Green quotes of the week – April 23 2010

"The blunt economic models of the 20th century are unlikely to deliver the kind of low-carbon, resource-efficient development path so urgently needed on a planet of six billion, and rising to over nine billion people by 2050. Thus a transition to a green economy is in the end inevitable. The question now is whether this happens by design or by default."

Achim Steiner, UN under-secretary general and executive director of UNEP, issues a pretty stark ultimatum to business leaders

"I don't have a theological opposition to nuclear power. I just think it's extraordinarily expensive, very, very, expensive indeed. There are some calculations that it will lead to average energy bills actually increasing in this country rather than decreasing. And it takes a long, long, long time to build these new nuclear plants."

Nick Clegg defends his Party's anti-nuclear stance

"You can't have a balanced energy policy in the modern world... without using nuclear power."

Gordon Brown is not convinced

"There is not even a linked fee. There's not a tax, there's nothing similar."

Senator John Kerry reckons reports of plans for a gas tax in the proposed climate bill are wide of the mark

"With such high social and environmental costs associated with runway three, the burden of proof should lie squarely with those who are in favour of the expansion. It's up to them to demonstrate that runway three is in the public interest."

Helen Kersley, co-author of a new report predicting the expansion of Heathrow would cost the UK economy £5bn, argues the government has to do a better job of justifying airport expansion