Nuclear power is not the answer to Britain’s looming energy shortage because the infrastructure cannot be built in time to fix the problem, says a British Parliament Environment Audit Committee report. The Keeping the Lights on: Nuclear, Renewables, and Climate Change report, released on April 16, says around 25% of Britain’s existing electricity generating capacity will need to be replaced by 2016. At the same time, radical cuts in CO2 emissions are needed to combat global warming. The committee recommends the gap be filled in the main by new gas-fired power stations, supplemented by significant growth in renewables. “We are concerned with the government’s focus on nuclear power”, said committee chair Tim Yeo. “We do not think that it is necessarily the answer ... the government must be far more imaginative and radical in pursuing the twin goals of the Energy White Paper — energy efficiency and renewables. The last three years since the White Paper have been something of a wasted opportunity.”

From Green Left Weekly, April 26, 2006.
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