Nuclear Energy: Climate Change Solution or Controversial Issue?, Tesine universitarie di Crescita e Globalizzazione

Scarica Nuclear Energy: Climate Change Solution or Controversial Issue? e più Tesine universitarie in PDF di Crescita e Globalizzazione solo su Docsity! Nuclear Energy is really the only one solution to climate change The observance of the environment’s health is today a worldwide struggle. The issue of climate change, in particular, requires an urgent solution. It is caused, generally, by the use and burning of fossil fuels. The consequent release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the air quickens the ‘greenhouse effect’. The increasing Earth’s temperature can have severe consequences, not only on the environment, but also on people’s health, water supply, food production and the overall economy. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), states that Earth temperature might rise between 1,4 and 5,8 degrees in the next decades. Studies has shown that limiting the rise to 1.5°C by 2030 would reduce the risks associated with climate change. A solution might be a major usage of nuclear energy, since it is believed to be safe, sustainable and CO2 free. Nevertheless, people are well aware of the potential danger that nuclear reactors might cause and already caused in the past. This essay analyses pro and cons of nuclear energy to evaluate if it is the perfect solution. At the 2018 United Nations Conference on Climate Change, Fatih Biròl, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, affirmed that ‘We need a secure and sustainable energy supply and I do believe nuclear has an important role to play.’1 Nuclear energy is indeed low carbon, and can be deployed on a large scale in the time frame required. Some countries, such as France, have already successfully decarbonized much of its electricity in under 20 years by building nuclear reactors. France generates over 70% of its electricity from nuclear power today. Almost all proposed pathways by IPCC suggest an increased role for nuclear power. Agneta Rising, World Nuclear Association Director General, stated: ‘The IPCC report highlights the proven qualities of nuclear energy as a highly effective method of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as providing secure, reliable and scalable electricity supplies.’2 Nuclear industry leaders might claim that nuclear energy is the best solution to combat climate change; but studies and researches has shown that nuclear energy actually does produces greenhouse gases, and it’s an expensive solution, too. Nuclear energy produces greenhouse gases at every step, from the mining and the enrichment of uranium to the building and dismantling of the reactors. A study published by Sovacool Benjamin K. in 2008, ‘Valuing the Greenhouse gas Emission from Nuclear Power: A Critical Survey’, shows that nuclear power stations produce around 50% more greenhouse gas emissions than all renewables. Furthermore, the constant modernization of nuclear technology is the cause of rising construction costs in the last decades. Between 2002 and 2008, costs for nuclear plant construction rose from $2 billion per unit to $9 billion per unit. Renewables are actually more expensive than nuclear energy and nuclear investors claim that it has relatively small amounts of waste that can be safely stored and eventually disposed of. According to the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2018, the cost of electricity in China from onshore wind, solar PV and offshore wind is respectively 16%, 50% and 140% higher than nuclear power. Nuclear industry states that Nuclear power is the most sustainable and cost-effective option for generating electricity. Nuclear waste storage, as nuclear investors claimed, is not an irrelevant problem; nuclear waste is extremely dangerous material and it needs to be safely managed as soon as possible. 300,000 tons of nuclear fuel have already been accumulated worldwide. Nuclear countries plans on burying the waste until now have turned into a complete fiasco. Countries still have to find permanent repository sites. The only two spots found until now (in France and USA) never completed the construction of the sites because of pushbacks from the inhabitants in the surrounding areas, worried for their own health. This is an unacceptable burden that will be placed on all future generations. In conclusion, even if nuclear energy was climate-friendly, it could not do enough in the fight against the climate change. It is only used to produce electricity, and electricity itself only accounts for approximately one third of greenhouse gas emissions. Its small contribution to the planet cannot justify the risks it brings along. Bibliography Nuclear energy and climate change Available from: http://www.world-nuclear.org/nuclear-basics.aspx[Accessed 2th May 2019] 1. United Nations Secretary-General, Secretary-General's press encounter on climate change (29 March 2018) 2. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Global Warming of 1.5C (October 2018) Valuing the greenhouse gas emissions from nuclear power Available from: https://journalistsresource.org/studies/environment/climate-change/nuclear-power-greenhouse- gases/ [Accessed 7th March 2019] Nuclear power : a false solution to climate change Available from: https://www.sortirdunucleaire.org/Nuclear-power-a-false-solution-to-climate-change-44206 [Accessed 7th March 2019] Citation: Sovacool, Benjamin K. "Valuing the Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Nuclear Power: A Critical Survey", Energy Policy, August 2008, Vol. 36, Issue: 8, 2940-2953. Long-Delayed Vogtle Nuclear Plants Want To Delay Reporting How Much Longer They’ll Be Delayed Available from: https://cleantechnica.com/2019/02/11/long-delayed-vogtle-nuclear-plants-want-to-delay-reporting- how-much-longer-theyll-be-delayed/ [Accessed 2th May 2019] Nuclear must be part of the international response to climate change Available from: https://www.world-nuclear.org/press/press-statements/nuclear-must-be-part-of-the-international- response.aspx[Accessed 4th May 2019] Nuclear power: No solution to climate change | Greenpeace Philippines http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/ph/Archives/asia-energy-revolution/dirty-energy/nuclear-power-no- solution/[Accessed 7th March 2019]