§ Mr. BarronTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is his Department's estimate of the contribution that nuclear power will make to the required halving in United Kingdom CO2 emissions by the year 2025.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerThere is no requirement on the United Kingdom to reduce the future emissions of carbon dioxide or any other energy-related greenhouse gas. The course of any necessary future action should become clearer when the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) reports in autumn 1990. Until then it would not be wise for the United Kingdom to act unilaterally in such a global matter.
In the meantime, current policies in the energy field are pointing in the right direction to curtail the growth of these gases. The encouragement of cost effective energy efficiency measures, the development of renewable energy resources, the support of diversified supply options such as nuclear (which emits almost no CO2) in the Electricity Bill, are a firm basis for any future action. The United Kingdom's call for the strengthening of the Montreal protocol on CFCs will spur action on the most powerful of greenhouse gases.
§ Mr. ColvinTo ask the Secretary of State for Energy what proportion of the United Kingdom's carbon dioxide emissions is caused by coal and oil-fired power stations.
§ Mr. Michael SpicerEmissions from coal and oil-fired power stations account for about one third of the total United Kingdom emissions from non-biological sources.