Climate Change and Nuclear Power - Email to Hearfromyourmp.com

Written by David Howarth MP and published in Email to Hearfromyourmp.com on Tue 4th Jul 2006

The issue of how to tackle climate change has been keeping my mailbag full over the past few months and is clearly a matter of great concern to people in Cambridge. And now nuclear power is firmly back on the government agenda with Tony Blair pre-empting his own Energy Review to give the go-ahead for a new generation of nuclear power stations. I'm not persuaded.

As the Liberal Democrat energy spokesperson I've been meeting economists, engineers and climate change scientists to hear what they have to say about tackling climate change. One of the great things about representing Cambridge is the wealth of expertise right here. What I've heard has convinced me that building new nuclear power stations is not the answer.

I'm concerned that the government has not properly thought though the costs of nuclear power. The nuclear industry's special risks, including its appalling record on building power plants to time and on budget, mean that investors require a higher rate of return than on other electricity generation projects. That means that if the government wants nuclear power, it cannot escape providing indirect subsidies such as underwriting the heavy financial burdens of decommissioning or the costs of disposing of radioactive waste or at least skewing the market towards nuclear power and away from renewable energy.

In addition, nuclear power commits us to a centralised and inflexible electricity generating system and will prevent the development of the varied and decentralised electricity generation system that is the key to reducing energy wastage and to security of supply. Our National Grid is currently in need of renewal so we have a great opportunity to redesign it for the needs of the 21st century. Nuclear power will force us to rebuild the existing system and will limit the potential for microgeneration, combined heat and power and renewables.

Experience in other countries also shows that a decision for nuclear largely undermines attempts at promoting energy efficiency, which is in many ways the key to a sustainable future.

I will be continuing to campaign in parliament against a new generation of nuclear power stations and for an integrated and sustainable energy policy that will reduce our greenhouse emissions and make real strides towards tackling climate change.

Best wishes

David Howarth MP for Cambridge