(521.5115) WISE Amsterdam - At the COP 5 meeting in Bonn, industrial groups and representatives of the "Young Nuclear Generation" group where joined by a few country delegations in their effort to persuade the negotiators that nuclear is one of the solutions in the struggle against the greenhouse effect. Not suprisingly it was mainly nuclear-exporting countries that are trying to get the sales of nuclear reactors to be accounted for under the rules of Joint Implementation; Canada (selling Candus to Southeast Asia), Japan (trying to sell reactors to others in the region) and South Africa (willing to build a new generation of nuclear reactors--the PBMR-- but most probably only if they can sell them to other (African) countries).
Although up till now there is no majority ready to accept "clean air credits" for nuclear reactors built elsewhere, most pro-nuclear countries are quite optimistic. They won't be stressing the issue too much because "soon as it is mentioned there will be a huge negative reaction", according to an Asian delegate.
Canada, for instance, won't be openly advocating nuclear power too often. The Canadian government was advised by nuclear advocates who believe that nuclear energy would be included in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) if it is not specifically mentioned. And this is, according to Mr. Koike, a diplomate working for the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the strategy of the Japan: "The CDM is there to assist developing countries in their goal of sustainable development, so it should be up to the host country to determine what sustainable development is." Never knew the Japanese government and industry where so concerned with the will and destiny of developing countries"
Biggest threat for environmentalists will be that the issue will not be decided on in an internationally binding protocol. This would leave the choice to individual countries, either exporters of nuclear reactors and/or receivers. Vietnam for instance, a country which has been pleading for a nuclear power station over the last thirty years, is very eager to finally fullfill its wish, Canada would probably be willing to almost give-away-for-free a CANDU, because they need to show that the CANDU is still wanted.
Sources:
- CBC News, 11 October
- Nucleonics Week, 4 November
- Private talks with S. Schöne, head of the climate policy unit of WWF Netherlands.
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