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Bonn, Germany, July 19, 2001
Industry leaders from around the world have rallied to encourage negotiators at the UN climate change talks in Bonn to recognize the essential role that nuclear electricity plays in controlling greenhouse gas emissions.
Ninety-nine senior executives from various industry sectors including utilities, mining, technology, manufacturing and engineering have endorsed a statement supporting the use of nuclear power in the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The companies involved are based in Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, Korea, Russia, South Africa and the United States.
The statement reflects the broad support for nuclear around the world as a vital technology for addressing climate change.
The executives point out that nuclear electricity generation produces virtually no greenhouse gas emissions and are calling on governments negotiating an international emission control regime to acknowledge nuclear electricity as a necessary and uniquely effective part of the solution to the issue of climate change.
By avoiding the need to burn fossil fuel, nuclear electricity generation worldwide avoids emissions of about 1.8 billion tonnes of CO2 a year. In the European Union nuclear energy accounts for the avoidance of 550 million tonnes - a saving equivalent to taking 140 million cars off the road. In the United States, without nuclear electricity the emissions reductions to achieve baseline levels in the original climate change treaty would double. In Japan, nuclear avoids 20% of the total current emissions.
The executive statement complements ongoing activities of the International Nuclear Forum (INF), an umbrella group of national and international nuclear associations from around the world.
The INF is made up of the Canadian Nuclear Association (CNA), the European Atomic Forum (FORATOM), the European Nuclear Society (ENS), the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF), the Korea Atomic Industrial Forum (KAIF), the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) in the United States, and the World Nuclear Association (WNA).
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