climate change

See all updates about nuclear power.

We've been banging on about the sham nuclear 'consultation' for ages now, but today 17 scientists, academics and nuclear industry insiders piled into the debate, giving Gordon Brown a drubbing over well, pretty much everything to do with nuclear power.

I wanted to share a few highlights from their report but the arguments are so compelling I just couldn't stop cutting and pasting. So here, have more quotes about nuclear power than you can shake a stick at, or read the full report for yourself at www.nuclearconsult.com:

"An accumulating public sense of a lack of independence and a lack of transparency behind government initiatives in this area, and a hidden industry agenda belittling the problems seem to emit a strong whiff of mortgaging the long-term future to short-term interests. The issue is one of trust in government..."

Dr Paul Dorfman, University of Warwick
Prof Brian Wynne, University of Lancaster

E.ON is arguing for its new coal plant on the basis that it will include carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. So, is CCS is a silver bullet? Or is it just another false solution, touted by an industry desperately trying to stay relevant in a carbon constrained world?

CCS is a means of separating out carbon dioxide when burning fossil fuels, and then dumping it - underground, or else at or under the sea bed.

CCS isn't commercially viable; there are no commercially operating CCS plants in the world. And for all the industry's obfuscation, the new plant at Kingsnorth won't be able to capture and store carbon; it will just be ready to incorporate CCS should the technology ever become viable in the future.

It will be the UK's first new coal fired power plant in 34 years. It will emit as much carbon dioxide as the 30 least polluting nations in the world combined. And the world's leading climate scientist has called it "a tipping point for the world".

The proposal for a new coal-fired power plant at Kingsnorth in Kent has been given the go-ahead by Medway Council. At a meeting last night, only three of the 16 councillers objected to E.ON's application, meaning that the plant - which will generate electricity in the most climate-wrecking way known to humankind - has been approved, potentially starting a new coal rush in the UK.

2007 is being hailed as the year in which the environmental movement turned a corner and climate change leapt to the top of the agenda. Al Gore and the IPCC won the Nobel Peace Prize; Climate Camp became a household name; and an unsuspecting humpback whale named Mister Splashy Pants became a global phenomenon.

So what were you most interested in? This list of our ten most-read blogs on our website last year (well, since we launched the blog in April) shows, unsurprisingly, that for most of our readers, it was climate change, climate change, climate change. Oh, and Mister Splashy Pants...

1. The Convenient Solution

The energy debate ruled a lot of 2007, and our film on nuclear power vs decentralised energy was far and away our most popular blog of the year, with around three times more traffic than any other story. With the government about to make its announcement on nuclear (again), the debate's as relevant now as it was then - so it's worth a watch if you haven't seen it yet.

The Heathrow expansion consultation is a complete sham and a blatant stitch up from start to finish - it excludes any consideration of the most important issue - climate change - and is essentially a cosmetic exercise to allow the government to implement a decision they have already made with a pretence of having consulted with stakeholders. There are other ways of trying to influence this issue which we feel are far more likely to be effective, and you can find them by visiting our Stop Heathrow Expansion homepage.

Back in November, we launched a collaborative video project, asking people from around the world to join in and create a video sending the message to Bali that we want action, not more hot air.

Here's the result (and you can watch all the submissions here):