To Escape Global Warming, UK Turns to Nuclear Power

[Susan Gawarecki <loc@ICX.NET>]

To Escape Global Warming, UK Turns to Nuclear Power

Environment News Service

http://ens-news.com/ens/jun2001/2001L-06-26-05.html



LONDON, England, June 26, 2001 (ENS) - UK Prime Minister Tony Blair

yesterday threatened an explosive row over possible new nuclear power

capacity as he launched the country's first comprehensive energy review

for 20 years. 



Blair told Parliament, "The aim of the review will be to set out the

objectives of energy policy and to develop a strategy that ensures

current policy commitments are consistent with longer term goals.  The

findings will also inform the government’s response to last year’s

report from the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution Energy - the

changing climate." 



The review is aimed at juggling long term British energy security with

the need to continue cutting greenhouse gas emissions against a picture

of dwindling domestic oil and gas production. 



The United Kingdom has been a big net petroleum exporter, but is set to

become a net importer again within the next decade. 



Blair's Labour government pledged not to build any more nuclear stations

in the run-up to its 1997 election victory, but did not repeat the

promise before its landslide re-election earlier this month. 



One part of the longer term solution, the government has now signalled,

might be to resume a nuclear power generation program stalled since

1987. Nuclear power production raises issues of safe disposal of the

spent nuclear fuel and also operations safety issues, but nuclear power

does not produce the greenhouse gases linked to global warming. 



Nuclear generation currently produces 25 percent of UK electricity.  On

current trends, this could fall to three percent by 2020, with gas

supplying half of energy needs, coal six percent and renewables four

percent. 



Britain's environmental movement reacted sharply to the suggestion of a

renewed nuclear program yesterday, calling for major support of

renewables instead. NGOs warned that Brian Wilson, the energy minister

who will lead the review, is "pro-nuclear." 



Leaked documents published in the UK Telegraph newspaper today show that

massive increases in radioactive discharges into the Irish Sea are

planned from the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in Cumbria.

Documents leaked to Greenpeace show discharges of many radioactive

substances are predicted to double, and some to increase four-fold. 



Across Europe, Finland is the only other country considering building

more nuclear plants. Most countries with existing nuclear capacity are

seeking to phase out the industry.  Germany signed an agreement with its

nuclear industry earlier this month that begins the phase out in 2005. 

-- 

.....................................................

Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director

Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee

                       -----                       

A schedule of meetings on DOE issues is posted on our Web site

http://www.local-oversight.org/meetings.html - E-mail loc@icx.net

.....................................................

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