Nuclear Power in Scotland

That the Parliament recognises that decisions on energy and climate change are of hugely significant importance to the people, the economy and the environment of Scotland; further recognises that we are no nearer to delivering a solution to the problem of nuclear waste than we were 30 years ago and that we are at least 40 years from any realistic method of long-term storage; recognises that nuclear power will not tackle climate change; notes that imported sources of high-grade uranium ore are finite and that the carbon emissions associated with nuclear power rise further above those of the most efficient fossil fuel power stations as lower grades are used; recognises that Scotland’s renewable energy resource has the capacity to power Scotland many times over; further recognises the potential for energy savings through conservation and efficiency measures which pound-for-pound make much more economic sense than wasting money on nuclear power; notes that the new generation of nuclear power stations will result in a more-than-threefold increase in the amount of high-level nuclear waste to be dealt with; recognises that the building of new nuclear power stations would send a dangerous and misleading message to all countries in the world regarding the proliferation of nuclear technology and would add to the potential of devastating terrorist action; notes that nuclear power is uneconomic and that decommissioning will require massive public subsidy, on top of the already expanding budget of over £70 billion, to deal with the legacy of current stations; recognises the important opportunity to decentralise energy production which would itself increase energy efficiency by 50%, and agrees with the Commission for Sustainable Development that it is political willpower that is needed, not nuclear power, to address climate change and energy security now and for the future.