After years of trying snitch Among the solutions to face the climate crisis, nuclear energy is becoming increasingly green. And during this Cop29 climate summit in Baku, he went even further.
The atomic energy industry has always participated in the climate summit to present itself as an alternative to CO2 emissions from fossil fuels. But despite its marketing, the star undoubtedly remains renewable energies.
However, a year ago, a change of direction was noted during the Dubai Climate Summit when the first global review of the Paris Agreement expressly mentioned, after renewable energies, “nuclear energy” among the “zero or low emission technologies” including “”. deployment” had to be “accelerated”. The International Atomic Energy Agency called this “a testimony to the growing recognition of the role of nuclear power in the transition to clean energy.”
Driven by this inertia, on November 12 – while COP29 was already underway – the American government published its objectives to “develop nuclear energy in the country”. And not a little: the idea is to triple the capacity of its nuclear power plants in 2050. “A wake-up call for the industry to act,” explains the roadmap. The document includes “the construction of large and small reactors, the expansion of existing ones and the improvement of licensing procedures.” The White House linked this plan to “the urgency of fighting climate change.”
A day later, six countries announced at the same COP29 that they were joining the declaration made by more than 20 states a year ago in Dubai to “recognize the crucial role that atomic energy plays in objective of limiting global warming to 1.5°C. “. In this declaration, the signatories “commit to tripling their nuclear capacity”, to “mobilizing investments in nuclear power plants” and “supporting the construction of reactors”. The group is made up, among others, of France, Japan, Canada, Finland, Hungary, Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, Netherlands, Turkey , the United Kingdom and Morocco.
At the conference of heads of state and government organized during this summit, the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, also gave a speech in favor of nuclear energy. “Currently, there is no single alternative to fossil fuels. We must have a realistic vision and use all available technologies, not just renewable ones,” he said.
The director general of the World Nuclear Association, Sama Bilbao y León, stressed in Baku that these movements “highlight the essential role that atomic energy plays in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement in an equitable and economical manner “.
“Nuclear now has the largest banks in the world to support its growth,” explain Bilbao and León; “It has attracted investment and interest from top tech companies and increased its public support.”
9% of global electricity, the historic minimum
This organization presents its product as “clean energy” and ensures that only hydroelectricity produces more electricity without emissions in the world. In reality, it generates 9% of the world’s electricity, which is its lowest level since its peak of 17.5% in 1996. The director of the Atmosphere and Energy program at Stanford University (United States) , Mark Jacobson, explains to elDiario. “Nuclear is declining, not increasing, and no amount of pressure from lobbyists will change that fact. » “Even if some repeat it, there is no nuclear solution. “It’s magical thinking,” he emphasizes.
Nuclear power is declining, not increasing, and no amount of pressure from lobbyists will change that fact. It emits between 9 and 37 times more CO2 than wind power. Even though some repeat it, there is no nuclear solution. It’s magical thinking
Mark Z. Jacobson
— Director of the Atmosphere and Energy Program at Stanford University
And yet, the nuclearists They specify that this is a way to achieve climate neutrality: “In 2023, nuclear reactors made it possible to avoid the emission of 2 billion tonnes of CO2 if this electricity had been produced with coal. » And they assure that currently, “64 reactors are under construction in 15 countries”. They mention Poland, the Philippines and Ghana as future members of this club.
Jacobson, professor of civil and environmental engineering, responds that in reality “nuclear energy emits between 9 and 37 times more CO2 than wind energy.” The calculation is carried out taking into account the entire cycle of obtaining electricity: obtaining the uranium, manufacturing the concentrate, building the plants, then their dismantling and waste management. All of this “uses large amounts of fossil fuels.” And to conclude: “Not to mention the safety, waste and health risks linked to uranium mining. »
“It is clear that the right and the far right are betting on nuclear energy as part of delayed speeches on the progress of renewable energies,” says environmental consultant Julen Rekondo. And he adds that “its defenders must take advantage of the COP, as fossil fuel lobbyists do, but to say that this energy is a solution to climate change is a total error. It is not profitable and no one will get involved in projects if there is no public aid. “This has no future.”
It is clear that the right and the far right are betting on nuclear energy in the context of lingering discourses on the progress of renewable energies, but claiming that this energy is a solution to climate change is a complete mistake. He has no future
Julen Rékondo
— Environmental consultant
Overall, the industry received good news on several fronts. Before these pushes during the climate summits, the European Union had already made their lives easier by classifying nuclear energy among green energies in 2022.
During the development of this taxonomy, the third vice-president of the government, Teresa Ribera, assured that “neither nuclear nor gas meets the scientific and legal criteria to be considered sustainable or benefit from the same treatment as technologies undeniably green.
But this battle was lost and the European Parliament ended up voting in favor of this new classification. He supported the Commission’s idea to consider that private investments in gas and nuclear energy play a role in the ecological transition and contribute to mitigating climate change.
Once this decision was voted on, Ribera herself, during her consideration to become vice-president of the Commission in November 2024, responded to an MEP that “each country has the power to choose how it wants its electricity mix, some have opted for nuclear power, and others for other technologies. All options are valid and deserve respect.
