Antinuclear

to 18 Sept – climate and nuclear news – Australia

CLIMATE.  Approaching the First Climate Tipping Point — On Track to Hit 1.5 C Before 2035.   Low Arctic sea ice in 2016 – close to record low level. Marshall Islanders culture threatened: emigration as sea level rises.   Polar bears losing habitat as sea ice melting earlier, and refreezing later. Extreme drought: the impact of climate change and El Nino on the Amazon rainforest. Climate change endangers nuclear facilities, as water supplies heat up and evaporate.

NUCLEAR. In Britain, Prime Minister Theresa May finally gave the go-ahead for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power project. This decision, like New York’s decision to subsidise the nuclear industry, will have global effects.

The decision was probably inevitable, given the circumstances. The factors at play were:

• UK government under strong pressure
• Global nuclear lobby’s pressing need for a new ‘poster’ project to start happening. American  corporation General Electric ready for contracts.
• For France’s nuclear company EDF ,  the Hinkley project is their last chance to regain credibility, market their wares, and avoid bankruptcy.
• For China it’s an important overseas marketing coup, and a prelude to more, and lucrative, nuclear projects in Britain.
• Conflicts of interest: Costain engineering company is in Theresa May’s constituency, and is receiving contracts for work in the Hinkley C nuclear project. Top level former UK advisers and civil servants are linked with EDF, former MPs, especially, (but not only) Tories, now work as nuclear lobbyists and advisers to EDF.  May’s husband, Philip, works for investment company Capital Group. It, in turn, has a nearly 10% stake in French company Schneider Electric, which has been awarded a contract at Hinkley.

For everyone else, especially the British public, it’s  a very bad deal. –  E3G, a leading climate change think tank sets out reasons why going ahead with Hinkley is a massive mistake. It is  a megaproject which could become a “stranded asset”.  After all, Hinkley still might not ever happen.  Renewables are faster and better.

AUSTRALIA

SOUTH AUSTRALIA. Jay Weatherill dithering on when to make a decision about nuclear waste importing for South Australia.  South Australian Premier off to Finland to visit unfinished and costly nuclear waste facility. A nuclear -led economic recovery for South Australia starting 15 years away – no way! says Liberal leader. Taxpayers up for huge costs in South Australia – just for the PLANNING for nuclear waste importing, before any decision. .

Turnbull govt slashes half-a-billion dollars from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency,but doesn’t actually kill it.

September 17, 2016 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina reviews