Green Party Drops Opposition to Nuclear Power — SkimNews
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- The Green party of England and Wales voted at conference to remove its "blanket opposition to nuclear fission," shifting to assess nuclear projects alongside other low-carbon technologies while still prioritizing offshore wind, onshore wind, and rooftop solar as primary electricity sources.
- Carla Denyer, the Green MP, said nuclear "is here to stay for now" during the transition to renewables and argued keeping existing nuclear plants running is low-carbon because most of their emissions come from construction — a marked shift from her 2023 description of nuclear as "incredibly slow and incredibly expensive."
- Green leader Zack Polanski previously called investment in new nuclear "creating a fax machine," and former co-leader Adrian Ramsay attacked Sizewell C funding as a "nuclear gamble" — both retain the right to those views under the new motion.
- Eugene McCarthy, co-founder of Greens for Nuclear, said the motion reflects a "throw-the-kitchen-sink-at-it phase of the climate crisis" and lets MPs decide on each project individually, citing potential support for extending Sizewell B's lifetime.
- Prof Andrew Stirling, a government adviser on nuclear power, called the policy shift "completely irrational" and argued authoritative sources show climate action is faster and more affordable through combined renewables and storage.
- The party's historical opposition to nuclear fission was rooted in its founding opposition to nuclear weapons, one of its core principles since inception.
- McCarthy acknowledged renewables are cheaper and can be rolled out faster, but said nuclear can help address baseload gaps that renewables alone struggle to fill.
Why it matters: One of Britain's most prominent environmental parties has formally ended its decades-long opposition to nuclear fission, a stance rooted in its founding opposition to nuclear weapons. The shift gives UK nuclear projects potential political cover from a party that previously branded Sizewell C a "gamble," though Greens still prioritize renewables and only endorse nuclear on a project-by-project basis.
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