madam president i have to express some regret at the obsession on the left side of this parliament with nuclear energy which has meant that we have two resolutions before the house today most of the content of which has much in common except for this issue of nuclear energy particularly when it is the only proven technology to supply large volumes of ultra low-carbon electricity in europe
if we are to wean ourselves off fossil fuels especially oil and coal we will need all the low-carbon energy technologies we can get
many of them are still more potential than production and we must be realistic about how successful we have been in achieving target levels of energy from renewable sources
the eu has a record of setting very ambitious targets and a one hundred record of failing to achieve them
we must do better
in the mean time we must lose no time in increasing the share of european electricity supplied by nuclear energy
it already produces the largest amount of electricity but as we switch to and develop alternative and new technologies we will need base-load electricity to keep the lights on and for example to power electric vehicles
there is huge potential in new green technologies such as solar thermal from the sahara and wind farms from the north sea not to mention carbon capture and storage and basic improvements in energy efficiency where at least on that point i agree with my green colleague across the floor but all of this requires massive investment and that is the fundamental point about these questions today
