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Pertinent article from Ted O'Brien MP on the 'misinformation' being spread by Climate Change & Energy Minister Chris Bowen on nuclear energy. Bowen would be censored by his own Government's proposed Misinformation Bill, such is his distortion of the facts & omissions to suit his political narrative. Article is paywalled, so copy appears in Comments below. Change the Policy or change the Government. #nuclearenergy #energypolicy Note: Views expressed are strictly personal political opinion only and in no way associated with my employment. https://lnkd.in/gVYpZ3gF

Nuclear is “one among several technologies that will be essential to any credible effort to develop an energy system that does not rely on using the atmosphere as a waste dump,” he wrote in a letter to world leaders in 2013 with other climate scientists. Hansen notes that nuclear can provide enough power for “whole civilizations,” something that would make it easier for small-scale and intermittent renewable energy to fill any remaining gap in fossil-free generation. https://buff.ly/4anCd4y

Australia stands at a pivotal juncture in its energy journey. With the push to replace coal-fired power plants with nuclear energy, the stakes couldn’t be higher. ⚛️ But is nuclear the right solution for our immediate energy challenges? While nuclear might promise consistent power, the long lead times and high costs raise questions. Can we afford to wait 15 years when the climate crisis demands urgent action? Meanwhile, renewable energy, though facing investment slowdowns, offers a more immediate and sustainable path forward. 🌱 Yet, the heavy reliance on coal persists—are we truly doing enough to transition away from fossil fuels? As we debate the future of energy, the question remains: Are we investing in the right solutions for our planet and future generations? Or are we getting distracted by shiny promises that may never fully materialize? #EnergyTransition #NuclearDebate #Sustainability #ClimateAction #RenewableEnergy

Kudos to Peter Dutton for bringing the nuclear debate back on the agenda in Australia. It takes 10 years, often more, to build these. Hopefully a decision can be taken sooner rather than later. Eventually all countries will turn to nuclear for at least. part of their energy needs and the timelines will stretch out even longer. I do not see this as a gas vs nuclear vs wind vs solar debate. We need more of everything because power demand will continue to rise steeply and competitive advantage rests on energy availability, reliability, resilience, economic cost and environmental & social costs - let's just hope the debate does not get hijacked by fanatics and vested interests (often the same lot) without regard for the long-term interests of society as a whole. https://lnkd.in/gyWmzmy3

Just like the bird conspiracy, this nuclear policy isn’t real: it has no scope, no production estimate, no costings, no timeline. But it’s a device that serves a flock of short-term political objectives. It creates a reason to delay decommissioning coal and gas because, like magic, nuclear will provide a short cut. It offers hope to coal communities that they can become home to a new heavy industry. And it sends a message to every regional community that they might not need to host the new renewable energy grid that is being rolled out. Because if you have a choice between looking out across a valley or looking out across power lines, who wouldn’t take the valley? https://lnkd.in/gqCUT4dc

DOOMBERG writes, The lessons from the Indian Point affair are pointed and obvious. Prematurely shutting down perfectly operable nuclear power plants is tantamount to environmental and financial self-annihilation, and it is long past time government leaders stopped listening to those who insist upon such stupidity. It is also time to reconsider the semantics of the energy debate. The superficial partitioning of options between “clean” and “not clean” diminishes the prospect of having serious conversations about trade-offs. Hydro-Québec’s hydropower may be “green,” but there were significant sacrifices made by Mother Nature to get there. Perhaps those are acceptable to the US green agenda when done on foreign soil? Is the safe handling of nuclear waste and the minuscule risk of accidents worth trading for the security commensurate with owning your sources of baseload power? Do we intend to follow Germany over the energy cliff? It might be too late to save New York from itself, but not so for the more than 50 commercially operating nuclear power plants in the United States. May saner heads prevail with those. #nuclearenergy #hydroenergy #energytransition #lng #naturalgas #stagflation #oilandgas

At last the commonsense realisation across the political spectrum that Australia needs a strong, capable public sector is refreshing. My hope is that this new understanding by the Labor and Liberal parties isn’t short lived. The common good is always best served by careful, strategic government intervention. If national governments across the world don’t recognise that their prime responsibility is to balance an economy for the common good of all, and not a wealthy minority they will fail dismally. Governments must balance economies NOT budgets. Running government fiscal and monetary policy isn’t like running a household budget or a corporation, it’s much more difficult and complex. Public utilities and social / economic infrastructure should always remain in public hands. Let’s hope the era of government by consultancy and public sector austerity has ended.

„…The French government presented a draft bill that will set a more ambitious target for curbing fossil fuels and carbon emissions, and pave the way for investments in nuclear and hydro power as it seeks to safeguard energy security. Europe Union nations are stepping up their fight against global warming, while reducing their dependence on imported oil and gas, following the energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago. The draft law, which should be presented to the cabinet around the end of January before being discussed in Parliament, foresees a gross reduction of 50% in France’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 versus 1990. That compares with a previous target for a 40% cut. “The first target is to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions,” Energy Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher said on France Info radio Monday. “This law aims to produce more electricity than we use, because we don’t want to rely on imports from our neighbors,” and “we don’t want be depend on the weather.” In response to a jump in energy prices since the attack on Ukraine, the bill will introduce a new rules for Electricite de France’s nuclear power sales, replacing regulations that expire at the end of 2025. Under an agreement reached with EDF last November, the government will claw back part of the utility’s revenue if power prices are high, and redistribute the proceeds to households and businesses. The legislation confirms a government plan to construct six new large nuclear reactors by 2026, followed by the equivalent of another eight large units thereafter. Some of that extra capacity could be met with smaller “modular” reactors. It will also allow for the introduction of contracts for difference based on nuclear power, mirroring support mechanisms used for the development of renewable energies. The bill would also permit the government to modify the legal framework for operating hydropower dams as France seeks to end a long-standing dispute with the EU competition authorities over EDF’s expired concessions. Assuming EU approval, the change would unlock new investment in hydropower, according to the government and EDF. […] Targets for speeding the rollout of renewable energies, which were presented in October and November, will be published later this year in a decree that will detail France’s multi-year energy planning. Thanks to nuclear power, renewables and energy savings, 45% of France’s energy will be decarbonized in 2030, rising to 60% in 2035, Pannier-Runacher said.“

Joachim Gessner - thanks for sharing. This is a positive sign for the government to push for climate goals, but has anyone worried about the economy and energy prices in Europe? I guess there has to be a risk assessment on climate change risk and short-term economic commitment. #economy #energyprices #investment #climatechange #strategy

"If not artificially suppressed, carbon-free nuclear energy is a direct and existential threat to the continued wasting of financial and environmental resources on weather-dependent wind and solar energy systems. Six climate nonprofits accounted for more than $1 billion of the $2.3 billion in combined annual revenue estimate for the anti-nuclear movement: WWF, Environmental Defense Fund, World Resources Institute, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and Rocky Mountain Institute. If they and their donors were serious about reducing carbon emissions, then they would all be switching sides on nuclear power." #EnergyTransition #Nuclear #Renewables #ESG #ClimateEmergency #ClimateChange #Carbon #Emissions https://lnkd.in/evc_GJT9