Inspenet, July 9, 2023.
As France’s Constitutional Council prepares to issue new provisions endorsing the new nuclear power program, which includes the implementation of new nuclear reactors , around 800 scientists have united on a platform to demand an end to the new nuclear program.
The French government is currently defining its action plan to reactivate nuclear energy. However, some members of the scientific community oppose government plans to speed up the development of new sites and make it easier to maintain existing power plants.
For its part, this platform is requesting the cessation of the new French nuclear program. It should be noted that the state plan involves the construction of six new nuclear reactors, with a total estimated cost of around 60 billion euros (65.35 billion dollars).
French scientists oppose nuclear power program
Opposing scientists argue that this would divert needed resources over a long period of time to address the combined challenges of climate change , biodiversity loss, widespread pollution, and resource depletion.
The undersigned scientists have also highlighted concerns related to nuclear waste management and nuclear power monopoly in energy development policies.
They have pointed out that at present it is extremely difficult to express criticism of nuclear technology, due to its double nature of industrial and military secret, which limits the debate in laboratories and institutes related to it.
Furthermore, scientists caution against the notion of nuclear power being considered as a sustainable energy source in the context of the climate emergency.
Likewise, they emphasize that the scarcity of fresh water and the decrease in the flow of rivers, related to a future chronic drought in France, as well as the risks of flooding in coastal areas due to the rise in sea level and the frequency of climatic events extremes, will significantly hinder the operation of nuclear facilities.
Similarly, the scientists also highlight that the cooling of nuclear power plants represents the third source of water consumption in France.
According to data from the Ministry for Ecological Transition, nuclear energy currently uses approximately 12% of water resources, lagging behind agriculture and drinking water consumption.
Another aspect highlighted by the scientists is the fact that betting on new nuclear reactors, whose first launch would not take place before 2037 in the best of cases, will not make it possible to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions immediately, such as required by the climate emergency.
On June 21, the Constitutional Council validated the law that seeks to reactivate nuclear energy . However, the institution found critical aspects in 10 of the 30 articles that make up said law. Specifically, it rejected amendments to the energy code that sought to incorporate low-carbon hydrogen into the objectives of the national energy policy and the multi-year energy program.
However, the council recognized that the proposed nuclear development is justified by its contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and its importance for environmental protection and France’s energy independence.
In this regard, the council stated: “It is not for the Constitutional Council to determine whether the objectives set by the legislator could have been achieved by other means, since the methods adopted by law are not, in the current state of scientific and technical knowledge, manifestly inadequate to achieve these ends”.
Source and photo: https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/07/06/french-scientists-calls-for-suspension-of-new-nuclear-energy-program/
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