TL: NUCLEAR POWER -- NO SOLUTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE
SO: GREENPEACE INTERNATIONAL, (GP)
DT: November 24th 1997

Greenpeace Opinion Editorial

Having failed to establish itself as a clean, cheap, safe or
reliable source of energy, the nuclear industry is currently
desperate to find a new rationale to avoid its demise. In the
lead up to Kyoto it is now claimed that nuclear energy can
somehow provide the answer to the global problem of climate
change.  
 
During the past two decades the real environmental, economic and
security costs of nuclear power have come to light.  This has
led to a rapid decline in the fortunes of the global nuclear
industry.  It began in the United States in the 1970's where
over 120 nuclear power plant orders were cancelled, and
subsequently, orders for nuclear power programmes and reactors
were cancelled all around the world.   

So, what if one takes the nuclear industry's idea of "nuclear
power to protect the climate" to its logical conclusion, and
asks the question of how many nuclear power stations must be
built to achieve internationally-agreed carbon reduction target?

Currently, around 440 nuclear reactors provide approximately 5%
of the global primary energy mix.  To double this figure to 10%,
it would be necessary to treble the number of reactors in
existence - 1,320 new nuclear reactors, to account for demand
growth.  Most of these would need to be built in the newly
industrialising nations of the world. The amount of nuclear
waste and plutonium produced from these reactors would depend on
the reactor types and its characteristics, but we can estimate
that the annual spent fuel produced would be in the region of
40,000 tonnes containing over 300 tonnes of plutonium.

Plutonium is one of the most radiotoxic and dangerous substances
in existence: a single microgram smaller than a speck of dust,
can cause fatal cancer if inhaled or ingested.  A sphere of
plutonium, smaller than a tennis ball, can be used to fuel a
nuclear bomb able to kill millions of people. 
 
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an
international body of experts brought together specifically to
analyse different scenarios for combating climate change, when
referring to the possible expansion of nuclear power, stated
that "the security threat that such massive amounts of plutonium
would pose would be colossal."

Fortunately it seems that nuclear power has already been
overtaken by the new breed of renewable energy technologies,
which can typically supply energy more cheaply. 

Greenpeace recently obtained a leaked copy of the European
Commission's renewable Energy White Paper which categorically
states that a significant switch to renewables and cuts in
greenhouse gases are totally feasible.  The White Paper - which
outlines a specific EU Renewable Energy Action Plan - is set to
be adopted by the Commission in the very near future. It
proposes to double the use of renewable energies within the EU
to 12% of gross inland energy consumption by 2010. The paper
states that this would reduce CO2 emissions by 400 million
tonnes per year.  It would create between 850,000 and 1.25
million new jobs and result in an additional 17 billion ECU
(US$19 billion) annual export business for the EU by 2010.

The on-going crises in nuclear waste management, in safety, in
economic costs and in nuclear proliferation show that nuclear
power is not a solution to future energy demand, it is part of
the problem. The claims of the nuclear industry are
disingenuous, self-serving and politically unrealistic fantasies
which would do nothing but promote the life of an outdated and
dangerous technology. 

As we approach the 21st Century, it clear that renewable energy
sources, such as those from the wind and the sun have
environmental and economic advantages.  These technologies
coupled with energy efficiency will create a clean, sustainable
energy system for future generations.

We are at an energy crossroads.  The choice of the future path
is ours.   

A Greenpeace International Report entitled 'Nuclear Power - No
Solution to Climate Change' is available from Greenpeace.