One of the items coming out of COP 28 was a declaration about the role of nuclear power in combating the climate crisis. The press release is titled “Declaration Recognizes the Key Role of Nuclear Energy in Keeping Within Reach the Goal of Limiting Temperature Rise to 1.5 Degrees Celsius.”
Among other things, participating states pledge to “commit to work together to advance a global aspirational goal of tripling nuclear energy capacity from 2020 by 2050, recognizing the different domestic circumstances of each Participant.” The problem is adding nuclear capacity by 2050 is not fast enough to address the climate crisis. In essence, the declaration is yet another delay tactic by moneyed interests. Like it or not, we are set to blow past a temperature rise of 1.5 degrees Celsius. We can’t wait for nuclear power, especially when effective, easier to implement, and less expensive alternatives are available.
This 60-second video by Stanford Professor Mark Z. Jacobsen cuts to the chase. Time is running out.
Sunday evening, my congresswoman released a statement after attending COP 28. It includes this sketchy language about nuclear power: “advanced nuclear energy is being revisited to provide capacity and dispatchable continual base load to the energy mix.” In other words, she didn’t get the word that ten years ago, Iowa had an opportunity to build new nuclear power capacity and pulled the plug on it.
As Professor Jacobsen said in this video, new nuclear energy is no help whatsoever in solving the climate problem. We should proceed on that basis.
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