Groups say federal funding of new nuclear reactors is a from tackling climate change
Ottawa, October 20, 2020 — Public interest groups across Canada are criticizing the federal government for funding small nuclear reactor development and are challenging the government to release the research and data that support its strategy.
Ministers Seamus O’Regan and Navdeep Bains last week announced a $20 million grant to Terrestrial Energy in Ontario to continue developing a molten salt reactor. More funding announcements for new nuclear reactors are expected in the coming weeks.
The federal funding for new nuclear energy is opposed by groups from BC to New Brunswick, including the West Coast Environmental Law Association, Friends of the Earth Canada, Greenpeace Canada, Canadian Environmental Law Association, Environmental Defence, Coalition for Responsible Energy Development in New Brunswick, Coalition for a Clean Green Saskatchewan, Concerned Citizens of Manitoba, Northwatch, Sierra Club Canada Foundation, Ralliement contre la pollution radioactive, Équiterre and the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility.
The groups say “next generation” nuclear reactors are a dirty, dangerous distraction from tackling the climate crisis.
The groups charge that the federal government is trying to save the nuclear industry rather than saving the environment and protecting health.
The groups say that:
Small Modular Reactor (SMR) development is too slow to address the climate crisis:
The 2020 World Nuclear Industry Status Report says that developing new nuclear energy is too slow to address the climate crisis – as well as more expensive – compared to renewable energy and energy efficiency. No SMRs have yet been built and the models being proposed will take a decade or more to develop.
SMRs are more expensive than renewable energy:
A Canadian study found that In the past decade, the cost of building solar, wind power and battery storage has gone down dramatically, while the cost of building new nuclear reactors has gone up. Small reactors will be even more expensive per unit of power than the current large ones.
Nuclear power creates fewer jobs than renewable energy:
Renewable energy is one of the fastest-growing job sectors in North America. An American study found that solar energy leads to six times as many jobs as nuclear power for each gigawatt-hour of electricity generated.
There are better sources of energy:
Minister O’Regan has said repeatedly, without providing evidence, that there is no path to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions without nuclear energy. In fact, on the contrary a new study of 123 countries over 25 years found that countries that invested in renewable energy lowered their carbon emissions much more than those reliant on nuclear energy.
SMRs are dirty and dangerous:
The new “small” reactors, proposed to be built across Canada, will produce radioactive waste of many kinds. Some of the proposed models would extract plutonium from irradiated fuel, worsening concerns about weapons proliferation and The federal government currently has no detailed policy or strategy for what to do with radioactive waste, and no design or location for a deep underground repository where industry proposes to store high-level radioactive waste for hundreds of thousands of years.
The federal government has never consulted the public about small modular reactors, which would create environmental risks and financial liabilities for Canadians.
Public Interest Groups Opposing SMR Funding:
Action Climat Outaouais (Que.)Canadian Association of Physicians for the EnvironmentCanadian Coalition for Nuclear ResponsibilityCanadian Environmental Law AssociationCitizens' Network on Waste Management (Ont.)Coalition Against Nuclear Dumps on the Ottawa River (Ont.)Coalition for a Clean Green SaskatchewanCoalition for Responsible Energy Development in New BrunswickCommittee for Future Generations (Sask.)Concerned Citizens of ManitobaConcerned Citizens of Renfrew County and Area (Ont.)Environmental DefenceÉquiterreExtinction Rebellion New BrunswickFriends of the Earth CanadaGreenpeace CanadaThe Inter-Church Uranium Committee Educational Cooperative (Sask.)Leap4Wards Saint John, NBMiningWatch CanadaNorthwatchNova Scotia Voice of Women for PeaceOld Fort William Cottagers’ Association (Que.)Ontario Clean Air AllianceRalliement contre la pollution radioactive (Que.)RAVEN project at the University of New BrunswickSaint John Chapter of the Council of CanadiansSierra Club Canada FoundationSustainable Energy Group, New BrunswickVOICES for Sustainable Environments and Communities (N.B.)West Coast Environmental Law Association (B.C.)
Media contacts:
Kerrie BlaiseTel: 416-960-2284 ext 7224
Eva SchacherlTel: 613-316-9450