Blair 'to debate nuclear power'
April 25, 2005
A re-elected Labour government would put nuclear power back on the agenda in an effort to meet targets on climate change, government sources have said.
The government says the UK is on course to meet the Kyoto targets on climate change but has admitted it is slipping behind its own tougher targets.
Mr Blair has said his policy has not changed since the energy White Paper two years ago, which left nuclear power on the back burner.
Last week, Environment Secretary Margaret Beckett said the White Paper on the issue two years ago had said closing down nuclear power was an option.
"But we also said that there is a huge amount we need to do [to combat climate change], and between 2010 and 2020 we can probably do about at least half of what we need to through energy efficiency and renewable energy," she said.
She added that no company was asking the government to let it build a new nuclear power station.
"In our energy White Paper we said explicitly that if people began to feel that we would have to go towards nuclear power, there would be a further examination then, and a further White Paper," she added.
Further information is available on the BBC News website.
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