Departing Prime Minister Tony Blair put forth the case for a new generation of nuclear power stations in Britain as his government was set to publish Wednesday proposals to secure the country's energy supplies. The proposals come after the government suffered a political blow in February when the British High Court ruled that a decision last year to approve plans for new nuclear power plants was illegal because public consultations were flawed.
Writing in The Times, Blair said that "it is right that we consider how nuclear power can help to underpin the security of our energy supply without increasing our reliance on fossil fuels."
"We can meet our carbon dioxide emissions targets, but only if we are willing to think ahead and take tough decisions over new wind farms — and give serious consideration to nuclear power."
His comments were set to kick off a debate on Britain's energy security and how the government would also meet its legally-binding targets of reducing carbon emissions by 60 percent by 2050, against a 1990 baseline.
Britain has about a dozen nuclear power stations, most of them built in the 1960s and 1970s, providing about 25 percent of the country's electricity, compared with natural gas which provides about 40 percent.
Advocates of new reactors — which emit virtually no carbon dioxide — argue they would help Britain meet its pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Blair, who will be succeeded by finance minister Gordon Brown on June 27, wrote that Britain faces "a serious challenge in securing our energy supplies … we will be required to look at importing energy from less stable parts of the world."
He added that Britain will be exposed to international energy markets "at precisely the same time that emerging economies, such as China and India, are increasing their energy consumption.
"As if that were not enough, we are now faced with countries such as Russia, who are prepared to use their energy resources as an instrument of policy."
Blair continued: "We need a policy that conforms to the rising concern about climate change and gives Britain the secure, safe and politically acceptable supplies of energy that our livelihood demands."
Source: Agence France-Presse
