23 May 2008 - Prague,
International — Greenpeace lit up central
Prague for the past two evenings with giant
projected slogans reminding
the public, media and energy decision makers
about the risks of nuclear power versus
the benefits of clean energy. We illuminated
Prague; we were also putting a spotlight
on delegates at the second European Nuclear
Energy Forum.
Taking the public relations
spin at face value, you might think nuclear
power has put behind it blunders like the
Chernobyl catastrophe of 1986 and is finally
ready to deliver cheap, safe power, overcome
climate change and ensure energy security.
All together quite a set of claims! But,
as Greenpeace highlighted this week in Prague
during the second meeting of the European
Nuclear Energy Forum, it’s only the nuclear
industry’s propaganda that’s been revamped.
The technology still can’t deliver what’s
written on the packet and the nuclear industry’s
ambitions remain as unrealistic as ever.
And it’s having to rely on a heavily pro-nuclear
biased Forum to make its case.
Slogans in the night
Greenpeace lit up central
Prague for the past two evenings with giant
projected slogans reminding the public,
media and energy decision makers about the
risks of nuclear power versus the benefits
of clean energy. Prague Castle formed the
first backdrop for “Nuclear underlines climate
protection” and “Energy Revolution NOW!”,
shone from an industrial-size beamer. The
images featured a shattered radiation motif
symbolising the chronic flaws in nuclear
technology.
Last night, senior politicians
and energy bosses attending the Forum’s
formal dinner were treated to the shattered
radiation symbol and the words “Non, merci!”.
A strange choice, perhaps, for a meeting
in Prague - but it addresses the ambitions
of the French company AREVA, which is aggressively
promoting its fault-ridden European Pressurised
Reactor as the supposed ‘flagship’ of an
international nuclear renaissance.
A funny thing happened on the way to the
Forum…
The Forum was set up
after EU Heads of State and Government in
March 2007 endorsed a European Commission
proposal “to organise a broad discussion
among all relevant stakeholders on the opportunities
and risks of nuclear energy”. Surprising,
then, that Greenpeace and Friends of the
Earth, each with one seat in a Forum of
around 200 people, are the sole invitees
from civil society.
”We welcome an open
and fair debate on nuclear energy,” says
Jan Beránek, nuclear energy campaigner
from Greenpeace International. “The arguments
about cost, safety, energy security and
tackling climate change are all in favour
of clean energy options.”
Open and fair debate?
Think again. Bias was apparent from the
moment the Forum opened. Its first session
offered a privileged position to the CEO
of the French nuclear company AREVA to promote
the supposedly cheaper and safer ‘European
Pressurised Reactor’ (EPR). You’d be forgiven
for thinking that the Forum had become a
trade fair for the nuclear lobby.
“What happened in Prague
was a mockery of a supposedly open process,”
says Beránek. “The nuclear industry
is arguing for yet more financial support
at the expense of safety, transparency and
respect for public opinion,” he continued.
A Eurobarometer survey of public opinion
on energy technologies, published in 2007,
found that only 20 percent of people in
the EU support the use of nuclear power.
Going soft on safety
Away from public scrutiny,
the Forum has been considering a proposal
to lower nuclear safety standards across
Europe to those of the lowest level applied
in any Member State. This could place a
stranglehold on national authorities wishing
to impose stricter safety standards. And
by artificially lowering the costs of any
future nuclear plants, lenient safety standards
would help open the door for an expansion
of nuclear power and expose the environment
and public safety to greater nuclear risks.
Recent events demonstrate
that nuclear power remains as risky and
controversial as ever. In Spain, information
about a recent leak of radioactive material
was kept secret. In Slovakia, construction
work is under preparation on the Mochovce
nuclear plant, which is based on a design
from the 1970s and has no ‘containment’
in place to deal with external impacts.
In Finland and France, construction of the
latest generation of French EPR reactors
is showing up the serious lack of competence
in the nuclear industry on issues as fundamental
as pouring the concrete base for the reactors,
poor welding and inadequate and sometimes
non-existent quality control.
Counter-propaganda
Greenpeace aimed to
blunt enthusiasm among Forum delegates for
the ‘flagship’ European Pressurised Reactor
by distributing an ‘EPR Survival Kit’.
Entitled “Warning: AREVA
at work!”, the Greenpeace ‘EPR Survival
Kit’ was aimed at those foolhardy enough
to overlook the chronic problems affecting
current construction of the Finnish and
French EPRs compared to the benefits of
investing in energy saving and renewable
energy.
Brightly coloured and
intentionally flippant in tone, the “Survival
Kit’ summarised the serious problems - ranging
from poor quality workmanship and severe
delays through to significant cost overruns.
The EPR is a modern design of reactor developed
and aggressively promoted by the French
nuclear company AREVA. It promised cheap
and reliable technology but costs in Finland
have exploded to over Euro 5 billion and
the construction has been riddled with faults.
+ More
Rainbow Warrior blocks
coal shipment in Philippines (updated)
23 May 2008 - Pagbilao,
Quezon Province, Philippines — The Rainbow
Warrior is blockading coal shipments at
the Pagbilao coal-fired power plant to protest
the plant's impending expansion.
Our action comes on
the eve of the G8 Environment Ministers
Meeting in Japan. The richest industrialised
countries in the world are gathering in
Kobe to discuss solutions to climate change
from 24-26 May. Ending the use of coal needs
to top the agenda.
One-hundred-fifty kilometers
southwest of Manila, the Rainbow Warrior
is anchored alongside the coal ship Medi
Firenze, which is unloading a cargo of coal
at the plant's dock. This prevents a bigger
shipment of coal - from the 223-meter vessel
Sam John Spirit standing by to unload -
from approaching.
