§ Mr. Juddasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he will make a statement on the outcome of evaluations by the Government on the period of time for which it will be possible to sustain modern forms of industrial and social organisations with their dependence on high energy consumption; and whether he will make a statement on the research being undertaken by the Government into alternative forms of industrial and social organisation.
§ Mr. Tom BoardmanSuch studies are inevitably very complex, involving as they do estimates of future population growth, availability of food, levels of industrial development, living standards and a number of other factors. Even with full international co-operation, therefore, they cannot be completed quickly. However, it can be estimated that world reserves of fossil fuels are sufficient to meet a level of economic activity substantially greater than at present for many decades. Their use will be progressively supplemented and replaced by nuclear power 449W and possibly by other new sources of energy, including some which would be inexhaustible or virtually so. Adaptation to the increasing scarcity and cost of the most convenient forms of fossil fuel will be a major task for mankind. The solution of this and other problems of the future will require resources likely to be available only in highly organised technological societies and will also call for wide international co-operation.