“Making France a great green nation, that is our project,” Macron tweeted on the night of his victory, after he received 58.5% of the votes against 40.5% for Le Pen – a lower margin than in the 2017 election, when he got 66% of the votes. 

In the election campaign, Macron declared he would make France “the first major nation to abandon gas, oil and coal.”

While climate advocates are breathing a sigh of relief that Le Pen – who threatened to dismantle wind turbines – lost, Macron’s climate record to date has fallen short of the rhetoric.

Coming to power in 2017 on a promise to “make climate great again”, Macron inherited an underperforming state. France was successfully sued for failing to meet its 2015-18 emissions objectives and is is the only EU member state to have missed its 2020 renewable energy target.

After five years in power, the government remains off track to meet its 40% emissions reduction target by 2030 compared to 1990 levels – a goal which it will need to ramp up to align with the EU’s collective goal of at least 55% cuts.

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Macron has said he wants to accelerate the construction of offshore wind farms, develop nuclear power and a large-scale programme to retrofit homes and make them more energy-efficient. But the deployment of renewables and uptake of electric transport has been slow.

France has only built one offshore wind farm. Macron announced this year that France will build 50 offshore wind farms by 2050, with 40GW of capacity. 

France’s weak record on deploying renewables is largely due to administrative hurdles and court challenges, especially for wind farm projects, Nicolas Berghmans, Iddri’s lead European affairs and climate expert, told Climate Home News. The time required for the installation of a wind farm in France is around eight years – significantly higher than in other EU countries, he said.

In 2021, a French court awarded damages to a Belgian couple who claimed that a wind turbine near their house in southern France caused a range of negative health impacts, referred to as “wind syndrome”, including headaches, insomnia and depression. 

Construction has started on offshore wind farms “so we should continue to see an acceleration of renewable energy deployment in the coming years,” said Berghmans.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has forced many EU countries to reconsider their long-standing opposition to nuclear power as they seek to reduce their dependence on Russian fossil fuels. France has relied heavily on nuclear energy for decades. 

The country derives around 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy and is home to 56 nuclear power reactors. In February, the government announced plans to build six new reactors and to consider building a further eight. 

Campaigners are not convinced.

Any new nuclear energy project will be expensive and not come online until 2035, said Raphael Hanoteaux, a senior policy advisor on gas politics at E3G. “Solar, wind and storage are already cheaper than nuclear, and will be even cheaper in 12 to 15 years,” he told Climate Home News.

“French politicians are obsessed with the nuclear industry, which diverts attention from real solutions,” Neil Makaroff, EU policy officer at Climate Action Network France, told Climate Home News. “Not a euro of the [coronavirus] recovery plan has been dedicated to renewables. A bad signal.”

“The existing nuclear power plant fleet is quickly ageing, as its underperformance this winter clearly showed, and it is today unlikely that it will be replaced with new reactors with an equivalent generation capacity,” said Berghmans. “Renewable production will have to close this large gap.”

China’s coal miners face a challenge to capture leaked methane

If Macron is to achieve his goal of reducing France’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels, he should focus on transport and housing, Sebastien Treyer, executive director of the think tank Iddri, told Climate Home News.

Enabling access to electric mobility and ensuring large-scale energy efficiency in buildings should be priorities for Macron’s short-term climate strategy, he said.

Electric mobility is on the rise in France, but it is not growing as strongly as in other EU countries, such as the Netherlands and Norway, said Berghmans. This is partly due to delays in deploying charging infrastructure, as well as to insufficient incentives for the uptake of electric vehicles, he said. French citizens rely heavily on cars – with 75% using a car for their daily commute – and investments in cycling and public transport are lagging, he added. 

A carbon tax on fuel has been frozen since 2018, when a proposed hike triggered widespread protests and gave birth to the “gilets jaunes” movement.

“The shadow of yellow vests still looms large. It’s likely Macron’s new government will remain extremely cautious about reintegrating the carbon tax to its arsenal of measures,” Lola Vallejo, climate programme director at Iddri, told Climate Home News.

