SPEND OIL WINDFALL ON RENEWABLES

5.05.23pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 2nd Feb 2006

South East Liberal Democrat MEP Sharon Bowles today rejected calls for a windfall tax on oil company profits, saying the money should not go to Government, but be reinvested in more renewables.

Sharon Bowles says "The Government already makes billions out of oil through tax on company profits and 60% of what we pay at petrol stations."

"Oil companies are already diversifying into energy companies and investing in renewable energy, but this is an opportunity to encourage more. Instead of there being talk about a windfall tax that the Government just pockets, this could be used as a mechanism to make a proportion of the extra profits be spent on additional renewable resources or research."

We are also hearing more talk about nuclear energy. Liberal Democrats remain opposed to nuclear fission and Sharon says "the money that might be invested in power stations should also be invested instead on renewables."

"Looked at overall, the investment in renewables is still measly in comparison to the huge sums that would be needed for nuclear stations or is spent on oil exploration. It is time to put it in the same league!"

Ends