Scots vote reinforces anti-nuclear position

Friday, January 18, 2008

18 January 2008

Members of the Scottish Parliament yesterday voted against new nuclear plants, reinforcing the stated anti-nuclear position of the SNP government.

Some 63 members voted in favour of the anti-nuclear motion, 58 were against and there were two abstentions.

The motion stated: “The parliament welcomes the Scottish government’s position that new nuclear power stations are not necessary to meet renewable electricity targets or carbon emissions targets and are not wanted in Scotland.

“Parliament welcomes the UK government’s recognition that the UK Energy Bill’s provisions on nuclear decommissioning should not extend to Scotland, and believes that Scotland can have a secure, low-carbon, non-nuclear energy future through a combination of a growing renewables sector exploiting a range of technologies.”

Liberal democrat Liam MacArthur said: “I would suggest that the prospect of new nuclear power stations in Scotland has been off the agenda for some time.”

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