energy, does have disastrous consequences. The as well as the related proliferation of nuclear technologies, can and only certain way to eliminate this potentially devastating risk is to phase out nuclear power altogether. In Germany, the government Some countries appear to have learnt this lesson. changed course in the aftermath of phase out of nuclear power. scenarios now foresee Fukushima and decided to go ahead with a previously agreed Many Germany sourcing 100% of its power needs from renewables by 2030. Meanwhile Italian citizens voted against plans to go nuclear with a 90% majority. The same is not yet true in Japan. Although only three out of its 54 nuclear reactors are online and generating power, while the Japanese authorities conduct "stress tests", the government hopes to reopen almost all of these and prolong the working life of a number of its ageing reactors by to up to 60 years. The Japanese public have made their opposition clear however. Opinion polls consistently show a strong majority of the population is now against nuclear power. Local grassroots movements opposing nuclear power have The been springing up across Japan. Mayors and governors in fear of losing their power tend to follow the majority of their citizens. European level response has been to undertake stress tests on nuclear reactors across the union. these stress tests appear to be little more than a PR exercise However, to encourage public acceptance in order to The tests fail to assess the full risks of nuclear power, allow the nuclear industry to continue with business as usual. ignoring crucial factors such as fires, human failures, degradation of essential infrastructure or the impact of an airplane crash.
energy, as well as the related proliferation of nuclear technologies, can and does have disastrous consequences. The only certain way to eliminate this potentially devastating risk is to phase out nuclear power altogether. Some countries appear to have learnt this lesson. In Germany, the government changed course in the aftermath of Fukushima and decided to go ahead with a previously agreed phase out of nuclear power. Many scenarios now foresee Germany sourcing 100% of its power needs from renewables by 2030. Meanwhile Italian citizens voted against plans to go nuclear with a 90% majority. The same is not yet true in Japan. Although only three out of its 54 nuclear reactors are online and generating power, while the Japanese authorities conduct "stress tests", the government hopes to reopen almost all of these and prolong the working life of a number of its ageing reactors by to up to 60 years. The Japanese public have made their opposition clear however. Opinion polls consistently show a strong majority of the population is now against nuclear power. Local grassroots movements opposing nuclear power have been springing up across Japan. Mayors and governors in fear of losing their power tend to follow the majority of their citizens. The European level response has been to undertake stress tests on nuclear reactors across the union. However, these stress tests appear to be little more than a PR exercise to encourage public acceptance in order to allow the nuclear industry to continue with business as usual. The tests fail to assess the full risks of nuclear power, ignoring crucial factors such as fires, human failures, degradation of essential infrastructure or the impact of an airplane crash.
Premier-Debate-Brief-SO16.docx