WMO chief: Germany should reconsider nuclear phase-out
Shortly before the World Climate Conference in Dubai, the head of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Petteri Taalas, has recommended that Germany reconsider its decision to phase out nuclear power. "Nuclear power is a good technology for producing climate-friendly energy," Taalas told the German Press Agency in Geneva.
It will be difficult to phase out coal without nuclear power and still produce enough affordable energy. "I would call on the German government to reconsider the nuclear phase-out."
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which scientifically investigates and describes the state of the climate under the umbrella of the WMO, promotes in its reports the use of all non-fossil energy sources to reduce greenhouse gases, including nuclear power. The EU Commission has included electricity from nuclear power plants as a green energy source in its taxonomy regulation. The COP28 world climate conference begins on November 30 in Dubai. Taalas hopes that countries will announce even stricter climate protection measures there so that global warming can be limited to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels if possible.
"If Germany wants to maintain its current level of energy consumption or produce even more, for example for electromobility, it will be difficult to achieve all of this largely with sun and wind," said Taalas. There would then be a choice: either buy in more, for example from France, where some of the electricity comes from nuclear power plants, or accept the consequences for the economy. "If energy costs are very high compared to other countries, it might not be attractive for some industries to stay in Germany."
The World Climate Conference in Dubai may need to consider the role of nuclear power in global climate mitigation, given the IPCC's promotion of all non-fossil energy sources, including nuclear, in reducing greenhouse gases. As Petteri Taalas, the WMO chief, stated, Germany's decision to phase out nuclear power could make it challenging to phase out coal while maintaining affordable energy production.
Source: www.dpa.com
