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15 February 2007 - The environmental pressure group Greenpeace has won its court case to force the UK government to rethink its programme to build a new generation of nuclear power plants.
The High Court judge ruled that the consultation process before making the decision last year had been "seriously flawed" and "procedurally unfair".
In an energy white paper, published in 2003, nuclear power was described as an "unattractive option". The paper also said that: "Before any decision to proceed with the building of new nuclear power stations, there will need to be the fullest possibly public consultation and the publication of a further white paper setting out our proposals."
At the beginning of last year, the government then embarked on a fresh energy review, and after public consultation published The Energy Challenge report, which said: "new nuclear power stations would make a significant contribution to meeting our energy policy goals".
In court, Greenpeace argued that the consultation had not fulfilled the promise to carry out "the fullest public consultation".
Following the ruling, the Department of Trade and Industry issued a statement saying: "This judgement is about the process of consultation, not the principle of nuclear power."
According to the government, its proposals, which include building more nuclear plants, will cut carbon emissions by 19 to 25 million tonnes by 2020, compared with projections based on current trends. And in January, Prime Minister Tony Blair emphasized the importance of ensuring that the UK had a diverse energy supply, including nuclear power.
A new energy white paper is due to be published in March.
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