Nuclear power is a dangerous distraction from the real solutions to tackling climate change. It is a relic of an out of date, centralised and wasteful energy system and will leave a lethal legacy of radioactive contamination for many thousands of years.
Currently two thirds of our energy from power stations in the UK is lost through wasted heat - up the chimneys and down the power lines - because it's produced a long way from where it's needed. We need to generate power closer to where it is required, allowing us to use both the heat for central heating and hot water, and the electricity for our other needs. This is known as a decentralised energy system. If we combined decentralised energy generation with renewable energy and energy efficiency it could deliver 30 per cent larger carbon dioxide savings than building new nuclear power stations.
If we truly want to tackle climate change, now is the time to look forward, not back. We urgently need to embrace a cleaner, cheaper and more efficient energy solution to our problems and leave the outdated, unreliable and dangerous nuclear technology back in the last century, where it belongs.
