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Blair Puts Nuclear Power on Agenda in British Energy Review

Posted on: Wednesday, 30 November 2005, 09:00 CST

Blair puts nuclear power on agenda in British energy review

LONDON, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Prime Minister Tony Blair Tuesday unveiled a wide-ranging review of Britain's energy needs, which is expected to pave the way for a new generation of nuclear power stations.

Speaking at a conference of the Confederation of British Industry, Blair said a policy statement on energy, which includes "specifically the issue of whether we facilitate the development of nuclear power stations," would be published next summer.

The prime minister told business leaders that "the future is clean energy. And nations will look to diversify out of energy dependence on one source."

Although he insisted that Britain would meet Kyoto targets on climate change, Blair said there had been an increase in carbon emissions that were projected to rise further between 2010 and 2020.

"By around 2020, the UK is likely to have seen decommissioning of coal and nuclear plants that together generate over 30 percent of today's electricity supply. Some of this will be replaced by renewables but not all of it can."

Blair's review, however, is controversial, Financial Times said late Tuesday. New nuclear plants would face potential opposition not just in the cabinet but in the wider Labor Party too.

The Conservatives are likely to support new investment in nuclear plants, all but one of which are due to be decommissioned by 2023.

Business leaders have lobbied the government to accelerate its review so that they can make long-term investment decisions on building new nuclear plants.

Earlier of the day, demonstrators from the environmental group Greenpeace disrupted the start of the speech by climbing onto the roof of the conference center in Islington, northern London, demanding that they be allowed to make a 10-minute speech.

Downing Street has denied suggestions that Blair has already decided to back a new fleet of nuclear plants to replace Britain's aging power stations, though officials close to the prime minister believe replacing at least some of the plants will be necessary to cut carbon emissions.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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