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本日の選挙には何とか勝ちそうなブレアですが、エネルギー、温暖化問題の解決に原発を持ち出しました。もっとも、反対の声もあがるだろうと言うことで選挙の争点には出切るだけならないようにしていたようです。「グリーン」なエネルギーよりも安上がりという都合のいい試算もこのタイミングで出ています。大臣の椅子目当てに原発推進で立ち回っているのはバート卿という人物だそうで、この人物に関しての評判も転載します。
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/story.jsp?story=632254
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/environment/story.jsp?story=632254
Nuclear power? Yes please, says Blair
By Marie Woolf and Andrew Grice
23 April 2005
Downing Street is drawing up secret plans to create a new generation of nuclear power stations as the centrepiece of the Government's drive to combat climate change. Tony Blair wants to avoid discussing the issue until after the election and the No 10 review of Britain's energy needs is not mentioned in the manifesto. But a team in the Strategy Unit, led by Lord Birt, the former BBC director general and one of the Prime Minister's closest advisers, is studying whether nuclear power should play a central role in combating global warming.
The unit will produce a report on climate change and how to protect energy supplies from threats - such as oil shortages and a terrorist attack on Middle East pipelines. "They are carefully framing the questions to get the answer they want. The answer to both questions could be nuclear power," one senior insider said yesterday.
The nuclear industry has already held private discussions with Downing Street about a new generation of power stations. Mr Blair is understood to be sympathetic to the arguments advanced by Sir David King, the Government's chief scientific adviser, who sees nuclear power as the best way to tackle global warming.
They discussed the issue at a meeting late last year, but Mr Blair said any public debate would have to wait until after the election.
The revival of the prospect of nuclear power has split the Cabinet. Margaret Beckett, the Environment Secretary, and Patricia Hewitt, the Trade and Industry Secretary, are believed to have serious reservations. Some figures in the nuclear industry are lobbying for Ms Hewitt to be moved from her department in a post-election reshuffle.
The Cabinet's most senior ministers are thought unlikely to oppose the expansion of nuclear power if Mr Blair proposes it.
Geoffrey Norris, Mr Blair's special adviser on industry matters, is among those said to be promoting the case. "No 10 advisers and people in the Strategy Unit are pushing it very strongly," said one senior source. "John Birt and Geoffrey Norris, who has the ear of Tony Blair, are looking at this."
The DTI and the Environment department believe the Government should concentrate on developing renewable energy, to tackle climate change.
The Government has set a target of meeting 10 per cent of electricity from renewables by 2010. Critics of the nuclear option argue it would not help to achieve the Government's goal of a 20 per cent cut in carbon dioxide levels by 2010 because it would take too long to upgrade plants or build new ones. But supporters say nuclear could help hit the more ambitious target of a 60 per cent cut by 2050.
Backers of the nuclear option are confident of victory but admit the hurdles are formidable. A likely way to finance the move would be a form of public-private partnership but the private sector might demand long-term energy contracts with guaranteed fixed prices, before investing in nuclear.
To limit public opposition, new reactors could be built next to decommissioned nuclear plants.
Yesterday, Mrs Beckett said the construction of new nuclear plants was not the Government's preferred solution for meeting the growing demand for energy in an environmentally-friendly manner. But she said: "We can't close down that option. It is possible that, in the end, for climate change reasons, we would need to reconsider that."
Jean McSorley, senior adviser, nuclear, at Greenpeace, said: "This plan is so far off it is not an adequate response to climate change. There has been a huge amount of lobbying by the nuclear industry over the past year."
25 April 2005
Building a new generation of nuclear power stations would be a much cheaper way of meeting the UK's ambitious targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions than persisting with an expansion of renewable energy, according to research published today.
The analysis, by the economics consultancy Oxera, calculates that a new nuclear programme would cost the taxpayer just over £4bn whereas continuing to rely on green energy such as wind power would require £12bn of public support.
The research comes as Tony Blair prepares to seek backing for the construction of up to 10 nuclear power stations should he win the election next week. A consultation document setting out the case for a new nuclear programme is expected within weeks of a Labour victory.
