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Lib Dems' nuclear U-turn shows they realise we can't say 'no' to everything
Uniquely in the industrialised world, the UK now has a three-party consensus both on the reality of climate change and the clear need for new nuclear capacity to mitigate it. While Friends of the Earth and others provided predictable negative soundbites in response, the truth is that this consensus now includes much of the business community, and even – to an extent – the mainstream environmental groups.
Friends of the Earth, for example, has quietly but admirably accepted a scientific review of the evidence for and against nuclear power carried out on its behalf by academics at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. The review makes clear how most of the standard anti-nuclear arguments – on proliferation, waste and safety for example, have much less factual basis than most greens assume, and concludes that if gas replaces nuclear generation in future then the UK's carbon emissions will inevitably rise.
Also to its credit, the renewable energy industry has begun to make common cause with the nuclear industry in supporting government moves towards a low-carbon economy. The wind energy lobby group RenewableUK has now issued several joint calls with the Nuclear Industry Association for an accelerated low carbon transition programme, even attracting support from the director of Greenpeace UK.
The realities on the ground are changing too. The UK now has the largest area of coastal continental shelf devoted to offshore wind in the world. Billions of pounds of investment are now being poured into wind energy, creating thousands of jobs and promoting the UK as a hub for a new clean energy development. In August our installed wind capacity reached 10 gigawatts, enough to power 5.5m homes. Unlike Germany, which is now burning more coal because its dash to solar power is mainly aimed at eliminating nuclear rather than tackling climate change, the UK is taking a pragmatic approach that promises to be better for the environment in the longer-term. Nuclear is just as low-CO2 as wind, and takes up a much smaller area of land, so will be an essential part of the mix in future.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/sep/16/ed-davey-nuclear-power-climate-change
Friends of the Earth, for example, has quietly but admirably accepted a scientific review of the evidence for and against nuclear power carried out on its behalf by academics at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. The review makes clear how most of the standard anti-nuclear arguments – on proliferation, waste and safety for example, have much less factual basis than most greens assume, and concludes that if gas replaces nuclear generation in future then the UK's carbon emissions will inevitably rise.
Also to its credit, the renewable energy industry has begun to make common cause with the nuclear industry in supporting government moves towards a low-carbon economy. The wind energy lobby group RenewableUK has now issued several joint calls with the Nuclear Industry Association for an accelerated low carbon transition programme, even attracting support from the director of Greenpeace UK.
The realities on the ground are changing too. The UK now has the largest area of coastal continental shelf devoted to offshore wind in the world. Billions of pounds of investment are now being poured into wind energy, creating thousands of jobs and promoting the UK as a hub for a new clean energy development. In August our installed wind capacity reached 10 gigawatts, enough to power 5.5m homes. Unlike Germany, which is now burning more coal because its dash to solar power is mainly aimed at eliminating nuclear rather than tackling climate change, the UK is taking a pragmatic approach that promises to be better for the environment in the longer-term. Nuclear is just as low-CO2 as wind, and takes up a much smaller area of land, so will be an essential part of the mix in future.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/sep/16/ed-davey-nuclear-power-climate-change