Scientists deride Johnson’s claim UK on ‘verge’ of creating commercial nuclear fusion reactors

Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Scientists have attacked Boris Johnson’s claim that an Oxfordshire facility is “on the verge” of creating commercially viable fusion reactors, saying the technology is decades away, and poses a distraction from the government’s failure to cut emissions. In the prime minister’s Conservative party conference speech he referred to a fusion reactor called the Joint European Torus at Culham that he claimed would soon provide “virtually unlimited zero-carbon power”. Mr Johnson’s speech comes days after the announcement of new climate policies which include £330m for research into nuclear fusion to provide clean energy “by 2040”. “Sound climate policy involves cutting emissions as soon as possible, and any further delay makes the task even harder.” Craig Bennett, Friends of the Earth chief executive, said: “Why throw money away on tech-fix pipe dreams, at precisely the moment that onshore and offshore wind and solar are delivering better returns than ever before?