Greens welcome move towards energy-efficient white goods

Comet, the electrical goods retailer, is offering its customers a 20% discount if they trade-in old white goods appliances for a new model. The pilot scheme by Comet will run until the 14th of September.

The UK has roughly 15 million fridges, freezers and washing machines that are over ten years old. Darren Johnson, the Green Party's trade and industry spokesperson, said: "A white goods scrappage scheme will only be effective in reducing energy if there is a commitment to stop selling poorly-rated goods. Otherwise, people just risk trading in one energy-inefficient appliance for another.

We also need a more flexible VAT rate that takes account of the energy rating of household appliances."

Stroud Eco Renovation Open Homes weekend

Stroud is playing host this weekend to a 22-home event, where eco-renovations will be shared with the public.

In Stroud, the Green Party has six district councillors and one county councillor. You can find more information on the event's website: www.stroudopenhomes.org.uk

The event has been organised by Transition Stroud's energy group. Philip Booth, Green Party district councillor in Stroud since 2006, is assisting in this year's event.

Booth said: "The weekend is a great opportunity to see measures like internal and external insulation, wood pellet boilers, air source heat pumps, gas condensing boilers, PV, rainwater harvesting and more."

"We are delighted to have the support of many people and groups, including Ecotricity who have sponsored this year's leaflet, and special thanks must go to all the homeowners who are so very kindly opening their homes to the public."

EU PLAYING POLITICS ON CLIMATE FINANCE COULD JEOPARDISE UN DEAL, SAY GREENS

The European Commission today published its proposals setting out a framework for financing of international climate efforts, including the role of the EU. Commenting on the Commission's international climate finance proposals, UK Green MEP Caroline Lucas said:

"With around 100 days to go to the end of the UN climate summit in Copenhagen, the EU urgently needs to adopt a concrete position on climate change financing for developing countries. Unfortunately, the proposals published by the Commission could jeopardise the negotiations by trying to heap a disproportionate share of the burden onto developing countries.

"The Commission's estimations on the required amount of climate financing for developing countries are on the low side (€66-80bn per annum) compared with other recent estimations. On top of this, the Commission claims that only €22-50bn per annum (by 2020) should be accounted for by public financing. This figure is clearly artificially low and smacks of politicking, with the negotiations in mind. Setting the figure too low could jeopardise the commitment of developing countries to a UN climate deal.

"The Commission calculates that EU share of the responsibility for international public financing for climate efforts in developing countries could be 10-30%. Clearly, it needs to be close to the top end of this scale to realistically reflect the responsibility of the EU, based on its historical emissions and its ability to pay, not just its share of current emissions.

"Overall, the underlying assumptions show that the Commission sees most of the global emissions reductions by 2020 taking place in developing countries. This is a clear renouncement of EU's purported leadership on climate change and ignores the EU's responsibility.

"The EU has committed to the goal of limiting global warming to less than 2 degrees. If it is serious, it will need to urgently step up its effort, committing to domestic emissions reductions of at least 40% by 2020, as well as climate financing in the region of €35bn. Anything less risks making the 2 degree goal completely unattainable and thereby opens the door to dangerous climate change."

Greens Deputy Leader conference speech

In his speech to the Green Party's autumn conference, Adrian Ramsay, deputy leader of The Green Party, will outline his party's plans to buy back hospitals that have been part of the Labour government's Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs).

Ramsay sees the government's creeping privitisation of the National Health Service as the cause of increasing inequalities in UK healthcare.

On top of the health costs of PFIs, Ramsay also points to the economic consequences of what he sees as a failed experiment:

"Funding new hospitals and schools through PFIs is like buying your house on a credit card instead of getting a mortgage."

In his second conference as Green Party Deputy, Ramsay will also take the opportunity to back up much of what the party leader, Caroline Lucas, sought to address in her speech to the Conference on Friday.

He will call for a fairer electoral system, a more transparent parliament, an elected upper house and for proper regulation of party funding.

