Business leaders’ bid to go nuclear
BUSINESS leaders are today urging Boris Johnson to ramp up production of nuclear energy to help deliver his net-zero dream by 2050.
The Independent Business Network is also calling on the Government to abandon its moratorium on fracking, arguing that it has “huge potential” to provide a bridge to Britain’s zero-carbon future.
It argues eventually nuclear will be the cheapest lowcarbon source of electricity.
The IBN says in the long term it will cost 65 per cent less than gas with carbon capture and storage and 36 per cent less than onshore wind.
The business group points to pro-nuclear France, which has slashed emissions per unit of energy at a rate six times faster than that of Germany, which has focused on solar and wind.
The French strategy is also much more affordable for taxpayers, the IBN says.
IBN chairman John Longworth said: “What the country needs is a strategy to get us to net zero that is sympathetic to both the needs of the planet and the economy.
“The Government’s current programme is predicated on pandering to eco alarmists like GretaThunberg.We need to take the most cost-effective route to net zero, not the most fashionable.
“The numbers speak for themselves: we need to go nuclear and get fracking.
“Nuclear may not look cuddly but it’s cost-effective, green, safe and secure. Unlike wind, we can predict how much electricity will be delivered to the national grid on any given day.”
On shale gas, he added: “Rather than having to rely on gas from Vladimir Putin, we could be producing it here and finally delivering British jobs for British workers… rather than Russian ones.”
Meanwhile, British Airways is to start using sustainable jet fuel from next year.
Made in the US, it can be blended with conventional fossil fuel for flights.