Tripling global output - For climate protection: 20 countries demand massive expansion of nuclear power in Dubai
A group of around 20 countries have called for the expansion of nuclear power at the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai. Participants in the joint declaration published on Saturday include the USA, France, the UK and the host country, the United Arab Emirates. The aim is to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, it said. The focus in Dubai is on the expansion of renewable energies.
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.
Nuclear power: partial obstacles to financing
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 "I think that is completely outdated.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. While there is broad support for the expansion of renewables in Dubai, the positions on phasing out fossil fuels, which should go hand in hand with this, differ - as do those 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.
Olaf Scholz calls for phasing out coal, oil and gas
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a global phase-out of coal, oil and gas at the plenary session in Dubai. "We must now all show a firm determination to phase out fossil fuels - first and foremost coal. We can set sail for this at this climate conference," said the SPD politician in his speech on Saturday.
Scholz went on to say that it was still possible to reduce climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions in this decade to such an extent that the 1.5-degree target agreed in Paris in 2015 could be met. "But the science tells us very clearly that we have to hurry - despite all the geopolitical tensions," he said, referring to the wars in the Gaza Strip and Ukraine, which are also a major topic at the climate conference.
Climate change remains "the great global challenge of our time", emphasized Scholz. However, there are already all the necessary means to meet this challenge. "The technologies are there: wind power, photovoltaics, electric drives, green hydrogen." Germany is driving these developments forward with vigor. "As a successful industrialized country, we want to live and work in a climate-neutral way by 2045," he said.
Lesen Sie auch:
- The declaration for nuclear power expansion at the UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai was signed by the USA, France, Great Britain, and the United Arab Emirates, among others.
- The group of countries aim to triple the installed capacity of nuclear power plants by 2050 to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
- John Kerry, the US climate envoy, distributed the joint declaration calling for international financial institutions to promote nuclear power expansion.
- Belgium, Finland, Japan, Poland, Sweden, and Ukraine are among the signatories, but Russia and China, significant nuclear power producers, are not included.
- Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), supports further investment in nuclear power, stating that rejecting it due to project failures is a mistake.
- Grossi believes that excluding nuclear energy financing at some international lenders, like the World Bank, is outdated and does not meet scientific or technological criteria.
- Olaf Scholz, the German Chancellor, called for a global phase-out of coal, oil, and gas at the climate conference, emphasizing the necessity to phase out fossil fuels and meet climate targets.
- The majority of over 110 countries at the conference support tripling renewable energy output and doubling energy efficiency by 2030, but positions on phasing out fossil fuels and nuclear power differ.
- Germany ended the use of nuclear power for energy generation in April, currently accounting for just under ten percent of global electricity generation.
- The climate conference in Dubai has become a platform for discussions on renewable energy expansion, energy efficiency, and the role of nuclear power and fossil fuels in climate change mitigation.
Source: www.stern.de
