HC Deb 11 June 1984 vol 61 c624
5. Mr. Kenneth Carlisle

asked the Secretary of State for Energy what level of research into the causes of acid rain his Department is supporting.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy (Mr. Giles Shaw)

Within the Government, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment is responsible for research into the causes and effects of acid rain, and my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave the House details of the Government's research programme on 6 March. My Department has responsibility for ensuring that energy technologies which promise lower levels of atmospheric pollution are explored. The energy nationalised industries also have substantial programmes of research relating to environmental matters, including acid rain.

Mr. Carlisle

I thank my hon. Friend for that reply. Does he agree that research within the Government must be at a sufficient level to learn the true causes of acid rain as a firm basis for action? Does he accept that acid rain is a growing problem in Europe and that the British Government, in seeking a solution, should be a leader rather than a laggard?

Mr. Shaw

I accept my hon. Friend's point about this problem. He is right to point out that it is complicated. It is not just a matter of wet deposition through rainfall, but also of dry deposition. He should know that the two major energy industries, the Central Electricity Generating Board and the National Coal Board, have committed £5 million for a research project conducted by the Royal Society of London in co-operation with the Swedish Academy of Sciences into the causes of acid rain.

Mr. Rogers

Will the Minister press his Department to accelerate the programme of research, especially as it now seems that nuclear power stations contribute far more substantially to the incidence of acid rain than coal-powered stations, as had been thought previously?

Mr. Shaw

I confess that the hon. Gentleman's observation is somewhat novel, but I accept that we need to obtain much more information about the causation of acid rain, and that is what the Government are determined to secure.

Mr. Robert B. Jones

Will my hon. Friend tell me what steps his Department's scientists have taken to evaluate research in Sweden and Norway into this problem? Can he confirm that their scientists have found that nuclear power, far from contributing to acid rain, is the cleanest fuel?

Mr. Shaw

I am sure that there will always be substantial disagreement between scientists and politicians on these issues, but my hon. Friend is right to say that the Swedes are changing their minds on many aspects in connection with acid rain, particularly forestry.