NIA - The Nuclear Industry Association - Nuclear energy in the UK

Nuclear energy in the UK - who said what

"It is not clear how we can meet both our energy needs and our climate change obligations without a continuing role for nuclear power."
CBI Director-General Richard Lambert, 15 February 2007

“In the context of climate change, environmentalists will have to question some of their traditional positions, whether this is on nuclear power or the impact of expanding wind power on the countryside.”
- David Milliband, FTSE4Good 5th anniversary event, 7 February 2007

"But what is important, I think for reasons of energy security as much as climate change, is that we have a balanced energy policy for the future and I think that has got to include the nuclear power option as well."
- Tony Blair, Prime Minister, 27 November 2006

"...in common with countries around the world, we need to put nuclear power back on the agenda and at least replace the nuclear energy that we will lose. Without it, we will not be able to meet either our objectives on climate change or our objectives on energy security."

- Tony Blair, 15 November 2006

"We have only opened back up the nuclear power debate just in time. There is no way, frankly, that we can guarantee energy security or cleaner power without it."
- Rt HonTony Blair, Prime Minister, Oxford, 3 November 2006

"Ten years ago I parked the issue of nuclear power. Today, I believe without it, we are going to face an energy crisis and we can't let that happen".
- Rt Hon Tony Blair, Prime Minister, Labour Party conference, September 2006

"The Government has concluded that new nuclear power stations could make a significant contribution to meeting our energy policy goals. It will be for the private sector to initiate, fund, construct and operate new nuclear plants and cover the cost of decommissioning and their full-share of long-term waste management costs."
- Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, 11 July 2006

"Nuclear in my view is one of the wedges that we need to bring our dependence on fossil fuels down. But it's quite a big wedge in the sense that at the moment it's 19% of our energy on the grid. It used to be 30% on the grid and one reason why we've seen a slight increase in carbon dioxide emissions in this country is because we've dropped in nuclear.
- Sir David King, BBC Sunday, 26 May 2006

"The facts are stark. By 2025, if current policy is unchanged, there will be a dramatic gap on our targets to reduce CO2 emissions; we will become heavily dependent on gas; and at the same time move from being 80/90% self-reliant in gas to 80/90% dependent on foreign imports, mostly from the Middle East and Africa and Russia. These facts put the replacement of nuclear power stations, a big push on renewables and a step-change on energy efficiency, engaging both business and consumers, back on the agenda with a vengeance."
- Rt Hon Tony Blair, Prime Minister, speaking at CBI Dinner, 16 May 2006

"I believe it is now the time to look again at nuclear energy. While I have high hopes for hopes for new zero-emissions technologies in the future, efficient nuclear-fission power stations are already available. (I am also hopeful that fusion power stations, without the problems of nuclear-waste disposal, will emerge over the coming three or four decades.)....it is my scientific, not political, opinion that nuclear energy should be part of a wide portfolio of approaches."
- Sir David King, Guardian, 16 December 2005