Ireland should be concerned, says CND

IRELAND:The Irish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) has said British suggestions that nuclear power could be a solution to global warming do not address the realities of nuclear processing.

British prime minister Tony Blair yesterday released a white paper on energy, which called for more nuclear power plants as part of a strategy to address the country's energy needs and meet carbon emission targets.

Hilary Carr, acting chairwoman of Irish CND, said the organisation was very critical of the paper. "We feel there has been no attempt to really examine renewable and sustainable energies, such as wind and wave energy," she said.

"There is no proof that nuclear energy does reduce emissions. The full cycle of its processing involves the release of a substantial amount of greenhouse gases."

Ms Carr said Ireland should be very concerned about the plan, since most of the proposed plants would be on Britain's west coast.

She added that any new environment minister should express Ireland's concern and lobby the British government to explore alternatives.

Irish CND would, she said, be expressing its concerns to the British ambassador.

A spokesman for the Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, said he did not accept the argument put forward by the British government that the nuclear option provided a solution to problems of climate change and energy supply.

"The reality is that the nuclear industry carries with it serious environmental, nuclear proliferation and safety risks," he said.

Green Party environment spokesman Ciarán Cuffe said the White Paper threatened to keep Ireland in the shadow of radioactive pollution and impede the development of safe, clean renewable power sources. "Tony Blair's decision to back a new phase of nuclear power plants is irrational, illogical, and inconsistent with the stated aims of achieving energy security, and of major concern to Ireland," he said.

Meanwhile, anti-nuclear group Footprints for Peace will arrive at Stormont tomorrow to meet members of the Northern Ireland Assembly and discuss Mr Blair's proposals.