"We need root and branch reform of our political system to make it more accountable to the public, so people can see how they can influence decision making."

Finally, Ramsay, the opposition leader on Norwich City Council, will emphasise the need for Green representation in parliament in order to fight against runaway climate change and "to offer real solutions to the major problems of our time."

Green conference to form response to the far-right

At the Green Party's conference in Hove tomorrow (Sat 5th September), Jean Lambert, London's Green MEP since 1999, will lead a strategy discussion about shaping a Green Party response to the far right -- now that it has won seats in the UK at the local, regional and European levels.

The session will draw on this year's experience of fighting the BNP - for example, in the North West England Euro-constituency, where the Green Party's Peter Cranie led a determined effort to stop the BNP leader from winning a seat in the European Parliament.

Peter Cranie said today, "Our Euro-campaign in the North West came agonisingly close to defeating Nick Griffin. We lost by just 0.3% of the poll. That's 5 000 votes out of an electorate of over 5 million. Now North West England is stuck with a racist MEP for five years. We need to make totally certain that, in 2014, we replace him with a Green."

Jean Lambert commented, "We'll be looking at how a lack of political activity in a community can allow the far right to win. We'll be aiming to clarify what Greens can do to limit the advance of the far right in politics at all levels."

"What do older people want?"

The Green Party is inviting contributions from a range of expert speakers on policy proposals to help older people at their conference taking place this weekend in Hove Town Hall.

The debate on Saturday afternoon will include guest speakers from Age Concern and Help the Aged and from Brighton and Hove's Older People's Council, and will be exploring what must be done to address pensioner poverty, social care and transport needs ahead of the forthcoming General Election.

Jean Lambert, the Green MEP for London, who is a Member of the European Parliament's cross-party group on Ageing, will be leading the session. She said:

"I am delighted to welcome expert speakers to Hove to discuss what must be done to ensure a decent pension for all older people, as well as improve access to social, health, transport and other services that could make a real improvement to the lives of older people."

"Far too many pensioners are living in poverty and isolation, unable to access basic care and social networks. The Green Party is committed to improving older people's lives and that's why we're opening this debate which will help inform our policies."

John Barry from Brighton and Hove's Older People's Council will be joining the panel to discuss the role of the organisation in bringing the voice and concerns of older people to local decision-making forums. He said:

"The job of the Older People's Council (OPC) is to make sure that older people in Brighton & Hove are treated with respect and dignity, that they receive the services and support they need and have access to opportunities to lead a fulfilling life. We listen to older people in the city and will be taking their views to the Green Party conference."

Patrick South, Head of Public Affairs at Age Concern and Help the Aged, and Debora Price, an academic from the Institute of Gerontology at Kings College London, will also be appearing on the panel.

Jean Lambert MEP added:

"We have invited a range of experienced speakers to this public meeting and I hope that Brighton and Hove residents will also come along to listen and share their views."

The public meeting will take place on Saturday 5th September at 4pm in the Council Chamber of Hove Town Hall. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Green conference to call for national rape crisis hotline

At the Green Party's annual conference next week, party leader Caroline Lucas MEP will urge the Greens to toughen-up aspects of their social policy platform ahead of the general election.

And one of the party's new policies should be a government-funded national hotline for victims of rape and sexual abuse, she will say.

Caroline Lucas said today: "Rape crisis centres are struggling for funding. Some have closed; others provide phone services for a few hours a week. 40% of adults who are raped tell no-one. 31% of children who are abused reach adulthood without speaking of it. They may need help at any time."

"Vital services must be funded from taxation"

Dr Lucas, who is widely tipped to become the party's first UK MP in the coming general election, added: "These are absolutely vital services, and it's entirely appropriate that they be funded from taxation." The cost for such a hotline is estimated by the Green Party to be between £4 million and £5 million per year. (1)

"This is not meant to replace existing services, which also deserve better government support than they are getting now. Their knowledge of their own community and ability to meet its needs is irreplaceable. But there needs to be a overall and referral service open at any time a victim needs it."

