Nuclear power remains a high-risk technology. Technical malfunctions, human error or deliberate attacks – especially in times of war – can lead to serious accidents involving the massive release of radioactive substances. This also applies to so-called ‘advanced’ reactor types such as small modular reactors (SMRs). Any nuclear power generation is vulnerable to current climate change, be it lack of cooling water or risk of inundation. In addition, every operation leaves behind highly toxic nuclear waste that must be safely isolated from the biosphere for tens of thousands of years – an impossible task and a immoral burden on future generations.
Last but not least, civilian and military nuclear industry are inseparably interwoven: SMR for navy vessel propulsion, the civilian nuclear chain delivering nuclear explosives for atomic bombs production, depleted uranium in „conventional“ weapons etc..
Nevertheless, nuclear power is marketed as ‘green’ and ‘climate-friendly’. But the facts refute this:
· Nuclear power is too expensive: it is several times more expensive than wind and solar power, and the costs keep rising.
· Nuclear power depends on subsidies: without massive government aid and risk guarantees, no new nuclear power plant would be build. Cost explosions and years of delays are the rule – not the exception.
· Nuclear power is too slow for the climate crisis: building new reactors often takes 20 years or more, 20 years of extended CO2 emissions. Solar and wind power plants, on the other hand, are ready for use in two to five years and deliver clean electricity immediately.
Private investors have recognised the signs of the times: the majority of them are focusing on renewable energies, which have long been competitive and are growing rapidly. Every euro that goes into nuclear power is money that is not available for the urgently needed expansion of wind, solar and storage technologies.
That is why we are calling for no funding for nuclear power! The European Union must not promote nuclear power, especially the construction of new nuclear power plants. There must be no funding for nuclear energy in the EU’s multi-annual financial framework.
Instead of pouring billions into a risky, expensive and outdated technology, we need a consistent energy transition: 100% renewable, decentralised and democratic. This is the only way to prevent new disasters like Chernobyl or Fukushima – and to effectively protect the climate.
