25/06/2009 Session
At the close of a parliamentary debate on nuclear energy and renewable energies that took place today on the basis of reports by Bill Etherington (United Kingdom, SOC) and Jean-François Le Grand (France, EPP/CD), the Assembly invited member states to take nuclear energy into account in their policies for diversifying energy sources, as a means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Member states should also take concrete measures to solve the problem of radioactive waste storage.
The Assembly stressed, however, that this restructuring of the energy system should also be aimed at making renewable energies - solar, wind and hydro-power and geothermal - rapidly and comprehensively available. These forms of energy do not trigger any damaging environmental effects and ensure long-term energy security. A system based on renewable energies, the parliamentarians said, offers an opportunity to break down the current monopoly structures on the energy markets. The Assembly therefore asked the Committee of Ministers to call on member states to take the necessary measures for profitable large-scale use of renewable energies, ensuring that locations were set aside in territorial planning for the generation of renewable energies.