If the motion passes, the Green Party's new policy would be to fund a national rape crisis hotline, to be operated by an NGO, to provide 24-hour, seven day access to immediate support and referral for victims of sexual crimes. This would direct callers to local services, including local phone lines.

Caroline Lucas added that she expected the motion to win strong support.

Greens join Camp for Climate Action

The Camp for Climate Action will took place in London from today onwards. Activists gathered at six locations:

- the head office of BP in London's St James' Square

- the Bank of England

- Stratford railway station, near the 2012 Olympics site- outside mining company Rio Tinto, in Aldermanbury Square

- Stockwell Tube station, to mark the death of Jean Charles de Menezes

- cyclists massed outside the headquarters of Shell on the South Bank, near Waterloo railway station

By text message, activists were then told to converge on the site for the week-long camp.

A number of leading Greens will be at the Camp for Climate Action, among them:

- Molly-Scott Cato, our economics spokesperson, will be on a panel on Friday to debate whether capitalism is sustainable and if not what should replace it.

- Caroline Lucas will be in workshop on Saturday, looking at growth/wellbeing issues.

Jenny Jones, the Green Party home affairs spokesperson, will attend the camp, and was highly critical of the policing around the G20 protests in London. Jones said, in advance of the Camp for Climate Action:

"Anyone who cares about civil liberties will understand how important peaceful gatherings and protests are, and how increasingly difficult the police have made it. So we will be judging the police's behaviour at the Climate Camp."

"Much has been promised by the Met, in terms of a softly softly approach, which includes giving the camp their own safer neighbourhood team, but now they have to live up to those promises, and hopefully regain some of the respect they've lost recently."

GREEN MEP DEMANDS ACTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN TURKEY AS KURDISH CAMPAIGNER IS SENTENCED

Jean Lambert today expressed her concern and disappointment over the decision of the Turkish authorities to sentence Leyla Zana, a prominent Kurdish human rights activist, for fifteen months. Ms Zana, who has met with the Green MEP on several occasions, was the winner of the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize in 1995 for her work to improve human rights, and extend democracy and freedom of expression in Turkey.

Commenting on the announcement of Ms Zana's sentence, Jean Lambert MEP said:

"It is a sad outcome for human rights and for the Kurdish people. Leyla Zana is an inspirational figure and has tirelessly fought against intolerance and oppression. I have written to the President of the European Parliament this week to urge that everything possible is done at the EU level to support her appeal and I will continue to follow this situation closely."

Jean Lambert MEP continued:

"Leyla Zana has already served a 10 year prison sentence for speaking Kurdish in the Turkish Parliament, following her election as the first female Kurdish MP. Even now, the use of the Kurdish language is still banned in public places despite pressure from the EU to reform human rights law and comply with the Copenhagen criteria.

"I support Ms Zana's calls for the need for dialogue and a political solution to the conflict. I hope that she will win her new appeal against this sentence so that she can continue her work towards a peaceful solution for Turkey and a better situation for the Kurdish community."

Isle of Wight's Green Euro-MP to submit workers' co-op proposal to save Vestas jobs

The Isle of Wight's Green Euro-MP is to submit an urgent proposal to the Leader of the Isle of Wight Council for support for a workers co-op at the Vestas wind turbine manufacturing plant to be established under the Sustainable Communities Act 2007.

Dr Lucas's submission, which offers a practical and sustainable solution to the current dispute over the proposed closure of the plant, will be delivered tomorrow at 4pm to Cllr David Pugh by Brian Lucas from Isle of Wight Green Party and a representative of the workers at the Vestas plant.

Under the Sustainable Communities Act 2007, councils and communities have the opportunity to put forward proposals on sustainable improvements to local economic, environmental and social wellbeing. Once established, individual councils' proposals are sent to the Government via the Local Government Association. The deadline for current submissions to the LGA is 31st July 2009.

