewable energy supply chains. These supply chains – as experienced in recent years – are at risk from conflicts, embargoes, adverse weather, terrorism, cyberattack, and failures of national and international grid systems.

Amongst other measures, the IEA requires member countries to hold specific stock levels of oil to mitigate against disruption and spikes in cost. 180 million barrels of oil had to be released when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. That conflict and its impact on both oil prices and the supply and cost of gas, shook many countries as they became acutely aware of their reliance on these energy sources. In response many countries have sought to increase access to locally produced renewable energy.

Developing renewable energies – such as wind, solar and hydro – as well as developing large scale battery storage and enhancing the capacity of the grid are key components in ensuring a secure energy supply. This will become all the more important as the demand for electricity increases. The IEA reported this year that “[b]etween now and 2035, electricity demand is set to grow six times as fast as overall energy demand as a result of factors like the adoption of electric vehicles, air conditioning use, the digitalisation of the economy, the uptake of artificial intelligence and progress on expanding electricity access. Its share in final energy consumption is projected to double by 2050.” (1)

In the energy mix needed to secure this demand the IEA predicts that the use of gas will gradually decrease, whilst solar and wind will play a rapidly increasing role. Whilst oil and gas will be part of the global energy mix going forward, it will be so at a diminishing rate. Long term energy security lies with renewables, and faced with increasing demand for electricity, what is essential in making that increased volume secure, is investment now in the renewables sector – generation, storage and grid capacity.

https://www.iea.org/topics/energy-security

Counting on … day 77

4th June 2025

Following on from yesterday, why then does the UK have some of the highest electricity costs?

Currently about 43% of the UK’s electricity ones from renewables but this is not reflected in the prices consumers pay. The wholesale price of electricty is largely determined by the price of gas – a commodity that has increased significantly in cost on recent years.

The wholesale price of electricity is determined by half hourly bids made by each electricity generator. In response to these bids, electricity is fed into the grid to meet current demand, starting with electricty from the generator with the lowest bid, and working the way up through the bids until the demand for that half hour has been met. Typically the lower bids are submitted by renewable generators as their’s is the cheapest to produce. However the price ultimately paid to all the generators supplying electricty is set at the price bid by the generator who supplies the final chunk of electricity needed to meet demand. Where the grid is still dependent on non renewable generation, this final bid is typically comes from a gas powered station – and their bid reflect the price of gas. Hence even though our electricity supply is not wholly supplied by gas, it is gas that determines the cost of our electricity. This pricing mechanism is referred to as marginal cost pricing. (1)

(1) https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/why-is-cheap-renewable-electricity-so-expensive/

Green Tau: issue 107

3rd June 2025

Why actions of solidarity work

Wednesday has been chosen as a day to fast in solidarity with the people of Gaza. As I explained this to a friend, they replied that it seemed a pointless action and that I would be better off making a financial donation.

I did, in my limited way, fast. (And I’ll try again this week). I don’t think it’s a waste of time. Why? Because …

In a very small way it helps me understand how real hunger feels.
More importantly it keeps me more focused on the plight of the people of Gaza and therefore more prayerful.
And I do believe prayer does have some kind of power.
It gives me something to talk about and talking about the horrendous situation in Gaza is good because the more it is talked about, the more politicians and the media will take notice.

And all these points are equally applicable to actions such as praying for Gaza in the weekly intercessions at church and in our daily prayers, or going on marches, or wearing badges and T-shirts etc.

https://embraceme.org/fast-for-gaza

Fast for Gaza Ramone Romero

Counting on … day 76

3rd June 2025

Another claim is that fossil fuels offer a) cheaper energy and b) secure energy (to be discussed later this week). In a YouTube presentation of the Shell Energy Transition Strategy 2024, Wael Sawan promotes Shell as being affordable and reliable energy. (1)

But do fossil fuels provide cheaper energy? According to a report by Our World in Data this is no longer true:-

“Fossil fuels dominate the global power supply because, until very recently, electricity from fossil fuels was far cheaper than electricity from renewables. This has dramatically changed within the last decade. In most places in the world, power from new renewables is now cheaper than power from new fossil fuels.” (2)

Here in the UK the cost of generating electricty from renewable sources has similarly continued to fall, whilst the cost of generating from gas has increased.

“The British government’s assessments of the LCOE* of generation technologies since 2012 show striking reductions in the LCOE of wind turbines and solar PV panels over time, which fell to between £41 per megawatt hour (MWh) and £48/MWh respectively for new developments in 2023. In comparison, the cost of new conventional gas-fired generation (without carbon capture) rose from £103/MWh (including a carbon price of £25/MWh) in 2012 to £124/MWh (including a carbon price of £65/MWh) in 2023.”(3)

*The ‘levelised cost of electricity’ (LCOE) provides a simple means of comparing different technologies for the production of electricity, taking account of capital costs and costs of operation, including maintenance and the purchase of any fuel needed.