£160billion toxic nuclear cleanup equivalent to £3k tax on every over-16 in the UK - Mick Bates AM (Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats)

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Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrats <montlibdems@gmail.com>

£160billion toxic nuclear cleanup equivalent to £3k tax on every over-16 in the UK - Mick Bates AM

May 13, 2009 12:00 AM

Shadow Minister for the Environment and Sustainability, Mick Bates AM, has called on the Welsh Government to urge their colleagues in Westminster to abandon toxic nuclear plans as the cost of cleaning up nuclear liabilities rises to as much as £160billion, equivalent of a one-off "nuclear tax" of over £3k for everybody over 16 in the UK.

Commenting in the Chamber Mick stated:

"I am deeply disappointed that the UK Government continues to pursue a toxic nuclear agenda for new nuclear development in the UK. Nuclear power is not the answer - not only does it divert concentration from renewable energy forms, but new nuclear power cannot fill the 'energy gap' which will occur in 2016. The Government has admitted that there is unlikely to be much in the way of new nuclear electricity on stream before 2020 - and the majority of the UK's existing nuclear power stations are due for decommissioning long before then.

"The real solutions to the energy gap and climate change are available now - energy efficiency, cleaner use of fossil fuels, renewable energy and state of the art decentralised power stations. This combination has the potential to deliver reliable, quick and cheap low carbon energy. They are also safe and globally applicable, unlike nuclear.

"Even if Britain built ten new reactors, nuclear power would only deliver a 4% cut in carbon emissions, some time after 2025. Meanwhile estimates on the cost of cleaning up nuclear waste have reached as much as £160billion - that's the equivalent of a one-off "nuclear tax" of over £3k for everybody over 16 in the UK, money which could be spent on rolling out microgeneration to every home in the UK or improving energy efficiency and reducing demand.

"Nuclear is not a solution - I am calling on the Welsh Government to urge their colleagues in Westminster to abandon their plans for new nuclear, which continues to distort the energy debate and is leaving Britain without any credible plans to meet its supply needs over coming years."

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