In a last ditch attempt to keep the Vestas plant open, Dr Lucas will call on the IoW Council to ask for Government support under the terms of the 2007 Act to ensure that:

- The workers of the wind turbine company Vestas are permitted to form a Workers' Cooperative, and are supported in doing so by the government.

- Financial support (at the very least unemployment benefit) is paid to the workers of Vestas until such time as the proposed Workers' Cooperative is financially viable.

Dr Lucas commented: "If the government is serious about tackling climate change, helping to protect the future of UK manufacturing, and safeguarding local jobs, it must act now to keep the Vestas facility open for business.

"By submitting a proposal under the Sustainable Communities Act for a workers' co-op, the Council can demand that the government provides the investment and assurances necessary to save this facility - on the basis that it plays a crucial economic and environmental role in the local community.

"Failure to keep the Vestas plant open will represent a spectacular failure by the government to match its rhetoric on green jobs with real policy action. It should be seizing the opportunity to create a renewable energy revolution that can see us through a transition towards a more environmentally and economically stable economy. Allowing the IoW plant to close now would be a massive embarrassment for ministers - and devastating for the IoW's workers."

Green Party celebrates 40th anniversary of Stonewall riots at Brighton Pride

The Green Party is gearing up for Brighton Pride. Greens will celebrate the legacy of the Stonewall riots with a public meeting on the 31st of July (at 630pm, The Eagle, 125 Gloucester Road, Brighton, BN1 4AF).The meeting's theme is: "Stonewall 40: The Unfinished Battle for LGBT Freedom".

Green Party leader Caroline Lucas and Peter Tatchell (the party's human rights spokesperson) will be at the public meeting, and will both join the Pride march.

Phelim Mac Cafferty, LGBT Greens National Spokesperson explained:

"We are delighted to be proudly celebrating the legacy of the Stonewall riots, which saw New York 's LGBT population burst forward in a show of defiance against continuous state harassment and persecution. Our meeting will relate to the lessons of Stonewall but will also importantly focus on what needs to be done still.

Phelim concluded:

"We have won important battles but until we have respect and equality the lessons from Stonewall mean we should never let up! Trans, bi and homophobic persecution, oppression and murder are still prevalent throughout the world. Now is the time to prepare ourselves for the unfinished battle for LGBT Freedom. Join us for our meeting to celebrate Brighton Pride 2009 and march with us as we mark 40 years from Stonewall!"

Put people ahead of GDP when managing swine flu

The Green Party is calling for Labour to put people ahead of GDP in their plans for managing swine flu.

Joseph Healy, the Green Party's parliamentary candidate for Vauxhall, and the deputy chair of the London Ambulance Service Patients Forum, said:

"In a meeting with the flu planners for London -- which the London Ambulance Service Patients Forum had over two years ago -- we were told that large scale public events would not be closed down because of the economic impact. The chair of the Forum, Malcolm Alexander, and I are due to meet Dr Simon Tanner, the Regional Director of Public Health for London, later today (the 28th of July), when I will be raising more of these issues."

Caroline Lucas, leader of the Green Party, said: "Leading experts are saying that school closures may stem the spread of the disease. If health experts tell us it is time to stop gathering in large crowds, we must heed their advice."

Lucas continued: "If it means that sports fixtures are affected or business conferences don't go ahead, then so be it. The economy may well have to take a temporary hit to stop unnecessary deaths."

The Green Party also wants the government to ensure that people get clear and consistent messages about what they should and shouldn't do during the swine flu epidemic.

Lucas remarked: "The government, by issuing contradictory advice to pregnant women on staying away from crowds was at best unhelpful. If public information is still in a muddle and mess in the autumn, it could lead to many excess deaths."

Green Party urges Defra to think radically about its flood strategy

Michael Coffey, Green Party Spokesman on water affairs, has written to Defra to advise them on ways to make the Flood and Water Management Bill an effective and timely piece of legislation, rather than the weak and lacklustre one it is shaping up to be.

