Albert Owen

This article is part of the Nuclear Spin project of Spinwatch.

This article is part of the Climate project of Spinwatch.

This article is part of the Mining and Metals project of Spinwatch

Albert Owen is Labour MP for Ynys Môn. He is also Chairman of the Aluminium Federation's All-Party Parliamentary Group for the UK Aluminium Industry and an advocate of nuclear power.

Nuclear advocate

In a parliamentary debate on the aluminium industry on 2nd Feb 2010, Albert Owen referred to the closure of Wylfa nuclear power station and stated:

I am pleased to say as a proud supporter of nuclear energy, that Wylfa is on the new identified list for the future. I hope that we can resolve this situation.

Aluminium industry links

Albert Owen is strongly supportive of the UK aluminium industry through his role as Chair of the Aluminium Federation's All-Party Parliamentary Group for the UK Aluminium Industry. his constituency was also home to Anglesey Aluminium's primary smelter, powered by the nuclear station at Wylfa.

He has supported the heavy subsidisation of the price of electricity to the smelter, which was affected in January 2009 by EU legislation banning state subsidisation of private companies. Above this he supported a £48 million package to save the smelter, which closed in Sept 09 after the proposal was turned down.

In February 2010 he spoke in the House of Commons in support of Conservative MP Philip Dunne, suggesting that the aluminium industry should be allowed exemptions from the Climate Change Levy suggesting that the government should focus on oil, coal and gas production to meet the European Energy Directive rather than 'penalise the sector' (aluminium), which he claims (using Aluminium Federation figures) have made 39% emissions cuts since 1990. Though technological advances in the aluminium industry have led to considerable emissions savings, the rising demand for aluminium (projected to double by 2020, upping their share of global emissions to almost 2%), means their overall emissions are increasing fast. Given that the threat of climate change is absolute and not relative to the emissions per product, there are strong reasons for the industry to be forced to cut back further.

Albert finished his speech by praising the efforts of the aluminium industry and acknowledging its use in aviation (including defense) and car manufacture, other areas in which growth will need to be deeply limited to avoid catastrophic climate change:

I shall be brief, Mr. Speaker, but it is not all doom and gloom in the industry. Demand for aluminium production is projected to double by 2020. New technologies are evolving, with stronger products that use less metal and less energy. Growth in aluminium recycling is reducing both consumption and emissions. My friends in the Aluminium Federation tell me that 75 per cent. of all aluminium ever produced is still in use today. That shows the success in recycling aluminium, which is a very important product. The Minister will be aware that both the car and aviation industries are attracted by aluminium products. The Airbus A380 is 70 per cent aluminium.