10 January 2008 - United
Kingdom — The UK government have made much
of their green credentials boasting that
they lead the world in tackling climate
change. So what do they do? Give the green
light to a new generation of nuclear power
stations that will cost billions, eventually
deliver only tiny cuts in carbon emissions
and leave future generations with a legacy
of nuclear waste to clean up.
The fact is, going nuclear
won't solve the UK's or the world's global
warming problem because it can only deliver
around a 4 percent cut in carbon emissions
some time after 2020. That's far too little,
far too late and at too high a price.
The UK nuclear industry
itself has said that the most optimistic
date for just one nuclear plant to be up
and running is 2017. And, don't forget,
no nuclear plant has ever been built on
time and or budget. Any private company
considering building UK reactors should
take a look at Finland's new nuclear fiasco.
The global nuclear industries flagship project
in Finland is already 2 years behind schedule,
1.5 Billion Euros over budget and has over
1,500 safety defects and problems. All after
just 2 years of construction.
The nuclear lobby pretends
that nuclear power is necessary to plug
the energy gap in the UK. Over the next
few years, several existing UK nuclear and
coal plants are set to close. This is the
'energy' (ie electricity) gap. This gap
is predicted to occur around 2015. New nuclear
plants won't even be built then so can't
fill any predicted UK energy gap.
The UK government also
claims nuclear is needed to secure UK energy
needs. However nuclear currently delivers
just four percent of UK energy supply.
Most gas is used for
purposes other than producing electricity
- mainly used for heating, hot water and
for industrial purposes. Nuclear power can
never replace that energy.
And it's a similar case
for oil as it's virtually all used for transport
- nuclear power can't take its place. And
coal isn't an option if we are serious about
cutting emissions.
Supporters of nuclear
power also ignore the fact that we are no
nearer to finding a safe way to dispose
of nuclear waste. Pushing ahead with nuclear
power will mean more deadly radioactive
waste that we have simply no idea what to
do with, and for which future generations
will have to pay the price.
Instead of wasting time
and cash on an energy source that can't
deliver, it's time for the UK and others
to wake up to reality and start investing
in the real solutions to halt climate change.
These alternatives are cheaper, cleaner
and safer and are available right now.
Energy [R]evolution
We need an energy revolution that focuses
on energy efficiency, cleaner use of fossil
fuels, renewables and state-of-the-art decentralised
power stations. This is outlined in our
report: 'energy [r]evolution', details how
to halve global CO2 emissions by 2050, using
existing technology and still providing
affordable energy and economic growth. A
revolution in energy policy and evolution
in how we use energy.
It is no coincidence
that countries like Germany and Sweden,
who have ditched the nuclear option, have
slashed their carbon emissions and have
burgeoning renewable energy sectors - renewable
energy made up 14 percent of Germany's energy
consumption last year. On the other hand,
in Finland, where they are focusing on building
that behind schedule and over budget reactor,
greenhouse gas emissions have risen by 16
percent.
While countries like
the UK and Finland seemingly pin their hopes
on a technology that has never delivered
on promises, renewable technologies are
already delivering. In Germany renewable
energy growth last year equaled the output
of one nuclear plant (that takes many years
to build).
The answer is simple
- renewable technology and energy efficiency
is able to deliver the reliable low carbon
energy that we need to tackle climate change.
Nuclear can't.
