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Kyoto climate commitments - a challenge for UK energy policy, say Academies
June 14, 1999The report examines options for generating electricity without emission of CO2. These include using renewable sources (such as wind and solar) and negating CO2 emissions by use of 'carbon sequestration', as well as maintaining a nuclear energy capability.
"We cannot be confident that the combination of efficiency, conservation and renewables will be enough to meet the needs of environmental protection while providing a secure supply of electricity," concludes the report. "It is therefore vital to keep the nuclear option open."
Nuclear currently provides 27% of UK electricity. If no steps are taken, this will dwindle rapidly over the next twenty years as the older nuclear stations are retired. The Academies believe that provision of new nuclear plant should be re-examined as part of a long-term UK energy policy, and endorses the 1998 recommendation of the Commons Trade & Industry committee to this effect.
Burning fossil fuel utilises the atmosphere as a 'free resource' - a distortion of the energy market which should be rectified by imposition of a carbon tax. The report notes that the energy tax currently proposed by the Government is deeply flawed in that it would tax electricity generated from renewable or nuclear energy, as well as electricity generated by burning fossil fuel. It urges that the tax should instead be based on the actual quantity of CO2 emitted.
The development of new technologies for electricity generation requires substantial new investment both for 'demonstrators' as well as research and development. Since the problem addressed is global, the report calls for the formation of an international agency to support such work funded by contributions from individual nations.
"Policy makers must urgently address the issue of ensuring that the UK meets its energy requirements over the coming decades whilst reducing greenhouse gas emissions," says Sir Eric Ash, Royal Society Treasurer and Chairman of the working group that wrote the report. "Energy consumption will increase substantially in the coming decades. With the inevitable increases in global population and, even more, in energy requirements, somehow we have to meet that demand without catastrophic climate change."
Royal Society, The
Burning fossil fuel utilises the atmosphere as a 'free resource' - a distortion of the energy market which should be rectified by imposition of a carbon tax. The report notes that the energy tax currently proposed by the Government is deeply flawed in that it would tax electricity generated from renewable or nuclear energy, as well as electricity generated by burning fossil fuel. It urges that the tax should instead be based on the actual quantity of CO2 emitted.
The development of new technologies for electricity generation requires substantial new investment both for 'demonstrators' as well as research and development. Since the problem addressed is global, the report calls for the formation of an international agency to support such work funded by contributions from individual nations.
"Policy makers must urgently address the issue of ensuring that the UK meets its energy requirements over the coming decades whilst reducing greenhouse gas emissions," says Sir Eric Ash, Royal Society Treasurer and Chairman of the working group that wrote the report. "Energy consumption will increase substantially in the coming decades. With the inevitable increases in global population and, even more, in energy requirements, somehow we have to meet that demand without catastrophic climate change."
Royal Society, The
Nuclear News and Current Nuclear Events RSSPutting the squeeze on nitrogen for high energy materials
Nitrogen atoms like to travel in pairs, hooked together by one of the strongest chemical bonds in nature. By subjecting nitrogen molecules to extreme temperatures and pressures scientists are getting a new understanding of not only nitrogen but other similar molecules, including hydrogen.
Stem cell research puts interstate rivalry on hold
Victoria and New South Wales have put aside their competitive interstate rivalry to collaborate on a stem cell research project, as announced by Innovation Minister Gavin Jennings and NSW Minister for Science and Medical Research, Verity Firth, today.
Trichoplax genome sequenced -- 'rosetta stone' for understanding evolution
Yale molecular and evolutionary biologists in collaboration with Department of Energy scientists produced the full genome sequence of Trichoplax, one of nature's most primitive multicellular organisms, providing a new insight into the evolution of all higher animals.
Loss of sleep, even for a single night, increases inflammation in the body
Loss of sleep, even for a few short hours during the night, can prompt one's immune system to turn against healthy tissue and organs.
The future of non-invasive cardiac imaging
Imaging has gained attention in many areas of medicine but its relevance and importance in clinical cardiology cannot be underestimated.
Computed tomography provides anatomy -- we need ischemia!
Cardiac computed tomography has revolutionized cardiac imaging in recent years by providing exquisitely detailed cardiac anatomy, including, but not limited to, coronary anatomy.
PET scans lead to treatment changes in majority of colorectal cancer patients
In the largest multi-institutional study to date examining the impact of positron emission tomography (PET) in changing disease management of individuals with suspected recurrent colorectal cancer, researchers found that treatment plans were changed for more than half of patients.
Galaxy Zoo -- an Internet superstar
Since Galaxy Zoo's launch in July 2007, some 150,000 members of the public, inspired by the opportunity to be the first to see and classify a galaxy, have helped professional astronomers via this on-line mass-participation project to carry out real scientific research.
Explosives go "green"
Certain explosives may soon get a little greener and a little more precise.
Researchers discover atomic bomb effect results in adult-onset thyroid cancer
Radiation from the atomic bomb blasts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945, likely rearranged chromosomes in some survivors who later developed papillary thyroid cancer as adults, according to Japanese researchers.
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