The Government has set a target of reducing the UK's carbon emissions by 60 per cent by 2050 and producing 20 per cent of the country's electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
However, Oxera calculates that by 2025, the UK will be running 40 to 60 per cent short of its carbon-reduction targets, based on past economic performance, unless there is a much bigger shift away from fossil fuel electricity generation than currently envisaged.
Robin Smale, Oxera's managing consultant, said: "At the moment, the two options available are increasing the amount of nuclear-generated energy or increasing renewables at the taxpayer's expense - neither of which will be popular. From the point of view of the taxpayer, nuclear energy may be a strong contender given its costs relative to wind power."
Oxera argues that improvements in energy efficiency and greater "carbon productivity" will not be enough to achieve a 60 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions based on current plans for expanding renewable power.
The Government's aim is to generate 20 per cent of the UK's electricity from renewables by 2020 but Oxera says this would still be insufficient to meet the greenhouse gas targets, achieving a carbon reduction of only 1.2 per cent a year against a required rate of 1.9 per cent.
Expansion of renewable energy will cost £12bn more in net present value terms than relying on conventional fossil-fuelled generation, says Mr Smale. If the UK opted instead for a new nuclear power programme, the equivalent figure would be £4.4bn. This would be split into a £1.1bn injection of direct public capital and the provision of publicly backed debt guarantees worth about £3.3bn. The figure for nuclear does not include the cost of public liability insurance.
Green consumers urged to back £5m wind farm fund
Green households will today be asked to put their money where their environmental credentials are by backing a £5m share issue to raise funds for new wind farms.
The share offer from Triodos, which styles itself as one of the world's first "sustainable" banks, is aimed at individuals rather than City institutions.
The minimum investment is £980 - the amount needed to generate enough electricity to meet the needs of the average household. Triodos is promising investors more than just the warm glow they will get from helping save the planet. It claims the return on investment will be more than 10 per cent within three years.
Triodos also promises that its wind farms will be "sensitively and sensibly sited" so as not to offend those environmentalists opposed to the onward march of the turbines.
Through its Triodos Renewables arm, the bank has financed more than 150 wind farms such as the one pictured above at Moel Maelogen in North Wales.
23 April 2005
Lord Birt, the "blue skies" thinker in Downing Street, has pleaded with Tony Blair to make him a minister after the general election.
The former BBC director general, an unpaid adviser to the Prime Minister, wants to become minister without portfolio, with a brief to shake up the Civil Service and drive through the public sector reforms Mr Blair wants to secure.
Lord Birt, who is involved in the nuclear power debate, is highly rated by Mr Blair but has upset ministers by intervening in issues for which they are responsible. Allies of Lord Birt say he needs "the clout" of being a minister to become more effective and point to the controversial reforms he implemented at the BBC.
It is believed that Mr Blair is considering whether to make Lord Birt a minister of state at the Cabinet Office, one rung below Cabinet rank, with responsibility for Whitehall efficiency and reform of public services. As he is already a peer, he could join the Government as a Lords minister. But the move would spark fresh allegations of cronyism.
The appointment could also face opposition from Gordon Brown, who is wary of any moves to build up Downing Street that would weaken the influence of his Treasury powerbase.
If he wins a third term, Mr Blair's decision on Lord Birt could provide an early test of the partnership he has reforged with Mr Brown. The Prime Minister is keen to maintain it, and the Chancellor's bargaining power is likely to increase following his decision to take on a prominent election role.
24 April 2005
If Lord Birt, the man who does Tony Blair's "blue skies thinking" thought he was an important counsellor respected throughout Whitehall, he now knows better.
He is, in fact, just one of "thousands of advisers" who "whisper in ears" but take no decisions. And he may be Lord Birt in his own mind, and the Armani-suited former director-general of the BBC with a "mission to explain" to others, but to at least one colleague he is John "bloody" Birt. This was the monicker given him by no less an authority than the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott.
Mr Prescott was out campaigning at a Tesco supermarket in Edinburgh when he was approached by a shopper about the revelation in yesterday's Independent that the advisers do - but they don't make decisions."