Pakistan’s tree-planting ambition in doubt after Imran Khan’s exit

The country’s citizens’ assembly has identified mandatory minimum energy performance standards for buildings as a key measure to force deep renovation of buildings but this measure has been watered down by the government, said Makaroff. 

“Renovation efforts are still timid considering the triple menace of climate change, the cost of living crisis, and the Russia-Ukraine war,” Vallejo said. 

“Public support for [this] is still insufficient and poorly targeted to the deep energy renovations that are needed to achieve climate targets,” said Berghmans. The government should offer more solutions and alternatives to poorer households, whose financial balances are directly impacted by rising fuel prices, he said.

The post Macron promises to abandon gas, oil and coal, but will he deliver? appeared first on Climate Home News.

The Simpsons’ Mr Burns, proprietor of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant once said: “A lifetime of working with nuclear power has left me with a healthy green glow… and left me as impotent as a Nevada boxing commissioner.”

Observing the UK nuclear debate can leave feeling a little green, not particularly healthy and impotent as far as the debate is concerned.

Name calling, accusations of bullying and favouritism, people not doing their homework and sinister best friends conspiring in the corridors.

Not a scene from the schoolyard but the UK nuclear debate encapsulated at a committee debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday night – whether it can still be termed a debate is also up for dispute.

The Electricity Market Reform bill has triggered this discussion and at its core there are four main topics: subsidies, climate change, safe storage and transparency.

The Sellafield nuclear power station is still at the centre of the UK nuclear debate in its new role as a waste processing plant. (Flickr/Newbeltane)

Subsidies

Projects can run over budget to the tune of billions and then there’s the cost of disposing the waste.

French energy company EDF has agreed to operate a new nuclear reactor at the Hinckley Point power station. It would generate low carbon energy at a time when we are told that the atmosphere can’t cope with any increase in CO2 concentrations.

EDF originally said it would not require a state subsidy for the project, but now says it does. And having originally said it would not support new nuclear if a subsidy was required, the government now says it does too.

Here’s how the subsidy works: The state will guarantee a fixed price per unit of electricity. If the wholesale price falls below that threshold, the government makes up the difference. It’s called a Contract for Difference (CfD),

Hergen Haye, head of new nuclear at the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was in attendance at Tuesday’s debate and said that this is not a subsidy. He is confident the agreement would pass EU criteria that prevents anti-competitive state-aid to business.

This did not wash with Caroline Lucas, a Green party MP, who replied: “I can’t stand all this ducking and diving and frankly, treating us all like fools”,  adding that claims the CfD is not a subsidy undermine the wider nuclear debate.

When a representative of one of EDF’s rivals asked what the difference was between this arrangement and his company getting a top up on prices for its energy from wind farms he received short shrift.

“I think that was a mischievous question,” said EDF’s head of new nuclear policy Nigel Knee before comparing the CfD to a variable rate mortgage.

The Oxford English Dictionary definition of a subsidy is “a sum of money given to help keep the price of a product low”. Make of that what you will.

India is one of 13 countries planning new nuclear reactors (Source: Petr Pavlicek/IAEA)

Climate and carbon

The nuclear debate has split green groups. Some stick to the same anti-nuclear arguments of the 1970s (plus some new ones).

Others like Mark Lynas and George Monbiot place climate mitigation first, particularly in the context of improving technology and smarter decommissioning practices.

Lynas backs a “nuclear for base load, renewables for the rest” energy mix, while many environmental NGOs insist that renewables alone can do the job. The UK government is planning a mix that also includes gas.

The trouble is these important aspects are not really being analysed. The focus instead is on government ‘U’ turns and whether it is lining the pockets of a company owned by the French state.

There is much less discussion about whether nuclear is essential to limiting global emissions, and even less about the science and engineering that ultimately defines whether or not a plant is safe.

Safe storage

Would you really like to live above tonnes of highly radioactive nuclear waste? It’s a hard sell, and the UK desperately needs a safe place to keep spent nuclear matter.

