Britain and France are set to sign an agreement this week calling for the construction of new nuclear power stations in the UK using French know-how. Environmental groups have condemned the deal as unnecessary.

According to press reports, the deal will be struck on Thursday when French prime minister Nicolas Sarkozy meets UK premier Gordon Brown. The agreement will allow Britain to replace its ageing nuclear power generation plants with more modern French-designed reactors, This will enable the UK to reduce its carbon emissions from energy production.

The agreement also enables the two countries to market the technologies overseas.
Environmental lobby groups, long-opposed to nuclear power, have reacted with dismay at the announcement, saying spending money and effort on nuclear power diverts resources from developing other renewable sources of energy.

"There are far better and safer solutions to Britain's energy needs that should be developed," said a spokesperson at Friends of the Earth. "We would like to see collaboration between countries on clean and renewable energy sources not nuclear."

Friends of the Earth released a statement in January on the failings of nuclear power in response to the growing pro-nuclear lobby.

If government committed to investing in and promoting renewable energy sources, then nuclear energy would not be required, said Alex Lambie, founder of the Green Energy Helpline, a comparison site that helps customers to choose green energy sources.

"Finance and government has to be brave and make a long-term commitment to renewables," said Lambie. "But if you admit we don't have government that strong, then nuclear energy becomes inevitable."

Not all environmentalists are opposed to nuclear power. Green guru James Lovelock, famous for developing the Gaia Theory in the 1960s, came out in favour of nuclear power in his 2006 book The Revenge of Gaia.

"We must conquer our fears and accept nuclear energy as the one safe and proven energy source that has minimal global consequences," wrote Lovelock. " France has shown that it can become a major national source of energy. We need a portfolio of energy sources with nuclear playing a major part."

Britain currently derives 20 per cent of its electrical energy from nuclear power facilities. In France the figure is 80 per cent.