Support for rejection of nuclear power by UK Government Advisers

Friends of the Earth Cymru has welcomed today's findings by key government advisers that nuclear power should be rejected as a solution to climate change.

The Sustainable Development Commission report [1] in response to the Government's current Energy Review draws together the most comprehensive evidence base currently available and concludes that there is no justification for building new nuclear power stations.

The report identifies five major disadvantages to nuclear power:

1. Long-term waste - no long term solutions are yet available, let alone acceptable to the general public; it is impossible to guarantee safety over the long- term disposal of waste.

2. Cost - the economics of nuclear new-build are highly uncertain. There is little, if any, justification for public subsidy, but if estimated costs escalate, there's a clear risk that the taxpayer will be have to pick up the tab.

3. Inflexibility - nuclear would lock the UK into a centralised distribution system for the next 50 years, at exactly the time when opportunities for microgeneration and local distribution network are stronger than ever.

4. Undermining energy efficiency - a new nuclear programme would give out the wrong signal to consumers and businesses, implying that a major technological fix is all that's required, weakening the urgent action needed on energy efficiency.

5. International security - if the UK brings forward a new nuclear power programme, we cannot deny other countries the same technology. With lower safety standards, they run higher risks of accidents, radiation exposure, proliferation and terrorist attacks.

Gordon James of Friends of the Earth Cymru said:

"This important report reflects the arguments presented by Friends of the Earth Cymru in its submission to the Welsh Affairs Committee inquiry into energy. In this we point out that security of energy supply and the required reduction in carbon dioxide emissions can both be achieved by a mixture of measures such as improving energy efficiency, the further development of renewable energy systems, the continued use of gas and the introduction of cleaner coal technologies. We believe that nuclear power is unsafe, uneconomical and unnecessary.

"We urge the Welsh Assembly Government to heed the arguments presented in today's report and to stick to their anti-nuclear policy.

"Further support for a non-nuclear future was produced in a report from Friends of the Earth last week.[2] This research, which has been reviewed by a group of experts from industry and academia, concluded that the UK could reduce its carbon dioxide emissions from generating electricity by between 48 and 71 per cent by 2020 without resorting to nuclear power."

Friends of the Earth Cymru will be presenting oral evidence to the Welsh Affairs Committee at the House of Commons next Tuesday at 12.50pm.

Notes

1. See Sustainable Development Commission

2. See 'A Bright Future'