Greens for Nuclear Energy

We are so used to the absolute rejection of everything related to nuclear energy by the Greens we are familiar with, that this new UK movement comes a bit as a surprise.

Sure, it is their estimation that climate change is an existential threat that underlies their new appreciation of what nuclear as a carbon free energy can do. I can live with that, even if in my opinion there is no climate emergency (read the Clintel declaration).

The Greens for Nuclear Energy home page has a short video that pushes the need for nuclear energy quite far: not only in developing new technologies, but also in keeping in activity running facilities; this is something that would give the German Greens a heart attack!

With Michael Shellenberger, Bill Gates and other well known Greens or former Greens (like Patrick Moore) saying clearly that nuclear energy is a must in a realistic energy mix, will the wind turn ? And how will our EU Greens adapt? Will they change their opinion or stick with their image of a movement that only knows to present a future “to save the planet” made of restrictions in every aspect of life, be it housing, moving, eating or traveling…

You might read this very sober article by Gail H. Marcus in physicsworld (April 2017) “How green is nuclear energy?“, who concludes that “nuclear energy is indeed green, and it offers several other advantages as well. It should, therefore, be considered in this light in decision-making on future energy-supply options”.

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added 10-Apr-2021:

Read this comment on the upcoming ( and partially leaked) JRC report for the EU commission which also says that nuclear energy is sustainable.

Link to the full paper “An Assessment of the Sustainability of Nuclear Power for the EU Taxonomy Consultation 2019“