Public debate over climate change must include low-emission, baseload nuclear energy, Australian Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane told the opening session of the 15th Pacific Basin Nuclear Conference in Sydney on Monday.
“Nuclear energy could be—I argue it must be—a major part of the global strategy to curb greenhouse emissions,” Macfarlane said, noting that while “there are emissions across the entire cycle of building, maintaining and decommissioning a nuclear power station,” these emissions are “one-hundredth of the total emissions of a fossil-fueled power station.”
“We are now seeing a global collision of economic and greenhouse challenges,” Macfarlane added. “Nuclear power has the potential to bridge that emerging gap between this country’s economic development and the impact it has on our environment.”
For the full speech, click here. And for our coverage earlier this week of Prime Minister John Howard's favorable attitude toward nuclear, click here.
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