WWF says nuclear no answer to climate change
04 May 2006
WWF-Australia said today it has never supported nuclear energy as a climate change solution, and that the current debate about uranium mining was a dangerous distraction from the real task of tackling climate change - the biggest threat to the planet.
The Australian Government's current climate change policy would allow a 100% increase in global greenhouse gas emissions, which would lock the world into a three to four degree rise in average global surface temperatures and catastrophic climate change.
"Australia has more renewable resources per person than any other nation on earth - we do not need nuclear power plants in this country," WWF-Australia CEO Greg Bourne said.
Together with other major environmental groups, WWF urges the Australian Government to immediately set interim targets for emissions reduction that put us on the pathway for 60% cuts in emissions by 2050.
Only yesterday, WWF launched a joint report showing the electricity sector could reduce emissions by 40% by 2030 in an affordable and manageable manner. The critical issue is to set targets now.
With regard to uranium mining, which has been undertaken in Australia for decades, WWF-Australia believes that the public requires absolute safeguards to ensure that Australian uranium is only being used for peaceful purposes, that the waste products are being stored safely, and that proliferation cannot occur. Australians must demand these guarantees from our Government and businesses.
