MESSAGE FROM SIMON HUGHES
Next month, members of the United Nations meet in Copenhagen for vital talks on securing a new worldwide response to climate change.
Next month, members of the United Nations meet in Copenhagen for vital talks on securing a new worldwide response to climate change.
It is already too late to begin building more nuclear power stations.Even if new sites could be identified, the planning laws short-circuited and construction authorised within months, it will take almost a decade before new power plants could begin producing electricity. By that time Britain will be critically short of energy.Older nuclear plants will have been decommissioned, the gas-fired generators will be dependent on costly imported fuel and the exaggerated hopes for renewable energy generation will be left, likethe few completed wind farms, blowing in the wind. Nuclear reactors,given the potential for catastrophe, need intensive inspection and testing at every stage of their construction. This is especially true for the new generation of reactors developed by the French, one of which is now being built in Finland. Second, the cost of new reactors remains prohibitive â€" not because of running costs, but because the decommissioning of expired plants has proved hugely expensive.
Mick Bates AM, Welsh Liberal Democrat environment spokesperson, today responded to the European Court of Justice ruling that allows EU governments to temporarily ban genetically-modified foods if they think they pose a health risk.
Commenting on the publication of the Biomass Taskforce's Report, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Norman Baker MP said:
The Liberal Democrat Conference was today urged to rule out the construction of any more nuclear power stations.
Commenting on the publication of new Carbon Emission figures by area Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary Norman Baker MP said:
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