Tuesday 11 July 2006

The Prime Minister's obsession with new nuclear power has led to a Review which offers few concrete policies to deliver progress towards a truly sustainable energy future.

Keith Allott, WWF-UK's Head of Climate Change, said: "The Energy Review is a damp squib. We need to take action to make renewables and energy efficiency work 'with a vengeance', to use the Prime Minister's phrase. The government's continued dalliance with new nuclear power is a massive distraction from delivering a truly sustainable energy future."

"This review offers little sense of urgency and yet another wave of consultations. Experience since the 2003 Energy White Paper can only fuel concerns that good intentions on renewables and energy efficiency will run into the sand.

"The idea that we are facing an enormous energy gap which only nuclear power can fill has been a classic piece of spin. The review admits that at best, just one nuclear reactor could be up and running by 2020. Nuclear is a costly red herring and it will be the taxpayers who end up covering the costs of an uneconomic industry and future generations who deal with its legacy of radioactive waste."

WWF also challenged the government's claim that nuclear power is needed in order to reduce the UK's carbon dioxide emissions. The interim conclusions of a major international research project carried out by WWF suggest that nuclear power is not needed - either globally or in the UK - to avoid dangerous climate change. The Energy Task Force, which is comprised of senior WWF experts, leading scientists and independent experts, is undertaking a rigorous analysis of how to best meet the world's energy needs.

Robert Napier, Chief Executive of WWF-UK, who is chairing the Energy Task Force, said: "Our interim findings show that energy efficiency, renewable energy and potentially, carbon capture and storage, will play a critical role. Nuclear energy is emerging as the least preferred option - because of concerns over radioactive waste, high costs, social acceptability, safety and proliferation risks."

Keith Allott added:
"On renewables, the government has simply reaffirmed its existing 20% target for 2020 - but offers no real concrete measures to actually deliver this goal.

"We hope that the Government is serious in its focus on reducing demand for energy and encouraging a new market in energy services. But the proof of the pudding will come later - numerous earlier promises of a 'step change' in energy efficiency have come to nothing."