Push for action on nuclear power

Katharine Murphy, Canberra
November 20, 2006

THE head of the body running Australia's nuclear reactor says the solution to stabilising greenhouse gas emissions involves nuclear energy and being innovative with renewables such as wind power. Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation boss Dr Ian Smith said governments of the world could afford to wait.

Dr Smith said solving climate change would require a mix of energy sources, including nuclear, and if governments started now, carbon emissions could be stabilised.

"I'm convinced you have to start doing it now, we need to get the conditions right to make the decisions (about the energy mix in Australia) in future years," Dr Smith said. "We need to be doing it all, and we need to be innovative about things like using wind power," he said.

His comments were made before the release of a politically contentious report tomorrow by the head of Prime Minister John Howard's nuclear energy taskforce, Ziggy Switkowski, that is expected to find nuclear energy could be used in Australia within 20 years.

Green groups and anti-uranium activists have intensified their long-standing opposition to nuclear power, and are planning to release their own criticism of Dr Switkowki's findings. A new Energy science Coalition of academics, environmental campaigners and retired diplomat Richard Broinowski will join green groups campaigning against the findings of the inquiry.

Mr Howard yesterday urged people with a genuine interest in climate change to respond to the review in a considered way. Dr Switkowski' s report is expected to find that modern nuclear reactors are safer than those associated with disasters at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island.

The report concludes nuclear energy could compete with coal-fired power in Australia because business is expecting government to take steps to make polluters pay for emissions. Mr Howard, backed by the Business Council of Australia, will establish a government-business taskforce to consider a new emissions trading scheme.

Dr Smith said nuclear energy would require a small carbon tax before it could compete with coal-fired power in Australia. "Our view is you have to come to a system that adequately accounts for the environmental damage from all power sources," he said.

ANSTO runs Australia's only nuclear reactor at Lucas Heights and is managing a transition to the new research reactor, OPAL.