New Report: Europe Needs 85 New Nuclear Plants to Beat Global
Warming
By Helen Andre
LONDON, UK, April 21, 2000 (ENS) - At least 85 new nuclear power
plants must be built in Europe in order to prevent carbon dioxide
emissions from increasing, says a new European Commission report.
Carbon dioxide is produced by the burning of coal, oil and
natural gas. Scientists estimate it is responsible for 70 percent
of the Earth's global warming.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, the European Union is committed to
reducing carbon dioxide levels by eight percent from 1990 levels
by the five year period 2008 to 2012. But Europe’s nuclear power
stations are due for decommissioning after 25 to 30 years
service.
As the 15 European Union Member States phase out nuclear power,
says the report by London based consultants, Environmental
Resource Management (ERM), the only viable alternatives for
energy production are those that belch out greenhouse gases. Both
Germany and Sweden are engaged in phasing out their nuclear power
plants.
The report says that in one extreme scenario, early retirement of
nuclear power stations could even result in carbon dioxide levels
increasing by 40 percent by the year 2025.
The 1997 Kyoto Protocol was signed in Kyoto, Japan as an addition
to the United Nations climate change treaty. It governs the
emission of carbon dioxide and five other heat trapping
greenhouse gases linked to global warming. Thirty-nine
industrialized countries are supposed to be bound by the
protocol, but it has not come into effect due to the failure of
any of those countries to ratify it. Still, the protocol is seen
as a policy guideline if global warming is to be averted.
Though nuclear power is seen as the black sheep of energy
generation for its radioactive leaks and the seemingly
insurmountable problem of how to dispose of dangerous wastes, it
does not produce carbon dioxide, one of the greatest current
dangers to the environment.
Electricity generation produces nearly a third of Europe’s carbon
dioxide emissions, but would contribute far more if it was not
for the nuclear industry which generates 23 percent of the
electricity that powers the European Union.
In a perfect world, all of our electricity would be generated by
renewable sources such as solar, tidal, and wind power, which
produce no carbon dioxide. According ERM, lack of political
determination means that these renewable sources are unlikely to
be developed sufficiently over the next 20 years to play more
than a minor role.
ERM is an environmental management consultancy operating in the
UK since 1971 with four offices and over 250 professional
staffers. The UK branch is part of a global ERM organisation that
includes 2,500 specialists in 32 countries representing more than
30 disciplines - engineering, natural and earth sciences, social
science, environmental health sciences, economics, planning and
management.
The ERM report says the only way the Kyoto Protocol target can be
achieved is to keep existing nuclear power stations open, and to
switch from coal generation of electricity to natural gas.
No targets for carbon dioxide emissions have been set beyond
2010, and as natural gas runs out, and nuclear power stations are
closed down, greenhouse gases will increase rapidly, the report
warns.
ERM admits that the report has its limitations. Based on
projections for energy use and carbon dioxide emissions rather
than a crystal ball, anything could happen in real life.
But lack of public support for nuclear power and the extremely
high costs involved in producing nuclear power means that large
numbers of new nuclear power plants are unlikely to play a
significant role in future energy generation.
"It’s both unnecessary and unaffordable, and Europe can meet its
energy needs perfectly well from a combination of renewables and
better efficiency methods," said Mark Johnston, Friends of the
Earth energy campaigner.
Although governments have been lazy over the development of
renewable energy sources, says Johnston, increasing greenhouse
gases will force them to reconsider their lack of environmentally
friendly policies.
"I think they’ll go for the least cost options," says Johnston.
He predicts this will include a far greater proportion of natural
gas power stations than exist today. "They are the cheapest to
operate and the quickest to build."
The European Commission (EC), the executive branch of the
European Union, is taking a proactive approach to its greenhouse
gas responsibilities. In October last year, the Commission
announced the formation of the European Climate Change Programme.
This partnership between the EC, experts from Member States,
industry, and environmental non-governmental organisations was
established to develop policy proposals in areas such as energy,
transport, and emissions trading.
Even with the aid of nuclear power stations, the EC admits that
it is not on track to reach the Kyoto targets, and that the
latest data shows carbon dioxide emissions increasing rather than
decreasing.
"The picture is not rosy," warns European Environment
Commissioner, Margot Wallstrom, "We have to put into place
additional measures at the Community level if we are to achieve
what we promised in Kyoto. At the same time, the Member States
should not rely on the community doing it all. Most of them are
not on track for reaching their national targets."
Conflict over the role of nuclear power in combating global
warming heated up again in March. EU Member States meeting in
Brussels were preparing for a crucial conference of parties to
the UN climate change treaty scheduled for the Hague in November
to negotiate practical implementation of Kyoto Protocol targets.
Greenpeace issued a warning that France and the UK were calling
for nuclear power projects to be included in the Kyoto Protocol's
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), under which industrialised
countries will be able to claim greenhouse gas emissions credits
if they help developing countries to cut emissions.
The group said the Clean Development Mechanism risked becoming "a
new subsidy for the nuclear industry" if nuclear was not
excluded. "The CDM is meant to promote sustainable energy in
developing countries, not create more radioactive waste,"
Greenpeace claimed.
European nuclear industry association Foratom hit back, calling
for the CDM to be implemented "without limits" on technologies
that could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. "All forms of
energy are necessary for global sustainable development," a
Foratom spokesman said.
A source at the Brussels meeting confirmed that the UK and France
were pushing informally to allow nuclear projects under the Clean
Development Mechanism, although there has been "no [formal] clear
position" from either. The source said most other member states
and the European Commission wanted to exclude nuclear, but that
the issue would only be resolved at a senior political level.
SOURCE: Environment News Service (ENS)
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/apr2000/2000L-04-21-02.html
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