Paul Smith (January 17) confirms that the UK has finally decided to increase its nuclear power-generated electricity capability, which is currently the only practically-zero greenhouse gas emissions process that can produce the vast increases in electricity demand expected in the foreseeable future. French nuclear power generates not only 80 per cent of France's electricity but also supplies most of southern England, and a new nuclear power station is to be built in Normandy to meet increasing French and southern English electricity demands.

Nuclear power stations are very expensive to construct, but they produce electricity at a cheaper rate than coal-fired power stations. The world has vast deposits of coal, but it's the dirtiest fuel from the emissions/global warming point of view, which is suddenly a major concern. Claims of clean coal technology are still at research level, and many research claims never actually come to market. Some shrewd countries are now buying up all available uranium and hoarding it. Although countries like Australia and Canada are thought to have great deposits of uranium (some have dubbed Australia the future "Saudi Arabia of uranium"), uranium mining has been hindered by ill-informed "green do-gooders" in various countries, and it is said to take around 10 years to establish a new uranium mine.

There has also been much misinformed anti-nuclear power hysteria in many European countries with the exception of France. The EU grid needs a great expansion of nuclear-powered electricity generation, and it is surprising (if not deplorable) that Germany has been given permission to build new coal-fired power stations.

Although we are a small member, our government is entitled to query Brussels on why we have been given a few years to cut a substantial proportion of our emissions, while it is giving permission for new emissions-filthy coal-fired power stations on the mainland. Brussels should be recommending nuclear power generation expansion and helping us to cable-connect to the EU grid (as we are doing with internet broadband).