Coffey notes that "surface water management strategies have to be considered as part of a coherent strategy for the overall water cycle." There needs to be six key actions taken to address the risk of flooding:

1) Defra is failing to legislate for the importance of trees to an urban water management system. Our urban tree count is falling, with 40 000 trees cut down in London in the last 5 years

2) Local authorities should be retrofitting exisiting neighbourhoods and streets with permeable pavements (as is being done in other countries) not just installing such paving in new-build developments

3) We need to maximise Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS); these should be made a condition of planning permission - either in situ or "offsetting" by installing them elsewhere in the area

4) Householders should be incentivised to inntroduce water conservation devices - through rebates on their water bills or council tax.

5) Local authorities should be set targets for the retention of permeable surfaces and water reuse in their areas and create area inventories of permeable surfaces

6) Water and sewage companies should be properly engaged in the consultative process for planning approvals. Water, and waste water, services have to be treated as a constraint on urban development, not as an infinite resource.

Michael Coffey concluded by saying: "Two thirds of the homes affected in the 2007 floods were flooded from surface water runoff overloading drainage systems. We need to build things into urban planning practice -- more trees, permeable paving, and sustainable drainage -- so this doesn't happen again."

Norwich Greens triple their vote in Norwich North

Green party campaigners were today celebrating their performance in the Norwich North by-election after more than tripling their vote, compared with the 2005 general election.

The result is the best performance ever for the Green Party in a Westminster by-election.

Rupert Read for the Green Party received 9.7% of the vote, up from 1,252 in 2005 to 3,350 today.

In comparison to 2005, the votes of Conservative, Labour and LibDem parties all went down. The Labour and LibDem vote also fell as a proportion of the turnout.

Adrian Ramsay, opposition leader on Norwich council, and the Green Party's deputy leader, said: "This was our best by-election result ever. Our best previous result was 7.4% in the Haltemprice and Howden/David Davis by-election. We started from a low base (2.7% in the 2005 general election), and we trebled our vote. On the ground, we had roughly £12,000 to spend, compared to the £100,000 that the Tories have apparently spent."

"Rupert Read ran a positive campaign, on issues such as the NHS, renewable energy, transport and living wages, and we are very pleased with the level of interest we've generated. With new members and supporters, we can now concentrate on Norwich South for the general election."

On the issue of the coming general election, Ramsay said that: "Norwich South will be different from Norwich North, since two-thirds of Norwich North was outside of Norwich City. The Greens have led local election vote share in Norwich for the last three years running, and we are the official opposition within Norwich City."

Rupert Read, the by-election candidate, added that: "The Norwich North campaign was done on a fraction of the budget of the large parties, some of which deluged residents with countless leaflets. We are pleased to have done so well without that kind of overkill."

--

Full results, with % change from 2005:

Chloe Smith (C) 13,591 (39.54%, +6.29%)
Chris Ostrowski (Lab) 6,243 (18.16%, -26.70%)
April Pond (LD) 4,803 (13.97%, -2.22%)
Glenn Tingle (UKIP) 4,068 (11.83%, +9.45%)
Rupert Read (Green) 3,350 (9.74%, +7.08%)
Craig Murray (Honest) 953 (2.77%)
Robert West (BNP) 941 (2.74%)

2009 turnout: 45.76%, down -15.33% on 61.09% in 2005

Hove by-election win opens way to Green Westminster victory

Greens in Brighton and Hove are jubilant at winning the strategically important Goldsmid by-election in Hove, taking the seat from the Tories.

The result sees the election of the first Green councillor, Alex Phillips, from Hove, to Brighton and Hove City Council. It also deprives the Tories of their majority on the council. Labour and the Greens are now tied for being the 2nd largest group.

Caroline Lucas, national Green Party leader, and parliamentary candidate for Brighton Pavilion, said, "This is a spectacular win. It signals an unstoppable surge to elect the first Green MP at Westminster, whenever Gordon decides to go to the country. With this result, we're on the threshold of taking Green politics to the heart of Westminster."

