Publication Laka-library:
Nuclear Energy - No solution to Climate Change (1997)
| Author | Greenpeace |
| Date | September 1997 |
| Classification | 6.01.2.16/23 (NP & GREENHOUSE EFFECT - NUCLEAR POWER YES OR NO SOLUTION & SCENARIOS) |
| Front | 
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From the publication:
1. Introduction The nuclear industry is in near-terminal decline world-wide, following its failure to establish itself as a clean, cheap, safe or reliable energy source. The on-going crisis in nuclear waste management, in safety and in economic costs have severely undermined the industry's credibility. It is currently desperate to find a valid rationale and justification for renewed state support and funding. It is promoting the claim that as nuclear power stations do not emit carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas, switching from fossil fuels to nuclear power is the only way to cut Carbon Dioxide (CO2) without radically changing consumption patterns. However, even the most perfunctory examination of the issue shows that nuclear power has no role whatever in tackling global climate change. In fact quite the opposite is true; any resources expended on attempting to advance nuclear power as a viable solution would inevitably detract from genuine measures to reduce the threat of global warming. There has been a marked downward world-wide trend in the fortunes of the nuclear industry throughout the last two decades. By the end of 1998, it is expected that no new reactors whatever will be under construction anywhere in either North America or in Western Europe (1). Global orders have declined from a high point in 1968, when over 40 GW of nuclear plant orders were placed, to the position today where the industry is barely able to replace the capacity of those reactors being closed. It is clear that immediate action is needed to halt climate change. Instant cuts in CO2 emissions must be made. Electricity production is a major source of CO2. To tackle global warming, we therefore have to look for ways of producing and using electricity which significantly lessen the CO2 burden. And in deciding how best to tackle global warming, we have to take into account both the cost effectiveness of alternatives to fossil fuels, the cost of their environmental impact and their impact on global security.
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