Why is the UK government backing nuclear power when onshore wind is so much better? | Alethea Warrington

Using windfarms would be an easy, quick, cheap and actually popular way to solve the energy bill crisis

After Friday's huge jump in energy costs, millions of people across the UK face a frightening future. Urgent measures are needed but, instead of taking action, the cabinet is absorbed in a pointless argument that wrongly pits the energy bill crisis against our climate commitments. In reality, the best way of bringing down bills is to get off gas for good.

We can take immediate steps to stop using gas because the UK has clean energy sources that can get going quickly, and are cheap and popular - wind and solar in particular. But at a time when they should be powering up the UK with renewables, ministers have other ideas: suggesting deepening our reliance on fossils fuels by opening up more drilling in the UK; or labouring under the misapprehension that people would rather live near a nuclear power plant than a wind turbine.

Alethea Warrington is campaigns manager for the climate crisis charity Possible