Alex Phillips said, "Thank you to all the voters who put their faith in me. It's a ringing endorsement of Green policies and the work of Green councillors locally. I will be hard working and unswerving in my task of representing local people and delivering positive Green change."

Councillor Bill Randall, convenor of the Green councillors on the city council, said, "With my council colleagues, we'll be reviewing the options and consulting our membership to ensure that we get the best and greenest deal for local residents. Between us, we will do what is right in these very difficult times."

Alex won 38.5% of the votes - an increase of 17% over the last time the seat was contested with a swing of more than 12% from Labour to Green.

Full result

GRN 1,456 - 38.5% (+17.6%) GRN GAIN FROM CON
CON 1,104 - 29.2% (-0.9%)
LAB 816 - 21.5% (-6.8%)
LD 280 - 7.4% (-7.32%)
UKIP 129 - 3.4% N/A (others 6% last time)

Greens object to police tactics at Vestas occupation

Police at the Vestas wind turbine factory occupation on the Isle of Wight have been preventing food being brought to protesters.

Acting without an injunction on private property, police officers have forcibly removed people, and repeatedly tried to break into the office where the protesting workers have barricaded themselves.

Police have also threatened the workers with arrest for aggravated trespass, despite no damage to the property where the protest is taking place.

Jenny Jones, home affairs spokesperson for the Green Party, said:

"This is a very heavy handed response and will do the police no favours with the general public who will understand the need to keep the company going. Factory occupations are usually a civil matter and using the police to deny people food is shameful and far from progressive policing. Workers protesting to keep their jobs shouldn't be starved out by the police."

Darren Johnson, the party's spokesperson on trade and industry, and parliamentary candidate for Lewisham Deptford, will be speaking at an emergency demonstration in front of the Department for Energy and Climate Change, 3 Whitehall Place (next to Trafalgar Square), at 6pm tonight.

Johnson said that:

"The government says it supports a seven-fold increase in renewables, but it is failing to stop the loss of 600 wind turbine manufacturing jobs at Vestas. The closure of the Vestas plant would lead to a 20% increase in unemployment across the Isle of Wight. Now is the time for Ed Miliband to match actions with words, starting with Vestas."

Greens call for independent commission to monitor MPs expenses

In a letter to the Committee on Standards in Public Life, the Green Party's deputy leader, Adrian Ramsay, has called for an independent commission to oversee not only MPs expenses, but their whole professional conduct.

Adrian Ramsay wrote: "Self-regulation of Parliament has clearly failed. We need a regulator who can scrutinise the professional behaviour of MPs in the same way as doctors, lawyers or accountants are supervised, and make sure bad habits don't return in the future."

The Greens proposed other key reforms in the letter to the committee's chair, Sir Christopher Kelly:

- the starting-point for the new system should be the principle that MPs are subject to the same rules as anyone else, not only for taxation but in all respects

- rules on accommodation and other expenses would reflect those that apply to the Senior Civil Service

- MPs must be prevented from profiting from second homes

- it should be a criminal offence to knowingly overclaim expenses

Ramsay also pointed out that wider democratic reforms of Parliament are crucial, such as elections to the House of Lords and regulating and containing the lobbying power of big business over MPs.

Ex-Labour candidate Peter Tatchell says now is the time to vote Green

International human rights campaigner and writer Peter Tatchell will be in Norwich on Wednesday and Thursday, July 15th and 16th, in support of the Green Party candidate in the Norwich North by-election, Rupert Read.

Peter Tatchell is a former Labour activist who ran as a Labour Party parliamentary candidate in London. He is now a member of the Green Party. In 2007, he was selected as the prospective Green Parliamentary candidate in Oxford East for the next general election.

Tatchell won widespread respect for his two attempts to carry out a citizen's arrest on Robert Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, on charges of torture and other human rights abuses. He was co-founder of OutRage!, the gay rights campaign group, and drew more international headlines when he was beaten up in Moscow on a gay rights march. He was named Campaigner of the Year 2009 by The Observer.