A giant banner reading
"Quit coal" is strung between
the Rainbow Warrior's masts to drive home
the message that the Philippine government
should stop building and expanding harmful
coal-fired power plants.
Update - 25 May - We've ended our protest
on a high note. Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri
sent a message of support to the Rainbow
Warrior saying, "I will file a resolution
in the Senate seeking a halt in the construction
of new coal fired power plants in the country."
Read more at Rainbow
Warrior ends peaceful protest at Pagbilao.
Philippines at risk
The Philippines is among the countries most
vulnerable to rising sea levels, more frequent
cyclones and other devastating effects from
climate change. The coal plant’s planned
expansion would mean an additional 5 million
tons of climate-wrecking carbon dioxide
pumped into the atmosphere every year –
double the plant’s current production.
But the expansion is
not the only concern. The government is
currently planning to build eight new coal-fired
power stations.
“At a time when we need
to be doing everything we can to reduce
our emissions, we are importing more and
more fossil fuel that we don’t need and
which will bring consequences we simply
cannot afford. The banks and companies that
fund our coal industry need to realise that
what looks like investment to them is going
to mean destruction for us,” said Jasper
Inventor, Climate Campaigner with Greenpeace
Southeast Asia.
The Philippines have
the capacity to produce 54 percent more
electricity than they use. However problems
with the electricity grid means the excess
goes to waste rather than towards powering
people’s homes, villages and towns. The
government needs to invest in resolving
the problem of power transmission, rather
than new coal fired power.
Governor calls for "coal
free zone"
The government’s plans
are not only out of step with the global
fight to tackle climate change. Governor
of Albay province in Luzon, Joey Sarte Salceda,
recently announced the province a coal free
zone. “Albay is taking a bold step ....
by declaring ... a ‘No to mining and coal
free zone’. We believe there is no place
for coal in a world beset by climate change
and certainly there is no place for coal
in Albay,” he said. “I call on other nations,
particularly the developed nations, to reject
coal.”
The energy sector produces
two-thirds of the world’s climate change-causing
greenhouse gas emissions, with coal-fired
power stations the greatest offenders. The
Philippines already has eight coal-fired
power stations, which account for as much
as 36 percent of the country’s energy emissions.
“Clearly the national
government is not serious about addressing
climate change,” said Jasper Inventor. “If
the government wants to do right, the first
thing on its list should be to quit coal
and ensure an end to coal construction and
expansion. The government must start phasing
out of this dirty and dangerous power source
while increasingly tapping clean, safe,
renewable energy. Renewable energy sources
are abundant in the Philippines, the only
thing we need more of is the political will
to deploy them.”
The Rainbow Warrior
is in the Philippines to spearhead the Greenpeace
"Quit Coal Tour" in Southeast
Asia and the Pacific. Our tour aims to promote
solutions to stop climate change - an energy
revolution away from the use of climate-damaging
coal, and a massive shift to renewable energy.
+ More
Stone Age car lobby
exposed
26 May 2008 - Brussels,
Belgium — Fred and Wilma Flintstone kindly
lent their 'vintage' car to some of our
activists for the day. We wanted to drive
it to the European Parliament and deliver
a stone tablet bearing the logos of Volkswagen,
BMW and Mercedes alongside the message "Driving
climate change". The car industry is
well and truly stuck in the stone age, with
potentially dire consequences for the climate.
Our Flintstone's car
journey started from the headquarters of
the European car lobby group ACEA. This
group represents the major European car
manufactures and lobbies European politicians
to prevent growing carbon dioxide emissions
from cars being effectively curbed by regulation.
Unfortunately police arrested our car before
it could reach the European Parliament.
In contrast lobbyists from the ACEA, determined
to ensure the special interests of the car
industry come before tackling climate change,
continue to enjoy unfettered access to European
politicians.
Next week, Europe's
MEPs are going to be discussing some new
proposals to make car manufacturers clean
up their act. If the new plans are approved,
manufacturers will have to limit the amount
of carbon dioxide that comes out of car
exhausts. We want MEPs to be left in no
doubt that these measures are desperately
needed if climate change is to be effectively
limited.
The measures are not
before time. Our new report "Driving
Climate Change" reveals how the car
industry, led by the German car companies,
has misled and manipulated Europe's policy
makers for the past 17 years, to stop them
from imposing mandatory limits on emissions.
Each time Europe has suggested introducing
legislation, car makers have been quick
to claim that laws aren't needed because
they will take sufficient action voluntarily.
Of course they've done no such thing.
In fact, the industry
has used gains in performance to build heavier
and more powerful cars rather than deliver
more fuel efficiency. The EU has let them
get away with it. Now they realise that
the car industry's stone age attitude might
mean Europe could miss its carbon emission
reduction targets.
The willingness of the
EU to roll over in the past has no doubt
been helped by some of the underhand lobbying
tactics employed by the car industry. Our
report details how manufacturers have rewarded
political supporters with loaned cars and
other perks and explains how Europe's Commissioner
with responsibility for enterprise and industry,
Verheugen, formed an influential lobby group,
CARS 21, which used his access at the very
highest levels to lean on policy makers.
This year the EU is
pledging to take action. To be effective
the legislation must ensure the average
new car sold in 2012 emits just 120g of
CO2 per km, and for that standard to be
strengthened to a limit of 80g p/km by 2020.
Even though the EU is currently proposing
legislation that doesn't do quite enough
the car industry is fighting tooth and nail
to make sure it doesn't go through.
The European Parliament
must stand firm and resist the car lobby's
attempts to run down the EU's first ever
fuel economy standard. The new law should
also impose penalties on manufacturers who
fail to meet the new standards and resist
attempts to give special treatment to the
makers of heavy cars. If they do, the car
industry will finally have met its match.
