On the 15th March, the Spring Budget was announced by Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor.

Hunt reported that the Government is “fully committing to nuclear power in the UK, backing a new generation of small modular reactors and investing tens of billions in clean energy through carbon capture. This plan will help drive energy bills down for households across the country and improve our energy security whilst delivering on one of our five promises to grow the economy”.

The Government plans to co-fund companies who are developing nuclear reactors.

Hunt said that nuclear power was “vital to meet our net-zero obligations”. The Government believe it is necessary as it is “cheap and reliable” as the “wind doesn’t always blow and the sun doesn’t always shine”.

Reaching Net Zero is absolutely essential for our planet’s wellbeing in the present and future. These nuclear power plants take many years to build and we do not have such a timescale to tackle climate change. Although, renewable energy is not the most reliable, it does however allow us to reduce our carbon emissions which is a positive step to tackling climate change.

Furthermore, the Government has given £20 billion in funding for carbon capture and storage for over the next two decades, so £1 billion each year will be given.

For more information, please use the following links:

https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/budget-2023-what-it-means-for-energy-bills-and-climate-change/ 

https://www.carbonbrief.org/uk-spring-budget-2023-key-climate-and-energy-announcements/