This week a local council in Cumbria voted against plans to excavate huge caverns 1000m below the ground to store nuclear material.

This is a massive blow to the industry, whatever leading scientists may say.

“It is only a blip, and in the big picture the UK’s programme of managing radioactive waste safely will continue to look for volunteers,” said Prof Bill Lee, Co-Director of the Centre for Nuclear Engineering at Imperial College London

“We can’t simply leave the waste in temporary container storage; it has to go into a proper disposal facility underground. That needs a combination of a community willing to host it and the right geology.”

Others are far less forgiving, accusing opponents of an awful crime – being a NIMBY.

“This is a short-termist, self-serving decision that does nothing to solve the legacy problems at Sellafield, and which will cost the country and locality much more cash in the long term,” said Dr Nick Evans , Senior Lecturer in Radiochemistry at Loughborough University.

Given that the site in question has the Heysham Nuclear Power station, the Sellafield Nuclear waste processing plant and a nuclear shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness all within a few miles this seems a little harsh, but it illustrates the problems governments face.

Transparency

The government and nuclear industry have an unfortunate record of covering up accidents. The true impacts of the 1957 Windscale disaster were kept from the public at the time, and even an official report was censored.

This week MPs voted on a proposed amendment to open the books on negotiations between energy firms and the government. It was defeated by the coalition government.

Here’s the take of Greenpeace chief scientist Dr Doug Parr: “The vote was particularly significant for Liberal Democrat MPs. The party has always opposed any public subsidy for Nuclear power. In practice this vote will mean they can’t find out what they don’t want to know,” he said.

“It is scandalous that these coalition MPs, who are there to hold Government and Secretaries of State to account, have handed over such wide powers and have actively voted to allow the government to keep the public paying up in ignorance.”

Greenpeace is historically opposed to nuclear, but the vote reinforces an atmosphere of distrust.

The public are also increasingly suspicious of energy firms as bills rise, even when wholesale prices fall. Confidence in politicians is also at a low and many feel the two are working together to fit the new Electricity Bill around the needs of the industry.

An odd couple

As I left the House of Commons on Tuesday night I overheard a fascinating exchange.

Gentleman in corridor: Hello, I’m XXX XXX from Horizon Nuclear Power (another much-maligned project eventually sold to Hitachi after Chinese buyers backed out)

Conservative MP: Oh, well I’m your man then. And off they went.

The MP in question has asked numerous question in parliament questioning renewable energy and supporting nuclear for the improvement of ‘energy security’.

The debate is back in the headlines, and sadly it has little to do with energy or the climate.

VIDEO: Homer Simpson designs a New Nuclear plant

The post Nothing new about the UK’s New Nuclear debate appeared first on Climate Home News.

The US drought in 2012 was second only to that of the dust bowl era of the 1930s. While this single event cannot be attributed solely to climate change, it is widely acknowledged to have made a significant contribution.

The US army engineers have begun clearing rock pinnacles on the river bed and dredging to keep the route passable with queues of barges carrying corn, soya and other commodities to the Gulf coast.

The American Waterways Operators trade association and Waterways Council policy group estimates that January closures will hold up $2.8bn worth of trade, will affect 8000 jobs as well as creating more problems further down the supply chain.

$180bn of cargo is transported along the Mississippi River every year. (Source: Flickr/eschhipul)

Reservoirs upstream of the affected areas of the Mississippi have been further reduced as water was released to irrigate the local area. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted that the river’s level will reach an all time low on January 15.

The only consolation for shippers on the Mississippi is that winter is a quiet period for freight traffic on the river with just $7bn of its annual $180bn of cargo moving in January and December.

As well as causing $20bn in losses for US farmers, the drought also affects the energy sector. Coal is transported along the Mississipi, nuclear plants require freshwater for cooling and two of its largest hydropower plants including the Hoover Dam have suffered with reservoirs approaching 50% of their capacity.

