nuclear-news

Climate scientists and campaigners round on English Greens over nuclear U-turn

ZACK Polanski’s English and Welsh Greens have been sharply
criticised by a raft of leading climate campaigners and scientists for
ditching their blanket opposition to nuclear power.

An open letter signed by 39 top activists and eminent environmental experts warned the Green
Party of England and Wales (GPEW) that “nuclear reduces and delays
climate action”.

The party voted to ditch its default opposition to
atomic energy at its recent conference in Brighton. Instead, the GPEW
“accepts this power source is here to stay for now” and will examine
any future proposals for new nuclear power plants on a case-by-case basis.

The letter, signed by Mike Childs, head of science, policy and research at
Friends of the Earth, Dr Doug Parr, Greenpeace UK’s chief scientist and
Jonathon Porritt, a former Green Party co-chair, said: “The very long
nuclear development and build times means much longer fossil fuel burn.
Nuclear is just too slow, too hazardous, and too costly for the climate and
energy crises. The Green Party of England and Wales have taken a wrong turn
on nuclear.”

It also raised security concerns, with the signatories
pointing to recent events in Ukraine and the Middle East which they said
showed “civil nuclear infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to
military attack and AI cyber threat”.

The letter, which was also signed
by Prof Susan Roaf, Emeritus Professor of architectural engineering at
Heriot-Watt University, Pete Roche of the Scottish Campaign to Resist the
Atomic Menace and Prof Peter Strachan of Robert Gordon University, said:
“As we’ve seen in Ukraine and the Gulf, civil nuclear infrastructure is
increasingly vulnerable to military attack and AI cyber threat. Crucially,
both coastal and inland nuclear will be at significant risk from ramping
climate impact.

The National 25th Oct 2026,
https://www.thenational.scot/news/26665517.climate-scientists-campaigners-round-english-greens-nuclear/

October 29, 2026 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, UK