South Australia Royal Commission on Nuclear Fuel Chain – update
We must keep an eye on the South Australian machinations towards that State becoming the world’s nuclear hub and waste dump. For that reason I’ve put this new page up on this website – https://antinuclear.net/nuclear-royal-commission/ – it will be regularly updated.
April 6th 2015 South Australia’s Nuclear Royal Commission is due to report its Recommendations by 6 May 2016
Things have gone very quiet now, since the initial announcement about this Nuclear Fuel Chain Royal Commission on 8th February 2015.
So – what is going on now, about this? Well, we don’t know.
We don’t know:
– who will be on the Royal Commission panel, (except for pro nuke leader Kevin Scarce) and who will be their “expert” witnesses
– when submissions from the public will be invited
– what will be the closing date for submissions
We do know – that there’s a format for submissions,http://nuclearrc.sa.gov.au/files/submissions-guideline.pdf and that those submissions must relate to the Terms of Reference, and presumably nothing outside of that.
What we can expect.
I’m betting on a fairly long period of media silence. During that time, the nuclear lobby will be organising all its well paid industry writers to produce detailed, highly technical arguments in submissions for bringing the whole nuclear fuel chain to South Australia.
I’m expecting that the great unwashed – that’s you and I – will be supposed to be intimidated by the legalistic format for submissions. Meanwhile Australia’s mostly ignorant and mostly subservient mainstream media will – in the fullness of time – trot out all the necessary simplistic pro nuclear dribble provided by the nuclear lobby.
SO – watch this space – watch this page – for regular updates on the progress of South Australia’s Nuclear Fuel Chain Commission. AND – you can sign up to get their emails – from http://nuclearrc.sa.gov.au/ – click on “Keep me informed”
New UK law means that nuclear waste dumps can be forced on local communities
Law changed so nuclear waste dumps can be forced on local communities http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/05/law-changed-so-nuclear-waste-dumps-can-be-forced-on-local-communities Legislation rushed through in the final hours of parliament allows local planning laws to be bypassed, seriously alarming anti-nuclear campaigners Nuclear waste dumps can be imposed on local communities without their support under a new law rushed through in the final hours of parliament.Under the latest rules, the long search for a place to store Britain’s stockpile of 50 years’ worth of the most radioactive waste from power stations, weapons and medical use can be ended by bypassing local planning. Continue reading
Guardian Media Group divests from fossil fuels
Guardian Media Group to divest its £800m fund from fossil fuels, Guardian, Damian Carrington, 2 Apr 15 @dpcarrington GMG becomes largest fund yet known to pull out of coal, oil and gas companies in a move chair Neil Berkett calls a ‘hard-nosed business decision’ justified on ethical and financial grounds. The Guardian Media Group (GMG) is to sell all the fossil fuel assets in its investment fund of over £800m, making it the largest yet known to pull out of coal, oil and gas companies.
The decision was justified on both financial and ethical grounds, said Neil Berkett, GMG chair: “It is a hard-nosed business decision, but it is influenced by the values of our organisation. It is a holistic decision taking into account all of those things.”
Berkett said fossil fuel assets had performed relatively poorly in recent years and were threatened by future climate change action, while an ethical fund already held by GMG had been a “stellar” performer and renewable energy was growing strongly. “This means we can adopt socially responsible investment criteria without putting at risk the core purpose of GMG’s investment funds: to generate long-term returns that guarantee the financial future and editorial independence of the Guardian in perpetuity,” he said.
A series of analyses have shown that current reserves of coal, oil and gas are several times greater than can be burned whilst limiting climate change to the internationally agreed limit of 2C. The fast-growing, UN-backed divestment campaign argues that the business models of fossil fuel companies, which continue to spend billions on searching for new reserves, are endangering the climate. The campaign also argues many fossil fuel assets could become worthless if the world’s governments act to curb global warming, a risk taken seriously by the World Bank and the Bank of England.
The Guardian’s Keep it in the Ground campaign is asking the world’s two biggest charitable funds – the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust– to divest their endowments from all fossil fuels. Over 180 groups around the world have already taken this step, including Syracuse University, which on Tuesday committed to divesting its $1.18bn (£799m) endowment. Previously, the largest fund to divest from all fossil fuels was the Rockefeller Brothers Fund ($860m (£582m)), a fortune that originated from the company that became ExxonMobil. Others, including the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, held by Norway, have divested from coal companies……..http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/01/guardian-media-group-to-divest-its-800m-fund-from-fossil-fuels
1 This month
of the week – Disrupting War & Militarism in Oceania. Active solidarity. Radical practice.
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