Parliament urged to follow Italy's lead on nuclear
For immediate release 14 June 2011
Patrick Harvie MSP today welcomed the overwhelming rejection of nuclear power by Italian voters yesterday, following The decision last month by the German government to close their older nuclear reactors. The Greens believe Scotland can move to 100% renewable electricity generation by 2020, if not before, and today urged MSPs from other parties to back calls to close this country's two remaining nuclear power stations by 2020 at the latest.
Patrick Harvie MSP said:
"The Italian people were offered a direct choice on nuclear power this week, and they voted overwhelmingly for an end to this outdated technology. Like the German government, they know the future isn't nuclear, it's renewable. A much more substantial commitment to wind, wave and tidal power is essential if Scotland is to have access to safe affordable energy for the long term.
"The nuclear age is nearly over, like the oil age, and by 2020 every last watt of substantial power generation in Scotland should be coming from renewables. The SNP talked a lot about green energy during the election, and if they're serious about going 100% renewable they must start preparing right now for the closedown of Torness and Hunterston. Future generations of Scots expect nothing less - it's time to stop piling up the nuclear debts and the nuclear waste."
The motion in Patrick Harvie's name reads as follows:
S4M-00297 - Europe Abandoning Nuclear Power. That the Parliament welcomes what it considers the overwhelming vote against nuclear power in the recent Italian referendum; further notes the German Government's decision to close pre-1980 nuclear power stations and to call a halt to plans to extend the operational lifespan of the country's nuclear plants; believes that, following the Fukushima disaster, the operating life of Scotland's aging nuclear plants should also not be extended; supports calls for Scotland's electricity supply to go 100% renewable by 2020, and urges Scottish ministers to work with the industry to close down Scotland's nuclear power stations by 2020 at the latest.