The US also witnessed an outbreak of the West Nile virus, linked to the drought conditions.

The US is not alone in feeling these effects however. The Rhone, one of the five largest rivers in France, could lose 30% of its volume by 2050, according to regional officials.

The post Drought set to close Mississippi River trade route appeared first on Climate Home News.

– The day’s top climate change stories as chosen by RTCC
– Tweet @RTCCnewswire and use #RTCCLive hashtag
– Send your thoughts to jp@rtcc.org
– Updated from 0830-1700 BST (GMT+1)

Tuesday 30 October

Last updated: 1715

Australia: Calls to cut the country’s target to produce 20% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 have been rejected. A new report by the Climate Change Authority said changing the target would create uncertainty for investors. Utility firms and energy intensive industries had been calling for a reduction in the goal. (Renewable Energy World)

Worldwide: The price of UN carbon credits could remain at rock bottom levels until a raft of new emissions trading schemes begin in 2015. An oversupply of credits has contributed to prices plummeting. New regional schemes in China and the US are in development and both Australia and South Korea will begin trading in 2015.

“Right now, prices are low and may stay that way until the new systems are established by around 2015,” said Sung-Woo Kim, head of Climate Change and Sustainability for KPMG Asia Pacific. (Bloomberg)

Japan: A draft agreement of the new global deal on greenhouse gas emissions should be finished at next year’s UN climate talks, according to the Japanese Government. In a submission to the UNFCCC, Japan says the first half of next year should be spent holding roundtables, workshops and reviewing suggestions from third parties before finalising a draft of the new deal at the COP19 talks in November 2013. The new deal will see all countries, rich and poor, pledge to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Kenya: The group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) is meeting in Nairobi to discuss its negotiating position at the Doha climate change talks. The bloc is expected to prioritise progress on the Green Climate Fund and filling the gap in planned finance between 2012 and 2014. Ensuring developed nations make ambitious pledges in a second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol will also feature on the agenda. (Xinhua)

Haiti: The devastation left by Hurricane Sandy was being counted in Haiti as the storm grabbed headlines elsewhere. With 52 already confirmed dead the country is now bracing itself for severe food security consequences with much of its crops destroyed and fears of price shocks growing. A number of droughts have already created global concerns for food prices. (AlertNet)

US: Former President Bill Clinton has waded into the climate debate ahead of the US election with a dig at the Republican party. Speaking at a university in Florida Clinton said: “America is the only major country in the world where any major political party is denying climate change instead of arguing about what to do about it”. (Guardian)

US: At least thirteen people have been killed by Hurricane Sandy as it passed through some of the most densely populated areas of the US last night. Millions have been left without power and several of New York’s Subway tunnels have been flooded. As many as 69 were killed, mostly in Haiti, when the storm passed through the Caribbean last week. (Reuters)

Poland: Environmental activists in Poland have claimed that they are being hampered by interference from the state. A Polish Treasury Minister denounced the NGO Client Earth as “working against the public interests of the state” while the press has referred to them as “eco-terrorists”. A lawyer for the NGO said “a climate of fear was being developed”. Other environmentalists claim to have received visits from secret police. (EurActiv)

UK: Hitachi has bought the Horizon nuclear power project from the utilities E.ON and RWE. The deal will see engineering firms Rolls Royce and Babcock build two plants, one in Wales one in England with a total capacity of 6GW. A report has been released on the same day claiming that renewables in the UK will generate more power than nuclear by 2018. (BBC/Guardian)

The post Polish environmentalists complain of harassment and visits from “secret police” appeared first on Climate Home News.

A rapid nuclear “binge” to prevent runaway global warming is not practical and would ignore pressing development issues, a leading UK expert in atomic energy has told RTCC.

Speaking to at the sidelines of the Low Carbon Energy for Development Conference at Sussex University, Professor Gordon MacKerron, said it was not inevitable or desirable for countries to pursue large scale nuclear programmes.

