As of: March 25, 2024, 8:02 p.m
By: Max Schäfer
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At the Nuclear Energy Summit, 32 states committed to expanding nuclear power as a tool against climate change and for independence from energy sources.
Germany reacts calmly.
Brussels – Great Britain wants to invest millions in the nuclear industry in the next few years.
The Tory government is planning to strengthen energy supplies and – militarily – nuclear deterrence in a contested world.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced a commitment of 200 million pounds (233 million euros) over the next few years.
At least when it comes to civil energy supplies, the British are not alone.
“Climate change is one of the biggest challenges we face,” said Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander de Croo at the first international nuclear energy summit on Thursday, March 21, in Brussels, which he co-hosted with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“We can turn it into an opportunity for progress, creating jobs, increasing the quality and resilience of our societies and offering a real future for innovation and our industry,” said de Croo.
“Nuclear energy has all of that.”
“Use the full potential of nuclear energy”
As part of the “Brussels Declaration”, 32 countries from Europe, Asia and North America committed to the use of nuclear energy and to mutual support in its expansion.
According to
Welt,
the participants referred to the goal of tripling nuclear power by 2050, which had already been decided at the World Climate Conference in Dubai in December 2023.
The participants at the nuclear summit in Brussels not only want to build new nuclear power plants, but also spoke out in favor of extending the service life of existing reactors.
They are also committed to using new types of reactors.
“We are committed to realizing the full potential of nuclear energy,” the statement said.
The heads of state and government also called on international financial institutions such as the World Bank to provide increased support for nuclear projects.
They not only emphasized the importance of nuclear energy in avoiding CO₂.
In a crisis newspaper, nuclear power plants ensured independence from foreign energy sources.
“An important trigger for the comeback of nuclear energy was Putin's invasion of Ukraine,” said Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Sweden and Slovakia are responding to increasing energy needs with nuclear power
European countries in particular want to invest more in nuclear power.
According to Welt,
Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson expects
electricity demand to double through electromobility, digitalization and industrial modernization.
As part of a new nuclear construction program, the Scandinavian country wants to bring two reactors online by 2035, with ten more units to follow by 2045.
The path to nuclear power: 32 countries committed to expanding nuclear energy at the nuclear energy summit in Brussels.
(Archive photo) © Uli Deck/dpa
Slovakia also wants to expand nuclear power.
“We invite all manufacturers in the world to submit bids for an additional 1,200 megawatts of nuclear capacity,” said Prime Minister Robert Fico.
The Mochovce 4 reactor is scheduled to go online as early as 2025.
In order to become independent of Russian uranium, Slovakia plans to mine its own deposits near Kurišková.
To date, more than half of Slovakia's energy comes from nuclear power.
The country is also planning to expand renewable energies, but primarily as a replacement for coal-fired power plants.
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Which EU member states are planning nuclear projects?
France is already a nuclear power pioneer in Europe with 56 power plants.
In March 2023, Parliament decided to build six units and created the possibility of extending the life of existing power plants to 60 years.
In addition to the three countries, other EU states are planning further nuclear projects:
Hungary
Bulgaria
Slovenia
Czech Republic
Netherlands
Poland
Estonia
Belgium
Germany reacts calmly to nuclear power summit - Federal Office criticizes gaps in international debate
Germany was not present at the nuclear summit in Brussels.
Despite calls for a re-entry from the CDU, CSU, AfD and FDP, the federal government is sticking to the exit.
Re-entry would be “economically nonsensical because it is too expensive,” said Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) in an interview with Die
Zeit
.
In the course of the calls for an extension of the operating times of the existing nuclear power plants, the minister referred to the small share of the reactors, at 30 billion kilowatt hours of electricity, compared to the annual requirement of 540 billion kilowatt hours.
“It works without her.
[...] Energy prices have been falling for months and our energy supply is secure.”
“It is well known and mutually respected that there are different views among the EU member states regarding the use of nuclear power,” was the reaction of the Federal Environment Ministry to the nuclear energy summit.
The national and international discourse on the future of nuclear power shows that economic and safety issues are “underexposed,” said the head of the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE), Christian Kühn, on Thursday.
New fourth-generation nuclear reactors will not be ready for market use for decades, is the conclusion of a study by the Federal Office.
Green European politician calls nuclear summit “distraction”
“Nuclear power is extremely expensive, it doesn’t work without subsidies, there aren’t even insurers who want to insure nuclear power plants,” said Green MEP Michael Bloss.
“This is just a distraction,” said the energy and environmental politician.
“Renewables are simply the cheapest, the best way to generate energy.” Bloss also points out that this creates independence from Putin.
There were protests by Greenpeace on the sidelines of the nuclear energy summit.
(ms with dpa)