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Energy White Paper

That too is mentioned in the White Paper, and my hon. Friend will know that the Sustainable Development Commission was asked to examine the implications. The Government would like to encourage tidal power. There are environmental issues, but one of the environmental issues that has not yet been properly addressed is the balance to be struck between the impact on, say, the River Severn and the environmental gain that would result from not putting more and more carbon into the atmosphere. Part of our problem is that the European directive does not attach enough weight to the alternative to encouraging more tidal power. I have a great deal of sympathy with what my hon. Friend has said. She has raised an issue of which Ministers are well aware, and I urge her to read the White Paper.