“While nuclear power will remain as a potential option for some countries, the notion that it can play a large role in some kind of global low carbon future seems to me it would be frankly unrealistic and probably undesirable,” he said.

UK expert warns against a nuclear power "binge" in response to climate change (Source: Toni Rodrigo/Flickr)

“It is a slow process; nuclear power takes a long time to develop, to pass through regulatory processes and to pass through political hurdles. There are other larges scale technologies – of which large scale solar is an obvious example – that might do just a good a job, cheaper and quicker and with less controversy.”

Earlier this week, leading UK polar expert Peter Wadhams called for accelerated research into geo-engineering options, as well as increased investment in nuclear energy.

Speaking after spending the summer in the Arctic, Wadhams said his recent observations of the region’s vanishing sea-ice had convinced him that urgent measures had to be taken.

Cost-benefit anaylsis

MacKerron’s views are worth taking into account given his expertise.

Over the past two decades he has advised various UK governments on the merits of nuclear energy, and between 2003-2007 he was Chair of the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management, an independent body charged with recommending the best approach to long-term radioactive waste management.

And MacKerron argues that the cost of nuclear, strict regulations and concerns over safety and the disposal of waste mean the technology is unlikely to play a huge role in the future.

New plants cost in the region of £2.8 billion, and can take around eight years to construct. Operators also have to pay their share of waste disposal costs, an increasingly contentious issue around the world.

Nuclear is already an integral part of the energy mix in many countries. It provides approximately 20% of electricity to the UK and USA, while India and China are both pursuing their own ambitious programmes.

Others are not so keen. Japan is attempting to wean itself off atomic energy post Fukushima with limited success, while Germany plans to close all nuclear plants by 2022.

Energy and development

MacKerron says too much emphasis on nuclear ignores developmental concerns, and will not ensure those in the poorest countries gain access to energy they vitally need.

“If you take some of the poorer countries in the world – and that will include nearly all of Africa, some parts of Asia, limited parts of Latin America – prospects for nuclear power appear practically non-existent,” said MacKerron.

“The kind of conditions that you need for nuclear power simply aren’t there and it is not even clear, even though nuclear is a low carbon technology, such a technology could contribute to the developmental need of the poorest of some of the developing countries.”

RELATED VIDEO: Gordon MacKerron says notion that large scale nuclear power is “inevitable” is unfounded, particularly when looking at the situation in the developing world.

The post Rapid nuclear “binge” to meet climate change targets is unrealistic and undesirable says UK expert appeared first on Climate Home News.

However, plenty of others including the UK, Canada, India and Russia are planning new reactors.

In the first of a series of video blogs for RTCC, Tom Burke, founding director of sustainability consultancy E3G and a former director of Friends of the Earth, explains why he thinks nuclear is not the right option for policy makers.

E3G’s Tom Burke talks nuclear energy with RTCC from Responding to Climate Change on Vimeo.

Filmed by John Parnell and Tierney Smith

Related stories on RTCC:

VIDEO: Holger Rogner of the IAEA talks to RTCC in Durban

IEA says Greenhouse gases will rise after nuclear phase-out

WWF: Offshore wind is crucial part of energy solution 

The post Burke’s Blog #1: UK energy guru on why nuclear is not the answer appeared first on Climate Home News.

President Obama's budget plans have irked Republicans who say it will destroy jobs. (Source: White House/Pete Souza)

President Obama demonstrated a strong shift in favour of green issues in a budget speech yesterday with clean power and energy efficiency funding boosted.

The budget is highly unlikely to be passed and is considered as a political statement rather than an enforceable plan.

“We need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil by ending the subsidies for oil companies, and doubling down on clean energy that generates jobs and strengthens our security,” said President Obama.

Funding for Department of Energy’s research arm is earmarked to remain stable at $325m with a separate fund looking at other clean technology, such as electric cars receiving $420m.

The current raft of tax breaks and incentives for fossil fuel companies, totally $40bn, would be cut under the proposals.

