£100bn NUCLEAR TAX SHOULD GO TO ENERGY CONSERVATION

The government is planning to spend £100bn of our money on ‘the nuclear option’ which would be much better spent on energy conservation and research into alternative fuels.

At least £30bn will be spent on the Trident replacement and £70bn will have to be put aside for decommissioning costs for the new generation of nuclear power stations. This sort of money, if it were invested in energy conservation and renewable fuels, could have a massive impact on the UK’s carbon footprint.

It is quite clear that we cannot continue to consume energy at the current rate. Developing countries have every right to enjoy the same standard of living as we do yet we are robbing them of the chance because we use fossil fuel energy to excess. One of the ways in which energy use could be reduced is by localising resources so that food, for example, travels less distance from producer to consumer. I am delighted that Plaid will make procurement of local food by public bodies a top priority in government after 3 May 2007.