Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

UK asked to pause Hinkley nuclear reactor development by UN over environmental concerns

The £18bn project is to be built by EDF and China General Nuclear Power

Grant Smith
Tuesday 21 March 2017 12:40 GMT
Comments
The Hinkley Point nuclear plant in Somerset
The Hinkley Point nuclear plant in Somerset (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A United Nations committee has asked the UK to suspend work on the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, pending assessment of the environmental impact.

EDF, the French state-controlled utility firm, won approval to build an £18bn nuclear plant on England’s western coast in September.

To help shoulder the construction costs, EDF convinced China General Nuclear Power to take a 33.5 per cent in the project.

The UN Economic Commission for Europe recommended the halt until it established whether “a notification under the Espoo Convention” was useful, according to the statement. The Espoo Convention sets out the obligations of countries to “assess the environmental impact of certain activities,” according to the commission’s website.

Bouygues and Areva have received contracts for work at the plant.

Bloomberg

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in