South Yorkshire festival aims to be zero carbon
2 August 2019
Visitors to this weekend’s Underneath the Stars Festival in Barnsley are being urged to help work towards making it the first ever carbon-neutral festival.
The event, which is hosted by the family of folk singer Kate Rusby, has teamed up with not-for-profit company Solid Carbon Storage. Under the partnership festival-goers will be able to offset their carbon footprint by buying credits to capture CO2 from the air for just £1.70 a day.
Last year each person is estimated to have contributed over six kilogrammes of CO2 per day, about half through travel to the festival, but also through the diesel generators used on the site. The total carbon footprint for the event was believed to be more than 50 tons.
Solid Carbon Storage, which is based in Barnsley, will take the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and store it safely in the ground in Yorkshire.
The method involves interrupting the carbon cycle by preventing decomposing trees and other plants from breaking down and releasing CO2. The trees and plants are instead put through a process called pyrolysis which turns them into pure carbon, which is safe and friendly to the environment.
Festival director, Emma Holling, said: “What Solid Carbon Storage is offering fits in with the ethos of what Underneath the Stars is all about.
“We are trying to have the least amount of environmental impact as possible and so we are collaborating with like-minded people and organisations to cut down our carbon footprint. We want all our visitors to enjoy themselves, but also to leave as little trace of their visit as they can.”
The festival at Cawthorne runs from Friday August 2 to Sunday, and features the Proclaimers and Billy Bragg, as well as Kate Rusby. It is already sold out.
Solid Carbon Storage will have a stand at the festival where people can pay £1.70 to offset one day or £5 for the whole weekend. For more information go to: https://www.solidcstore.org/calculator/underneath-the-stars/
The company will then store the solid carbon safely in quarries in Yorkshire.
Solid Carbon Storage director, Matthew Tulley, said: “If you think of it in a Yorkshire way, it’s a bit like un-coalmining. With coal mining you take carbon from under the ground and burn it, which puts CO2 in the air. We take CO2 from the air and with a little help from our trees put it under the ground as solid carbon.
“The science has fascinated me ever since I studied charcoal production in my final year at university back in the seventies. Climate change wasn’t known about then, but what is happening now with increased levels of CO2 in the atmosphere has made me revisit what I learned.
“Trees are fantastic at removing CO2 from the atmosphere while they are alive, but once their wood is burned or they start to decay they release it back. We stop that release of CO2 and lock it up for the long term as charcoal. By taking back the CO2 produced by the festival we can reduce at least some of the greenhouse gas effect.
“This is just a small start to something that is so important. We know that we need to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide produced, but a lot of scientists agree we need to cut what is already out there to make a difference to climate change.
“And we have all seen even over the last week or so that climate change is real and it is actually quite frightening. So if we can even do a bit to help our planet that is a good thing.”
Notes to Editors
Attached picture shows Matthew Tulley.
Matthew Tulley is available for interview and can be contacted on 07786 260196.
For more information about Solid Carbon Storage go to https://www.solidcstore.org/
For more information about the Underneath the Stars Festival go to https://underthestarsfest.co.uk/
Additional media contact: Kate Betts on 01226 766900 or 07792 764891 or at kate@capitalbmedia.co.uk
