World Council for Renewable Energy demands global nuke ban

The World Council for Renewable Energy (WCRE) has used the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster and the on-going Fukushima Daichi crisis to demand a global ban on new nuclear power, policies to phase out current plants and a "decisive, immediate move to a 100% renewable world."

In a press statement the WCRE argues that, no matter what the likelihood of a similar event, it can never be excluded. It says renewable energy sources and systems are becoming cheaper all the time, through the mass production of equipment and technical optimizations. They are also much faster to implement than nuclear power plants.

According to the WCRE statement: "Atomic and fossil energy by contrast are becoming constantly more expensive, through increasing extraction costs and environmental damages as well as the increasing technical and safety measures required. Even now the generation of wind power in windy regions is economically cheaper than electricity from new nuclear power plants."

The WCRE is asking governments to:

• Initiate a broad introduction of renewable energies in a consequent manner and to increase their use

• Empower the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) with adequate financial and human resources to enable their vision for a world where renewable energy is accessible in all countries and becomes the primary source of energy

• Underline the end of the atomic power pathway through the cancellation of the remaining privileges for nuclear power

• Counter the threat of a nuclear renaissance in Europe and globally

In particular, the WCRE is calling for termination of the EURATOM agreement, ending the privileged position of nuclear power in the EU. It is urging the redirection of nuclear energy R&D budgets to renewable energy fields, "not least concerning energy efficiency and energy storage technologies."

It says renewable energies are the only realistic alternative to nuclear power. "Their potential is sufficient to make it possible to renounce on the use of nuclear power as well as fossil energy use and to cover the increasing worldwide energy need to fight poverty."