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COP27: Making the case for nuclear energy to fight climate change

Nuclear energy supporters, from politicians to activists, touted the advantages of nuclear energy at COP27 on Wednesday.

France gets 70 percent of its electricity from nuclear power
France gets 70 percent of its electricity from nuclear power - Copyright AFP STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN
France gets 70 percent of its electricity from nuclear power - Copyright AFP STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN

Nuclear energy supporters, from politicians to activists, touted the advantages of nuclear energy at COP27 on Wednesday.

The nuclear energy industry has dealt with some overwhelmingly bad incidents over the past few decades, including the Chornobyl disaster in Ukraine in 1986, the worst nuclear power plant accident ever in terms of death toll and cost.

The world also lived through the Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania in 1999, and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster in 2011, in Japan. All in all, the nuclear industry has been struggling for years to draw investment because of worries about safety, radioactive waste, and the huge costs of building a reactor.

But there are rising concerns about the swift pace of climate change and tight power supplies around the globe, and this has softened the views of many opponents of nuclear energy, according to Reuters,

Atoms4Climate exhibit opens at COP27

The International Atomic Energy Agency, an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote nuclear power, opened an exhibit at COP27 – its first time doing so in 27 years of the annual international climate negotiations.

The exhibit showcased the technology’s potential in the fight against climate change. “Many countries faced with sharply rising energy costs and heightened security of supply concerns are turning to nuclear power,” the IAEA said in a release announcing the exhibit.

On Tuesday at COP27, U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry gave the nuclear industry kudos by announcing the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM)’s formal interest in providing $3 billion in financial support for a nuclear plant in Romania.

“We have a viable alternative in nuclear … This is one of the ways in which we can achieve net zero,” he told reporters, referring to an international target of cutting net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. “We don’t get to net zero by 2050 without nuclear power in the mix.”

Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) will also be at COP27, now that the mid-term elections are over, and he plans to highlight the benefits of nuclear energy, reports the Washington Post.

“The path to energy security is clean energy: solar, wind, hydrogen and hydropower, and whatever contribution nuclear can make, but I don’t think compared to these other sources it’s going to be significant as the years go by,” Markey said in a separate phone interview Monday from Chelmsford, Mass., where he was rallying support for local candidates.

As for natural gas, Markey said that while Europe is increasing its dependence on gas “on an emergency basis” in the near term, the continent “has to end this era of dependence on fossil fuels” in the long term to keep climate targets within reach.

Opponents of nuclear energy voice their views

Anti-nuclear groups say that reliance on nuclear energy can be reduced by adopting energy conservation and energy efficiency They claim energy efficiency can reduce energy consumption while providing the same level of energy “services.”

These anti-nuclear groups, a social movement, can be found at the local level in your town right on up to international levels. Anti-nuclear power organizations have emerged in every country that has had a nuclear power program.

National nuclear campaigns emerged in the late 1970s. Fuelled by the Three Mile Island accident and the Chornobyl disaster, the anti-nuclear power movement mobilized political and economic forces which for some years made nuclear energy untenable in many countries.

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We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend Karen Graham, who served as Editor-at-Large at Digital Journal. She was 78 years old. Karen's view of what is happening in our world was colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in humankind's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, "Journalism is merely history's first draft." Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.

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