It is observed that nuclear energy plays a fundamental role in achieving climate neutrality by mid-century and maintaining the 1.5 degree target, with which the global community wants to prevent the worst consequences of global warming, within the realm of possibilities. , he states. the declaration. Other countries are called to join and donors to invest in the expansion of nuclear energy.
The group of states demanded that the installed capacity of nuclear power plants around the world be tripled by 2050 – compared to the 2020 level. The statement was distributed by US climate representative John Kerry. Signatories also include Belgium, Finland, Japan, Poland, Sweden and Ukraine, but not Russia and China, which also have a large number of nuclear power plants.
Kerry: Nuclear energy is important for climate neutrality
At the climate conference (COP28), around 20 countries called for more nuclear energy. The installed capacity of nuclear power plants around the world is expected to triple by 2050 – compared to the level of 2020. The statement was made by US climate representative, John Kerry.
Kerry: Nuclear energy is crucial to climate neutrality
Kerry referred to scientific statements that climate neutrality by 2050 is “not achievable” without nuclear energy. The declaration also calls on international financial institutions to promote the expansion of nuclear energy. This is currently partially excluded from its statutes.
World Climate Conference
The Conference of the Parties (COP) brings together the EU and the 197 participating States that signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The COP takes place every year in a different city, and the two negotiations weeks are used to formulate a decision text.
This is a voluntary appeal by countries and is in no way binding as part of the official negotiations at COP28 under the auspices of the United Nations. Its objective is to promote alternative energies to fossil fuels and provide arguments to negotiate the end of oil, coal and gas in a final agreement.
Environmentalists would prefer a nuclear-free transition and would draw attention to waste and safety issues. Masayoshi Iyoda of the environmental organization 350.org immediately condemned the use of “dangerous” energy. “We already have cheaper, safer, more democratic and faster solutions to the climate crisis: renewable energy and energy efficiency.”
Environmentalists oppose this
Global 2000 nuclear expert Reinhard Uhrig stated in the run-up to the COP: “Many of the nuclear industry’s claims do not stand up to objective fact-checking based on reputable sources such as the International Energy Agency or the World Industry Report. Nuclear. Announcements of “new” or “modular” reactor concepts (SMR and nuclear fusion) will also come too late in the next decade, which is relevant to the climate crisis – if they ever become ready for series production, because that is questionable according to the International Energy Agency’s Nuclear Energy Agency. “
Furthermore, according to current data from the International Energy Agency, electricity from nuclear power would cost more than twice as much as electricity produced from modern renewables such as wind and solar, “even if we take into account the capacity and flexibility costs of variable renewable energy supply.”
AP/Rafiq Maqbool US Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at COP28 on Saturday
120 countries want to triple energy from renewable sources
In Dubai, nearly 120 countries support the goal of tripling energy production from renewable sources by 2030. “I call on all countries to get on board as quickly as possible,” said UAE President Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber.
In addition to the renewable energy target, almost 120 countries – including EU states – are committed to increasing the energy efficiency rate from around two percent to more than four percent by 2030. This means that less energy will be needed to produce goods or services.
“The pledge from more than 100 countries to promote the expansion of renewable energies such as sun, wind and water, while using energy economically, is welcome,” responded Greenpeace Austria. At the same time, this decision must be included in the negotiating document, along with a commitment to phase out fossil fuels. “Only then can the climate conference in Dubai be a success,” said Jasmin Duregger, climate and energy expert at Greenpeace.
Contested exit from fossil energy
What is controversial, however, is whether states will be able to agree on a global phase-out of coal, oil and gas at the World Climate Conference. Host Dschaber promoted a declaration that was signed by 50 oil and gas companies that said they wanted to make their own activities climate neutral by 2050 at the latest. Germanwatch described this as “greenwashing in its purest form”. Criticism also came from Greenpeace Austria. “The last thing the world needs is another empty promise from the oil and gas industry to do better.”
Pope’s appeal: everyone’s future depends on the present
Meanwhile, Pope Francis called on the global community to overcome national selfishness in the fight against climate change. As never before, everyone’s future depends on the present, “which we choose”, said the head of the Roman Catholic Church in a speech given by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin in Dubai on Saturday. Francisco had to cancel his trip there at short notice for health reasons.
The Pope criticized that the effort to produce and possess made the environment an object of unrestrained exploitation. “The climate gone crazy sounds like a warning sign to put an end to such an illusion of omnipotence.” The world is experiencing “rigid, if not inflexible, positions” that tend to protect their own profits and those of companies themselves. The way out is “the path of cooperation, of multilateralism”.