Around 20 countries call for expansion of nuclear power in Dubai
The group of states called for the installed capacity of nuclear power plants worldwide to be tripled by 2050 - compared to the 2020 level. The declaration was distributed by US climate envoy John Kerry. The 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 referred to statements from the scientific community according to which climate neutrality by 2050 "is not achievable" without nuclear power. The declaration also calls for international financial institutions to promote the expansion of nuclear power. This is currently excluded in some of their statutes. Critics point to the risks associated with nuclear power, unresolved waste disposal issues and high costs.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, also called for further investment in nuclear power. It would be a "mistake" to reject nuclear energy due to problems with some projects, he told the AFP news agency on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai. Hurdles in the financing of nuclear power plants would have to be overcome.
"There are statutes at some international lenders that exclude the financing of nuclear energy," said Grossi. The World Bank, for example, has not financed a nuclear power plant since 1959. "I think that is completely outdated. It does not meet any scientific or technological criteria," added the IAEA chief.
The focus of the climate conference is on the expansion of renewable energies. On Friday, a majority of more than 110 countries backed the goal, also supported by Germany, of tripling their output by 2030 and doubling energy efficiency by the same date. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen pointed this out in Dubai.
The EU had already spoken out in favor of these targets in the spring. "I call on everyone to include these targets in the final declaration of the climate conference," said von der Leyen. While there is broad support for the expansion of renewables in Dubai, there are differing positions on the move away from fossil fuels, which should go hand in hand with this - as well as on nuclear power.
Germany ended the use of nuclear power for energy generation in April. Nuclear power currently accounts for just under ten percent of global electricity generation. The highest level was 17.5 percent in 1996.
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Source: www.stern.de
