Commenting on news that the expected takeover of British Energy by French energy company EDF has fallen through, Nathan Argent, head of Greenpeace's nuclear campaign, said:

"This is a hammer blow for Brown's deluded nuclear ambitions. If this deal had gone ahead, it would have been a disaster for renewable energy in the UK. A push for more nuclear power would scupper the UK renewable energy industry, and, by doing so, cancel out the prospect of creating hundreds of thousands of British green-collar jobs. 

"Now is the time for Brown to show some courage. This is his chance to make the decision to finally ditch the government's failing nuclear policy.

"A report out today by independent energy experts shows that if we meet the 2020 renewable energy target, we'll close the energy gap and cut emissions by almost 40 per cent. If Brown has any bottle, this is his perfect chance to show it.

"This takeover would have taken us back to the old days of a state-subsidised, monopolised nuclear power sector. The French government, via EDF, would have the monopoly, while the British government, via the taxpayer, would have shelled out subsidies to the tune of billions."

ENDS

Greenpeace press office: 020 7865 8255

The government's strategy for dealing with nuclear waste was labeled a "shambles" today, ahead of an expected White Paper tomorrow.

Ben Ayliffe, head of Greenpeace's nuclear campaign, said:

"Nuclear waste is a financial and geological nightmare. These proposals do not provide a plausible solution for our existing legacy waste, let alone the waste from new reactors, which will be at least three times more radioactive.

"This White Paper is not about finding a solution for nuclear waste. It's about bribing a community with £1bn of taxpayers' money to bury waste in their back garden. But there's no guarantee a willing community will come forward or that they'll be able to find a geologically suitable site anywhere in this country.

"The government cannot press on with its plans for new nuclear power when its strategy for dealing with radioactive waste is such a shambles."

• The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, the body in charge of dealing with the UK's radioactive waste, admitted recently that the costs of cleaning up existing nuclear waste, estimated to already be £73bn, were likely to spiral by billions. When pressed on how much it might increase an NDA spokesman claimed "I'm sure it'll be some billions, I really don't know." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7421879.stm

• In May, the UK's "world class" reactor at Sizewell B shut down unexpectedly, causing massive black outs across the UK. (http://uk.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/...)

• At the same time, British Energy, the UK's biggest nuclear operator, announced that its annual profits had slumped by a third. BE blamed falling electricity prices and unplanned reactor shutdowns. (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?...)

• This week British Energy turned down a £10bn takeover bid from EdF, saying that its bid "does not represent value for shareholders." BE added that talks were ongoing, but that "there can be no certainty that any of the discussions will lead to an offer being made for the company". (http://www.british-energy.com/article.php?article=243)

• The French Nuclear Safety Authority has now ordered all construction work to stop on the site of the supposedly state-of-the-art European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) in Flamanville, Normandy, because of on-going safety problems. The EPR is the reactor design that the Government is keen to see built here in the UK. (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c2873968-2c4f-11dd-9861...l)

• A new report in the USA suggests that construction costs for new nuclear reactors have more than doubled since 2000, meaning that nuclear is becoming more expensive more quickly than any other form of energy (http://online.wsj.com/article/...). Elsewhere, Florida Light and Power have estimated the cost of building 1 new reactor would be a staggering $12bn. (http://a4nr.org/library/economics/may.june-energybiz)

Greenpeace press office: 020 7865 8255.

The parties involved in the expected takeover of British Energy have "little interest in tackling climate change or protecting British taxpayers", said environmentalists today.

Nathan Argent, nuclear campaigner for Greenpeace, said:

"The expected French Government bid to takeover of British Energy will come with huge financial costs, a tiny reduction in carbon emissions and continued confusion over who pays for the clean up of radioactive waste.

"Energy bosses admit that replacing the UK's existing reactors will cost about £60 billion - twice the amount the Government estimated only months ago. Even the Government has said that this will only reduce carbon emissions by around four per cent."

Such an investment should instead be used to enable the UK to reach legally binding renewable energy targets, environmentalists say.

"And there's still an enormous question mark over dealing with spent nuclear fuel produced by the reactors that the French hope to buy. Since the beginning of 2005, the UK Government has been legally committed to dealing with all the spent nuclear fuel on these sites, and this commitment will continue even when the sites are sold. So, the British taxpayer will be financing the clean-up of French owned nuclear sites in the UK.

"It's worryingly obvious that anyone involved in this dodgy deal - and that includes the Government - has little interest in tackling climate change or protecting British taxpayers."

For more information, contact the Greenpeace press office on 020 7865 8255.

Reponding to news of a takeover at British Energy, Ben Ayliffe, head of Greenpeace's nuclear campaign, said: "This is a staggeringly expensive way of doing very little to tackle climate change, given that a replacement nuclear programme can only reduce our carbon emissions by four per cent sometime after 2020. It's inconceivable that these enormous costs aren't going to be passed on to customers in the form of higher energy bills.

"It could cost EdF over £12bn to buy British Energy. Add to this at least a further £10bn to build the reactors, not forgetting the cost of upgrading the electricity grid and dealing with nuclear waste, and the bill for a handful of new atomic plants comes in at over £25bn.

"An equivalent investment in renewable technology and energy efficiency would deliver much bigger emissions cuts and provide hundreds of thousands of green collar jobs. But EdF are determined to block this path because, as they admit, growth in the renewables industry will kill off any hopes for more nuclear power."

ENDS

Greenpeace press office: 020 7865 8255