Resolution: Nuclear Power Is Not a Solution for the Climate Crisis
Submitted by Greens Japan
Contact : Rikiya Adachi (+81-80-5259-1558) Satoko Watanabe(+81-90-1004-8529)

The purpose of the Bali International Conference was to confirm achievement of the targets of the first commitment period and to indicate targets for the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. It produced some positive outcomes, such as adoption of the Bali Roadmap, which clarified the way forward towards greenhouse gas reduction targets and global action.

For the Bali Conference, we, the Global Greens, declared that nuclear power must remain excluded from mechanisms aimed at promoting emission reductions under the international climate framework. However, the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report for the first time included nuclear energy as a means of dealing with global warming, although it noted concerns about safety, nuclear proliferation and radioactive waste. Also, countries that had stopped building nuclear power plants, including the UK and the US, have adopted policies in favor of nuclear power, and nuclear industries are looking to export reactors to developing countries under the guise of support for the countermeasure against global warming.

　Global warming will be the main theme at the Hokkaido Toyako Summit in July. Japan, the chair of the Summit, is putting off introduction of trading in emissions rights and environmental taxes. Japan announced that one of the main policies would be the promotion of nuclear energy. And because of the hike in oil prices, even the EU energy commissioner emphasized that nuclear energy should play a vital role in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In the context of the debate on global warming, a dangerous situation is emerging in which many countries could move towards the promotion of nuclear power.

The possibility of the irrevocable nuclear disaster doesn’t even need to be mentioned. Given the huge cost and greenhouse gas emissions associated with constructing and dismantling nuclear power plants, fuel transport, release of warm water, semi-permanent management of waste and maintenance of related systems, as well as the waste of electric power due to the difficulty of controlling power output, we must emphasize once again that nuclear power cannot be a solution for the climate crisis. Last October in Vienna, a meeting of environment ministers from eight European nations considered the role of nuclear energy in responding to global warming. After the meeting, a joint statement was released stressing that the promotion of energy efficiency and renewable energy, rather than nuclear energy, was the answer to global warming.

　Humanity is at an important crossroads. Will we choose a society dependent on nuclear energy, or a sustainable society that uses renewable energy? At this crucial time, in July 2007, the Chuetsu-Oki Earthquake struck Japan’s Niigata Prefecture. It caused a fire at the Kashiwazaki nuclear power plant and shocked the whole world, as it was the first time a nuclear power plant had been subjected to such a violent quake. The ground supporting the plant was greatly distorted, and important facilities and equipment were seriously damaged. The scientists point out that many nuclear power plants operate in earthquake zones in Japan, and this could lead to fatal accidents here.

In addition, a plant to reprocess spent nuclear fuel is scheduled to commence commercial operations in Rokkasho Village, Aomori Prefecture, in May. The release of radioactivity from reprocessing of spent fuel has damaged the health of children, giving rise to childhood cancers in the regions around the reprocessing plants in La Hague in France and Sellafield in the UK.

We, the Global Greens, are sounding a warning that nuclear energy is not a solution for global warming; it instead spells ruin for the future of the human race and the Earth.
We will develop and promote renewable energy in place of nuclear energy and create decentralized democratic societies based on a decentralized energy supply.