The document, which Obama described as “a blueprint for next year’s budget”, also includes an extension of the loan capacity for nuclear energy facilities from a maximum of $18bn to $54bn.

Interestingly, funding for carbon capture and storage (CCS), listed on the budget as the “Clean Coal Initiative”, has been removed.

Energy efficiency was also central to the proposed plan with a $6bn residential retrofit scheme included.

The document also includes some initiatives within the Government itself. It proposes that the Treasury should go paperless, with a saving of $500m and embassy roofs should be painted white to cut bills for air conditioning.

“For the fourth year in a row, the White House should have written its budget in red ink instead of black,” said Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling.

“It does nothing to address the real drivers of our debt, but does everything to accelerate our nation’s slide into bankruptcy,” he added.

Obama faces a further test of his green credentials this week as Republicans attempt to push the Keystone XL pipeline, which he rejected last month, through the Senate.

The post Obama budget boosts clean energy and cuts fossil fuel subsidies appeared first on Climate Home News.

The Keystone XL pipeline attracted the largest civil disobedience action in the US for a generation. (Source: Wiki/Ekabhishek)

President Obama, Ban Ki-moon and NASA all had something to say in a hectic week of climate change news. RTCC runs through five ideas to takeaway from the week.

Keystone XL got ditched, but verdict doesn’t represent a green revolution in the Whitehouse

The Keystone XL oil pipeline was blocked by President Obama after the Republicans hastened the decision making process. Green groups celebrated, but the company behind the project to pump tar sands oil from Canada to the US Gulf Coast has already said it will reapply with a new route.

Obama’s statement on the verdict did not carry any environmental message or rallying cry against big oil, it simply said that there wasn’t time to force it through and ensure the correct protections are in place. Expect round two soon.

The Fukishima effect is over

Support for new Nuclear energy is growing in the UK, according to stats released by pollsters Ipsos MORI. The chief economist of the IEA warned that sidelining nuclear energy would have a negative impact on our attempts to reduce CO2 levels.

Saudi Arabia and China signed a nuclear cooperation deal. The BP Energy Outlook 2030predicts no decline in nuclear power. Like it or not, nuclear energy would appear to be here to stay.

Somerset should have its own time zone/UK democracy is flawed

A bill in the UK calling for the country to permanently wind the clocks forward an hour was unsuccessful after MPs made outlandish amendments, quoted the bible and hid in the toilets in order to waste time. The session ended before a vote could be held.

The Lighter for Later campaign, organised by UK climate action group 10:10 claimed that the move could save the country 447,000 tons of CO2. MPs were split.

Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg tabled an amendment to the bill that would have seen the county of Somerset return to its own time, as each region in the country did before the railways standardised time in 1840. The filibuster tactics were widely condemned.

Sustainable energy has gone from buzzword to big business

The World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi highlighted just how big clean energy has become. If the agenda there doesn’t convince you, Bloomberg New Energy Finance were kind enough to put a figure on it – $260 billion worth of investment in renewable energy in 2011.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said there was no reason why sustainable energy couldn’t spread throughout the developing world.

Climate change is not just about carbon and we shouldn’t forget it

Carbon trading, carbon taxes, carbon footprints, it is easy to understand why CO2 dominates the argument, but anthropogenic climate change is far more complex.

A NASA study highlighted the short term gains of a focus on cutting soot and methane. Meanwhile a nitrogen oxide cloud was found over India and China linked to their burgeoning economies.

The post Five things we learned about climate change this week appeared first on Climate Home News.

David Willetts said universities and researchers were the UK's most vital asset (source: bisgovuk/flickr)

Research and Development will be vital for the UK to make its way in a high-tech world, create jobs and boost economic growth, said UK Universities and Science Minister, stressing 2012 will see growing investment in low carbon sectors, particularly nuclear.

Speaking at the Policy Exchange, David Willetts argued that the country’s universities and researchers were its greatest asset and key to fulfilling the Coalition’s top priority for 2012: economic growth.

He also highlighted the role that investment in energy and low carbon technologies could play.