Peter Tatchell said:

"As the MP for Norwich North, Rupert Read would be an intelligent, passionate, unshakeable defender of liberty, justice, peace and the environment. He knows a better world is possible and he will work with real commitment to achieve it. In these troubled times we need more politicians like Rupert. That's why I am supporting his campaign to be elected as Green MP for Norwich North."

We need a ‘public bank not private casinos' says Green candidate

The Green candidate for the Norwich North by-election called today for a nationalised, democratically controlled, "people's bank" to make finance accessible and keep borrowing cheap.

Dr Rupert Read, a university lecturer and Norwich city councilor, argues that banks must be "public banks, rather than private casinos." We need "one powerful, substantially nationalized bank forever."

Response to Conservative Party policy revelations

Dr Read's calls for a "Bank of Britain" come in response to the Conservatives saying they would seek to considerably increase the power of the Bank of England so as to effectively replace the FSA.

Dr Read says: "The Tories' plans for the Bank of England are a hopeless bodge," and that what the Conservative party proposes is "an undemocratic behemoth, a mere strengthened artefact of the City that has so fully failed us." Read argues that a strengthened Bank of England only makes sense if the bank is "democratically controlled," not if it is still "hand in glove with the financial system."

Low risk banking has the answer

Read points out that "the credit unions, the mutuals, the ethical banks: in virtually every case, have sailed through the crisis." Read says that we must build on the ethical/mutual sector's success to build a low risk banking system designed to serve the people for the future.

A Green Vision

"A Green vision of a healthy financial sector is of a large and powerful state-owned bank ‘setting the tone' for the ‘financial market', the remutualisation of the former building societies, and a flourishing network of mutual banks, co-ops, ethical banks, and credit unions, across the country," says Read.

Nuclear power? No point, says new report

A new report from the Green Party makes a powerful case that nuclear power has no rationale in terms of either economics or helping the fight against dangerous climate change.

In Nuclear Power? No Point! the Green Party's spokesperson on trade and industry, Darren Johnson AM, reviews recent developments and argues that:

• Nuclear power provides less than 4% of UK energy - which is far less than could be saved by energy-efficiency measures that would cut people's fuel bills.
• New nuclear stations will not help the fight against climate change because major CO2 reductions are needed in the next ten years. New nuclear power stations could not be built fast enough.
• Massive investment in renewables could deliver the necessary short-term CO2 cuts - but "feeding cash to the nuclear delusion" could help starve the renewables industry of some of the investment and skilled personnel it needs to grow rapidly.
• The nuclear industry's current financial problems cast serious doubt on its ability to deliver new powerstations anyway.

Darren Johnson, who is currently chair of the London Assembly and Green Party candidate for Lewisham Deptford, said today:

"The industry that was going to produce electricity 'too cheap to meter' has landed us with massive costs for handling its dangerous waste. Now the nuclear industry can't even give us a reliable quote for the cost of a power station. The current projects in Finland and France are experiencing safety concerns, long delays and big overspends.

"There's no point expecting nuclear to solve the climate crisis, because new stations couldn't be built fast enough to help achieve the big CO2 reductions we need to make in the next ten years - which mature renewables could deliver.

"There is no point even considering nuclear power, because demand-reduction measures could easily save far more power than nuclear could generate. And the latest studies argue convincingly that green energy sources with a European smart grid could provide all the power we need."

Nuclear "offers nothing for the recession, and too few jobs per megawatt anyway"

In Nuclear Power? No Point! Mr Johnson also draws attention to nuclear power's poor jobs-per-megawatt ratio. He said today:
"We urgently need a Green New Deal to get us out of the recession and start building the sustainable economy of the twenty-first century. We could create hundreds of thousands of jobs in green energy in the next decade. Nuclear power can play no part in that because it takes far too long to build nuclear power stations compared with windfarms and other green measures. Wind energy sustains something like twelve times as many jobs per unit of power as nuclear does."