Since the 1950s, the subject of nuclear power has divided progressives in Britain. There will of course continue to be those – both in the Labour party and across the political spectrum – who fiercely disagree with our decision to enable a new generation of nuclear power stations last week. Yet I think the environmental debate has changed so much in recent years that our decision to give the green light to new nuclear will come to be seen as the only responsible choice in tackling the two fundamental challenges; of climate change and securing our energy supply for future generations.
No one who has been exposed to the science of climate change could be in any doubt that our continued reliance on fossil fuels could have a potentially lethal effect on our planet. The one thing people of my generation took for granted – an inexorable rise in living standards from one generation to the next – could now be under threat.
And we are facing a crunch in our electricity generation capacity. Almost a third of our coal and oil fired power stations are likely to close during the next twenty years and all but one of our existing nuclear power stations will shut down by 2023. As energy companies consider investment in new power stations, the Government has the opportunity to set a framework to encourage the most cost effective, secure and low carbon energy mix possible.
We are already backing the development of renewable forms of energy such as wind farms and solar power. And I’ve recently announced plans for a massive expansion of offshore wind energy and the possibility of a Severn barrage. We are also backing innovative technology designed to clean up the use of fossil fuels. One of the world’s first carbon capture and storage power stations, which could safely store under the sea up to 90 per cent of the CO2 produced from burning coal, could be up and running in the UK by 2014.
But it is nuclear that elicits the most controversy. A substantial contribution to our electricity supplies is made by our existing nuclear power stations – about 18 per cent. But the vast majority of those will close in the next 15 years. So it’s time to make the decision on whether nuclear should continue to be an option in the mix.
Nuclear is a proven and cost-effective technology. It doesn’t rely on sources of fossil fuels and it produces no CO2 emissions at the point of generation. If we didn’t have nuclear power today, we estimate the UK’s total CO2 emissions would be anywhere between 5 and 12 per cent higher. It’s suited to large scale deployment and can operate continuously to provide essential base load.
During the twenty-week consultation we conducted last year, thousands of people came forward to give their views online and in person, at events and meetings across the UK. Of course there are concerns about nuclear energy and we have heard those concerns loud and clear. We would not allow new nuclear in the mix if we were not satisfied we could properly address these concerns. Crucially, we have a way forward for dealing with nuclear waste.
Ultimately, I am convinced that our decision last week was in Britain’s national interest. It would be a dereliction of our duty as a progressive Labour government to deny future generations one of the best technological solutions to tackling climate change, and to securing energy supplies.