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Blair's Adviser Calls for Nuclear Power Expansion

Posted on: Tuesday, 22 November 2005, 09:00 CST

Blair's adviser calls for nuclear power expansion

LONDON, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- David King, the chief scientific adviser of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, has urged the government to give the go-ahead for an expansion of nuclear power to help stem climate change, according to Financial Times published on Monday.

"We have to make decisions very quickly and I think the important thing here is to give the green light to the private sector utilities to give them nuclear as an option," King told the BBC on Sunday.

The decline in nuclear power was jeopardizing efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, King said.

Nuclear power will contribute four percent of Britain's energy needs by 2010 without new reactors, from 21 percent now, King said.

"One of the reasons why our carbon dioxide emissions are going up is because we are already seeing a loss of power from nuclear, " he added.

His remarks could reinforce expectations that Downing Street, which is poised to announce a review of energy policy, is to back at least a limited building program to keep nuclear power as part of Britain's overall energy mix.

But Margaret Beckett, the environment secretary, expressed her concern. She told the BBC on Sunday that nuclear power raised problems of cost and waste disposal.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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