British prime minister Tony Blair said this week that while the UK has not yet committed to building a new generation of nuclear power plants, “I do not think you can close the door on that”.
Mr Blair’s comments were made as he answered questions on 6th July before the UK parliament’s Liaison Committee – whose duties include hearing evidence from the prime minister on matters of public policy.
The transcript of Mr Blair’s remarks, which is not yet an approved formal record of the proceedings, also quotes him as saying: “The biggest long-term problem we face as a world is the issue of climate change.”
Mr Blair, who was accused by one of the committee members of sitting “on the fence” in terms of nuclear policy, said the reason the nuclear option was left open in last year’s government White Paper [see Feature No. 1, 25th February 2003] and why it remains unsettled centre on pubic concerns and costs. He said: “I have fought long and hard, both within my (Labour) party and outside, to make sure that the nuclear option is not closed off, but I think we have to be realistic about this. If we are going to develop a new generation of nuclear power stations, we are going to have to do a lot more work on reassuring people both on the costs and on the safety grounds and we are going to have to have a debate in which people understand the science.”
Mr Blair said that despite US refusal to adhere to the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions, he believes the UK can still meet its own 2010 Kyoto reduction targets – and that the UK can also take a global lead on climate change when it takes over the rotating presidency of the G8 group of leading industrial countries in 2005.
Despite being pressed for specific answers regarding the development of new nuclear, Mr Blair stressed that this was a question “that does not arise for decision today but will arise within the next few years”.
The currently uncorrected transcript of oral evidence is available through the Liaison Committee’s website (www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/liaison_committee.cfm).
