RENEWABLES REVOLUTION CLOUDED BY NUCLEAR "FALL OUT"

21 March 2002

Bergen, Norway: Today's visionary declaration on the promotion of renewable energy by North Sea Ministers was clouded by fall out from the on-going argument on radioactive discharges from the Sellafield reprocessing plant in the UK.

Greenpeace warned that this historic commitment to the development of renewable energy in the North Sea will be undermined whilst the UK and France continue to support the polluting nuclear industry.

Greenpeace political advisor Simon Reddy said: "The UK and France have to understand that the policies they articulated in Bergen represent a fundamental contradiction. What use is it signing up to clean renewable energy if you simultaneously continue to support a failing industry that is polluting our environment? It's a policy that's about as stable as the ice shelf that's just broken off from Antarctica."

This point was emphasised during the 5th North Sea Ministers meeting in Bergen when UK Environment Minister Michael Meacher stated publicly: "The twentieth century was the century of oil, the twenty-first must be the century of renewable energy."

The conference saw Ministers from nine countries and the EU recognise that climate change brought on by the use of fossil fuels poses a potent threat to the ecosystem and coastal regions of the North Sea. They also acknowledged the need to develop renewable alternatives to fossil fuels like oil and gas.

The commitment by the ministers to take action to exploit the wind potential of the North Sea was welcomed by Greenpeace. However, the agreement will only be worthwhile if it leads to massive financial investment in the offshore wind industry. Greenpeace emphasised that only through a commitment to renewable energy technologies will governments be able to make a substantial and sustainable contribution to their Kyoto Protocol commitments.

"The Bergen declaration should be the catalyst for a change in energy use across the world. Only with a massive take-up of renewable energy can countries meet their commitments to protect the climate and the wider environment," said Reddy. "Renewable technologies have been crippled up until now because of the corrupting influence of the nuclear and fossil fuel industries. Only concrete action by Governments will change that and bring about the eventual phase out of dirty energy."

The North Sea has huge potential to harness wind power and develop renewable energy. Just 1 percent of the resource could power more than 6 million homes. In contrast to the billions of euros of state support for the nuclear industry, renewables still receive insufficient funding. The 5th North Sea Conference comes five months before the Johannesburg Earth Summit. Access to clean energy is a key indicator of sustainable development and poverty alleviation.

Greenpeace believes that the North Sea governments could crack the poverty code by kick-starting a global renewables revolution, saving the climate and alleviating poverty in the process. This would be the first real sign of the spirit of the Rio Earth Summit 10 years ago when governments promised to prioritise sustainable development. Greenpeace hopes that by the Johannesburg Earth Summit this August, other world leaders will have pledged to stop supporting businesses which contribute to environmental problems and poverty. The international community should follow the North Sea Ministers' lead on renewables.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Simon Reddy, Greenpeace Political Advisor: + 44 7801 212970
David Santillo, Greenpeace political advisor: + 44 7813 890493
Ben Stewart, Greenpeace International press officer: +44 7801 212967
Erika Augustinsson, Greenpeace Nordic press officer: + 46 703 217364

(1) North Sea countries present were Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the European Commission. Last North Sea Ministerial meeting was in Esjberg, Denmark in June 1995.