'Green' government

 
Published: Saturday 15 August 1998

THE British government have planned to press for a complete ban on the dumping of steel oil installations in the sea. The proposal will come during meeting of environment ministers in Sintra, Portugal. According to Michael Meacher, UK's environment minister, the country is all set to propose a "near-zero option for radioactive substances in the sea.

The government of Britain is keen to press home its "green" credentials at the meeting. The country claims to have successfully pushed for tough international action on global warming at the Kyoto summit last year.

The environment minister reiterated his country's commitment to return all disused offshore installations to land "where it is safe and practical to do so". Since the controversy aroused by Shell's proposal to dump its Brent Spar installation in the Atlantic, the UK government has shown keen interest in addressing the issue of oil rig disposal.

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