The uk government has approved construction of a new generation of nuclear power plants saying atomic energy could help fight climate change and secure the country's energy supplies in an unstable world.

On January 10, Energy Secretary John Hutton told the House of Commons that nuclear power should have a role to play in the country's future energy mix, alongside other low-carbon sources. "Nuclear power will help us meet our twin energy challenges, ensuring secure supplies and tackling climate change,' he said. Hutton also invited private energy companies to build and operate nuclear power stations, "well before 2020'.

British environmentalists are, however, furious about the decision and point to the problems of storing nuclear waste, the danger of leakage as well as the threat of terrorist attacks. "New reactors are not the answer to uk's energy problems and will do little to tackle climate change,' says Tony Juniper, director of the Friends of the Earth.