The Sustainable Development Commission, the government’s advisory body on sustainable development issues, released a report yesterday that says nuclear power is not the answer to the UK’s energy security and climate change problems.
I highly recommend listening to the mp3 at the bottom of the page which is an interview with the SDC’s chairman, Jonathan Porritt (direct link – warning, 10MB mp3). It presents the pros and cons of nuclear very clearly and fairly, simply saying that the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. The recommended alternative is that government work harder to implement the strategy outlined in 2003 white paper and focus on energy efficiency, renewables and microgeneration. As Mr. Porritt says, the policy record since 2003 has been mediocre at best and the danger is that:
If they [government] continues to play around with things as they are now, it is possible that an energy gap will loom at some stage in the future.
Nuclear won’t fill this gap – it doesn’t provide solutions for heat and transport, only electricity, and even then it may be 20 years until these stations are constructed and their benefits realised.
The message of the report is essentially the same as John Gummer’s talk last week. There is no easy answer to energy policy and it will take coordinated and dedicated leadership to deliver effective solutions. I wonder if government has it in them or if they’ll go for the false ‘easy’ answer?
