The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament has decried the ‘missed opportunity’ represented by today’s Draft Energy Bill. Kate Hudson, CND General Secretary, stated:
“The Draft Energy Bill reflects a missed opportunity to put renewable energy front and centre of a carbon-free future for the UK. Instead the government will be forcing taxpayers to fork out on higher bills for subsidies for nuclear power: a dirty, dangerous and expensive form of energy which has no future. The UK should be following in the footsteps of countries like Germany who have recognised the dead-end which nuclear power presents.
“Not only has the government failed to commit to achieving carbon-free energy by 2030, but it is diluting the investment made in renewables with an overwhelming commitment to nuclear new builds.
“Rather than opting for a sustainable energy policy, the government (in cahoots with the nuclear energy lobby) is seeking to lock us in to nuclear power for decades – a technology which produces energy at a much higher wholesale cost. It is a grave mistake that this opportunity was not seized upon to move towards securing sustainable energy for the UK.”