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Greens for HS2 Profile picture
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4 May 20, 18 tweets, 9 min read
We are @TheGreenParty members, some elected, some not, who think we should support HS2 because it has a big role in a low-CO2 sustainable transport network for the UK in the 2030s and beyond. HS2 supports our sustainable transport goals, nationally and locally. /1
We think the GP’s position is politically harmful and short-sighted: it puts us at odds with other GPs in Europe and with our own policy, at the same time aligning us with the IEA, TPA, UKIP and other fringe groups with no interest in sustainability. /2
The party’s position makes us look like a pressure group rather than a national orgasnisation with a serious transport policy. It diverts our campaigning energy from the real enemy: the govt’s road plans which are much more destructive and have NO sustainability case. /3
We will engage politely and patiently on here or personally with Greens who want to know more and who respect where we are coming from. We want to persuade, not harangue. /5
We will at all times respect the Party's Code of Conduct. We make it clear we are not speaking for the Party.
For a clear 5-minute read of why #HS2 is a good idea, we suggest you start with this article by @joncstone: independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…
And for a more in-depth view #whyHS2 and the sustainability case, we suggest this by @GarethDennis:
Our goal is a change in @TheGreenParty policy on #HS2. This will need to be by motion at a party conference. We are gauging and focussing support for such a future motion.
For starters, we say that we're going to need more rail capacity if we're going to get to net zero. Our thread:
Much is said about the threat #HS2 makes to woodland and other habitat. Sadly this discussion has been overtaken by raised voices, alarmism and lack of context. Our more sober take here:
For some reason many objectors to HS2 have heard, and now believe, that #HS2 is there to drive up air travel. It isn't and Greens wouldn't let it:
We are asked how can we support HS2 when @HS2ltd, who are building it, behave so badly. Our case for building it is based on the need for the railway, not on any fondness for the organisation presently in charge:
And here's our thread on some common misunderstandings Greens have about #HS2:
Some Greens think that #HS2 is extravagant in its use of energy. A thread on why that's not so...
Greens worry about the effect of HS2 on the chalk aquifers in the Colne Valley and chalk streams in the Chilterns, and the amount of water used for tunnelling. A thread:
Greens will have heard the calls to cancel #HS2 and use the money to fund the NHS instead. That couldn't ever happen and it concerns us that even quite senior Greens think it could. Our thread on how investment is financed:
A big criticism levelled at #HS2 is that it won't be carbon-neutral. Of course, the picture is more complex than that: it will be, especially with Green transport policy helping it. A thread on #HS2 and CO2 ...
Many Greens sympathise with the protestors against #HS2, including many dedicated party colleagues. We say their zeal is directed at the wrong target. A thread on #HS2 vs the diabolical road building programme #RIS2.

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More from @Greens4HS2

Greens for HS2 Profile picture
12 Oct 20
We've seen a lot of evidence over conference week and today that @TheGreenParty is still some way from being able to discuss #HS2 constructively, based on a good understanding of what it offers as well as what it costs. The party's policy on high speed rail remains confused. /1
We say again: we are Party members who support #HS2 because it furthers the Green agenda rather than hinders it. We are happy to explain this case to any other member, including senior party figures, if asked. We aren't shills, trolls, astroturfers or trainspotters. /2
HS2 is being built. We aren't going to stop it. But we can campaign along the way: for HS2 Ltd to behave respectfully to the habitat and communities they disturb, for freed capacity to be used for local benefit, for transport policies to be put in place for road pricing, ../3
Read 5 tweets
Greens for HS2 Profile picture
3 Oct 20
We know many very committed Greens are involved in these protests against #HS2, concerned about the loss of habitat and woodland - we respect their dedication. But they’re protesting about the wrong thing - the real enemy is the #RIS2 roads programme. /1
Unlike #RIS2, #HS2 is an investment in a low-CO2 future. It may not look like it now during construction, but the tree loss and upheaval we see is going to be paid back over decades because of how it helps the shift from high-CO2 cars and planes to low-CO2 travel. /2
(Here’s our CO2 thread: . The chart summarises: over 60 years HS2 with no policy assistance will be neutral or better; over 120 years a huge win; with Green policies behind it, a major sustainability win. Note the numbers: worst case 1.2m tonnes CO2.) /3 Image
Read 12 tweets
Greens for HS2 Profile picture
26 Sep 20
We often hear from Greens, including very senior ones, that #HS2 is a climate disaster because it won’t be CO2-neutral for a long time. “120 years!” is quoted, “HS2’s own figures!”. One big problem with this: it isn’t true. Let’s take a look at HS2 and CO2... /1
HS2’s official position is that after 60 years #HS2 will either be slightly CO2-negative (if construction doesn’t improve its CO2 efficiency) or slightly CO2-positive (if it does). (The Oakervee review covers this: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl… - sections 5.30 to 5.37) /2
The modelling is covered in more detail in this document: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…. We’ve extracted the numbers below from that. They consider 2 future scenarios - Scenario A in which electric cars and grid decarbonisation happen slowly, and a more optimistic B. /3
Read 25 tweets
Greens for HS2 Profile picture
18 Jul 20
There has been a call to cancel #HS2 and use the money on more immediate needs like properly funding the NHS or buying everyone a bike. We all want the NHS to be funded - but it doesn't work that way: in fact we'd be worse off. A thread to explain why... /1
We Greens believe in borrowing to invest. Our 2019 manifesto proposed £94bn, to be invested in the national grid, energy storage, renewable electricity, home insulation, R&D, railways, cycle paths, electric vehicle infrastructure and so on (greenparty.org.uk/assets/files/E… p85) /2.
The point about investing is that you invest *in* something - an asset which has value and generates a return (in accountant-speak, "CAPEX"). /3
Read 18 tweets
Greens for HS2 Profile picture
15 Jul 20
Some Greens are worried about how HS2's drilling and tunnelling into the chalk below its route might affect drinking water and chalk streams such as the River Misbourne. It's a challenge, but they needn't be too alarmed. A thread on piles and tunnels ... /1
We'll start with a disclaimer - we're not water or geology experts, so we're open to correction if anything we say here turns out to be wrong. /2
First up - piling in the Colne Valley. To hold up the viaduct where the railway crosses the valley, HS2 has to drive piles through the upper soils down into the chalk which lies below. (This is what the viaduct will look like when it's done). /3 Image
Read 19 tweets
Greens for HS2 Profile picture
14 Jul 20
One of the criticisms of #HS2 is that because it's so fast, it uses up much more energy than normal trains - so Greens should push for lower speed railways. There is just enough truth in this to make it plausible, but it's not the whole story. A thread to explain why... /1
For sure, if you run a train twice as fast, it needs nearly four times as much energy to maintain speed. (check out Davis Equation if you want to know more. Aerodynamic resistance, that dominates at high speeds, goes up by the square of the speed). However .... /2
... other things to consider. Firstly, a better measure when comparing is how much energy is used to move *each passenger*; and if our interest is really CO2, it's how much greenhouse gas is generated to do that. /3
Read 12 tweets

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