“We already have sponsored research on low carbon cars. The Technology Strategy Board’s investment in low carbon vehicles in partnership with Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council played a significant role in Nissan’s decision to base the production of the entirely electric LEAF model and its advanced batteries in Sunderland,” he said.

“High on our agenda now is nuclear fission and fusion after a challenging report from the Science and Technology Committee of the House of Lords. We will be considering it carefully to ensure we get the most advantage from our historic strengths in these sectors.”

While not singling out low carbon development, it was one of four areas identified by the Government Office for Science for future investment.

Energy and low carbon technologies were placed alongside other science topics including Biotechnology and pharmaceuticals; materials and nanotechnology; and digital and networks.

Willetts stressed that the government has a clear understanding of areas for investment, preventing “eccentric of lop-sided decisions”.

Quoting economist Alfred Marshall from 1919, Willetts warned of the danger of expertise being exported abroad unless opportunities were harnessed in the UK. He said: “The small band of British scientific men have made revolutionary discoveries in science; but yet the chief fruits of their work have been reaped by business in Germany and other countries where industry and science have been in close touch with one another.”

This echoes the warning of low carbon industry experts that the UK could loose out – exporting expertise rather than products – if the government backs away from technologies such as solar and wind power.

Willetts once again highlighted nuclear, and its importance when looking to the future. He said: “Continuing to keep our country open to leading scientists who wish to work here and making a big contribution to global science projects such as managing the Square Kilometer Array and the key role of scientists in CERN and in JET and ITER project for nuclear fusion.”

While placing a lot of emphasis on the role of science, he also warned of the danger of neglecting research in other areas, including social sciences and the arts.

“This broad research base emphatically includes the arts, humanities and social sciences. They are all part of the science and research ring fence,” he said. “Increasingly for example research in the physical sciences is linked to human behaviour – not just designing a low carbon vehicle but understanding what makes people choose to drive it – or not.”

The UK invests £3 billion annually in academic work through Research Councils UK (RCUK), which combines the UK’s seven Research Councils covering science and the arts.

CCTV Exclusive: Professor Chin Siong Ho, Professor at the University Teknologi of Malaysia joined us in Durban to talk about the importance of research and development in tackling climate change.

The post Green economy key to UK high-tech growth appeared first on Climate Home News.

A nuclear power plant under construction in India (Source: Petr Pavlicek/IAEA)

By RTCC Staff

A diminished nuclear future would lead to less energy security, higher import costs and increased carbon dioxide emissions, according to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) World Outlook Report.

The IEA explored a scenario whereby no further OECD nuclear power plants are built, only half of the predicted reactors in developing countries go ahead and the lifetime of existing reactors are shorter than expected. It found that despite a boost in renewable sources, emissions would rise.

“We have looked at the implications of Fukishima,” said Fatih Birol, chief economist, IEA. “We know that many countries, including some that rely on nuclear power, are discussing the future of the technology. We have calculated what the consequences of a low nuclear future would be. The implications of this are alarming.

“On one hand renewables will receive a boost but the bad news is threefold. It will be bad for the economics of energy production, bad for energy security and bad for climate change. Coal demand would jump by twice the current level of Australian exports. Gas demand would increase by two-thirds of Russia’s exports and CO2 emissions would swell by the equivalent of France and Germany’s combined output.”

The group also called for countries to consider their post-nuclear future carefully before committing to nuclear shutdowns.

“Phasing out gives you less eggs in your basket,” said Birol. “If you are not going to proceed with nuclear you must think about what will it cost to replace this generation, what will be the consequences for your energy security how will it affect your renewable plans and obligations.

Germany announced its intentions to phase out its own nuclear power capacity by 2022 with eight reactors already switched off. The short term response was to increase production at its own fossil fuel plants and to import electricity, largely from Polish coal powered generation. In the long-term, it will build 12 additional coal plants of its own.

The post IEA report questions wisdom of nuclear shutdowns appeared first on Climate Home News.