Mr Prescott's comments came in reply to a question about the revelation in yesterday's Independent that the Downing Street Strategy Unit was considering whether the UK needed a new generation of nuclear power stations.
Labour is considering the options for generating electricity without adding to global warming, but Mr Prescott's response is evidence that he clearly does not want to stir up fears about nuclear power this close to an election. The Deputy Prime Minister's visit to Edinburgh South West is one of a series by senior ministers to the constituency where the Transport Secretary, Alastair Darling, is seeking re-election in the face of a strong Tory challenge.
His remarks about Lord Birt were the second colourful outburst of the campaign from the politician who livened up the 2001 general election by punching a man who threw an egg at him. On a visit to Wales, Mr Prescott was annoyed by questions from a local journalist and told him to "bugger off".
25 April 2005
He's charged with laying out the Government's vision with his "blue-sky thinking" brief, but John Birt is rarely far from a storm.
Unpopular during his time as BBC director general, he is said to be disliked by senior civil servants for his habit of declaring "Tony thinks..." in conversation.
Now John Prescott has launched an outspoken attack on "John bloody Birt" after The Independent revealed that he was drawing up secret plans within No 10 to expand nuclear power after the general election.
An exasperated Deputy Prime Minister was asked about Lord Birt as he toured an Edinburgh supermarket. Mr Prescott replied: "First of all, let's dismiss 'John bloody Birt'," he told the shopper.
"He might walk in and out of No 10, he might whisper in ears. There are thousands of advisers like that. He obviously thinks he is a bit more important. That is what advisers do - but they don't make decisions."
His comments reflected unease in government about the role of Tony Blair's unpaid strategy advisor, who has become one of the most secretive and enigmatic but potentially most powerful voices in Downing Street.
It was the second controversy to engulf the peer in a fortnight, after a wave of stories about his decision to divorce his wife and marry the former head of the National Probation Service.
Lord Birt, a friend of the Prime Minister for a decade, has been lobbying Mr Blair to become minister without portfolio after the general election, with a brief to drive through civil service and public sector reforms.
Such a move would be a hugely controversial promotion for the peer, who has been at the centre of a series of rows about his highly secret, and highly contentious policy advice.
The 60-year-old, who was given a life peerage by Mr Blair in 2000, was described by his successor Greg Dyke as "a man who worked upwards, someone who desperately wanted to be part of the power elite, part of the new establishment".
Critics say Lord Birt sits in on meetings between Mr Blair and cabinet ministers. He is known to work from offices in Downing Street - he was reported to have insisted on one - and the Cabinet Office. His office is reached by a spiral staircase, leading to rumours that he did not want to meet colleagues in the corridor.
The true nature of Lord Birt's work within Downing Street, and the importance or otherwise of his advice to Mr Blair, has remained one of the intriguing mysteries of New Labour.
John Birt was born in Liverpool in 1944. His father rose from a labourer to national sales director of the Firestone tyre and rubber company. He trained as an engineer, but rose through the broadcasting ranks, editing World in Action and producing Weekend World during the 1970s.
The quiet, Armani-wearing John Birt was one of the most controversial director generals the BBC has produced. The late playwright Dennis Potter famously described him as a "croak-voiced Dalek" in a phrase which was taken by many to sum up his love of management-speak.
He was criticised by stars and producers within the BBC for his reforms of the corporation. Since entering the House of Lords he has been linked with a string of controversial proposals, from diverting part of the BBC's licence fee to its commercial rivals, to abolishing the Cabinet Office, creating a new network of motorway toll roads and appointing the Prince of Wales as a "countryside tsar".
However, his work has been almost entirely secret, leading to no published reports. He shuns publicity.
Attempts by MPs and peers to obtain details of his reports, work programme or job have been thwarted by No 10, citing wide ranging exemptions of rules. Peers cannot question him in the House of Lords because he has no official ministerial job, and select committees cannot summon him because peers cannot be compelled to give evidence.
Norman Baker, Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, has hounded the government with questions about Lord Birt.
He said: "He has been producing blue skies thinking on a whole range of subjects which have never got anywhere. If Tony Blair wants someone to give him bad advice, that's up to him, but I want people to be accountable."
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