Green Deputy Leader, Adrian Ramsay, has called the government’s nuclear plan “unworkable” in response to Business Secretary John Hutton.
He outlined how a 'Green New Deal' would create a greater number of jobs, as well as help the UK catch up with other European countries on renewable energy.
Hutton is addressing the first meeting of the Nuclear Development Forum today, and will be telling them: “I’m determined to press all the buttons to get nuclear built in this country at the earliest opportunity."
But Adrian says: "Their plans are unworkable: focused on the needs of one industry not on the interests of the UK economy as whole. This government’s obsession with smoothing the way for nuclear power is a huge distraction from the action we need to create a truly future-proof economy.”
“Figures from our Green MEPs show that investment in renewable energy would create far more jobs than nuclear power. These jobs would be far more secure in the future as they would come from many investment projects at many different scales, rather than the tiny number of huge deals involved in building new nuclear plants.
“Meeting our 2020 wind targets alone would create up to 130,000 jobs and the opportunities in solar power are massive, with more than 100,000 potential jobs installing solar panels across the UK. We are lagging behind our European neighbours already. In Germany there are 250,000 jobs in renewable energy but here we have 26,000 at best.
“Hutton needs to put more effort and more vision into his plans for the UK energy industry, or we will be left behind in the race to create the Green economy of the future.”
Green MEP Jean Lambert published a report earlier this month, ‘Green Work’ setting out how new green industries would require far more workers than nuclear or conventional energy, and showing how the UK is lagging far behind other countries.
The report also highlighted a historic lack of investment in the skills needed to take advantage of these opportunities. It said that a major focus for training should be for people leaving full-time education – exactly the groups who will be hit worst by the current financial crisis and job losses in service industries like banking.
Other concerns, aside from the jobs issue, surrounding the nuclear industry include costing the tax payers, pollution and safety issues, increase in the threat of a terrorist attack, and costing more in the long term.