Go Green, not Nuclear, urge Lib Dems (Birmingham Liberal Democrats)

Birmingham Liberal Democrats <info@birminghamlibdems.org.uk>

Go Green, not Nuclear, urge Lib Dems

May 21, 2007 10:16 PM

Lib Dems are urging the Government to reject nuclear power and to invest in reducing the amount of energy we use

Ahead of the publication of the Government's energy white paper, the Liberal Democrats are urging the Government to reject nuclear power and adopt radical plans for increasing the use of renewable energy and reducing overall energy use.

Local Liberal Democrat councillor Jerry Evans said:

"The Government is determined to push forward an expensive programme of new nuclear power stations, which will undermine the potential for an increase in renewable energy and energy efficiency measures.

"As well as the cost, there is the risk of accidents, the long-term legacy of waste and the danger of terrorist exploitation of nuclear material. Plus, a new generation of nuclear power stations will mean that other technologies, such as renewable energy and carbon capture, are pushed out of the mix. This only serves to postpone the day that we can be fully sustainable.

"The Government should reject nuclear power and instead invest in reducing the amount of energy we use. The Liberal Democrats have put forward radical proposals to improve the energy efficiency of homes, here in Birmingham and elsewhere.

"By setting tough new insulation standards for new homes, and creating a system of 'energy mortgages', so the cost of energy efficiency measures can be repaid over the long-term, using the money saved from lower energy bills, we can reduce carbon emissions from existing homes by more than 60 per cent, and from newly built houses by 95 per cent, by 2050. That is more carbon than is produced annually by all the cars on Britain's roads.

"We need to do far more to switch to renewable energy sources. Scotland, which had a Lib Dem Environment Minister until this month, is already generating 16 per cent of electricity from green sources. But England is only generating 4%. This shows how much more can be done.

"The Government's white paper needs to show that it is serious about tackling climate change, and delivering a clean, green and safe energy strategy for the decades ahead."