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EU Commission to sign away billions on nuclear fusion
Friends of the Earth deplore wasted funds and push for renewable alternatives

Brussels, 24 May 2006 - Friends of the Earth Europe today deplored the signing away of €3.6. billion by the European Commission. The money is to be wasted on the next generation of nuclear fusion reactor, in the founding agreement for the International Thermal Experiment Reactor (ITER). [1]

This commitment by the EU will be made even though there is no evidence that nuclear fusion will ever provide a commercially viable energy source. The agreement will also be signed by Canada, China, India, Republic of Korea, Russia and the USA.

Silva Hermann, energy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Europe said, “Nuclear fusion may never be economically or technically practical. It is a new technique that has been a few decades away from reality for nearly 50 years. This goal of commercial viability has become a moving target and we have no guarantee that it will ever actually be reached [2]. Even fusion’s most ardent supporter, French President Jacques Chirac, admits that it won’t be available commercially until the end of this century. [3]”

“In signing this agreement today, the European Commission has got its priorities wrong. Investment in energy efficiency and renewables is the only reliable way to guarantee energy security. Giving billions of Euros to a single nuclear project that is so far from reality is ill judged and irresponsible.” Hermann added.

“Even if fusion does come through as an option, it will still carry risks of proliferation and radioactive contamination. Friends of the Earth Europe calls on the European Commission to withdraw from the fusion project. Funding should instead be channelled into EU research and development programmes to develop sustainable and environmentally-friendly energy technologies, like solar, wind and biomass,” she noted.

Despite the involvement of seven international parties in the project, the EU will fund over one third of the total construction and operating costs of the ITER, through Euratom. In order to pay for its share of the reactor, the Commission has proposed to a double the annual funding of nuclear fusion in the proposed Framework Programme for research and Development [4].

Losing out to nuclear fusion in the budget shake-up is the fund for other energy research and development. This pot of money for energy could have been spent on Research and Development for energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.

Nuclear fusion is a new technique in development that involves the release of a large amount of energy when two atoms are merged together. (In contrast, in current nuclear power stations, energy is released by splitting atoms in a process called fission). In total the EU Commission proposes to allocate two thirds of its energy budget to nuclear technology – including fission and fusion. This proposal is yet to be approved by the European Council and the European Parliament and Friends of the Earth Europe is calling on these institutions to reject the Euratom budget proposal. [4]

Contacts:

* Silva Hermann, Friends of the Earth Energy campaigner: +43 181 257 3041, silva.hermann@global2000.at
* Rosemary Hall, Communications Officer at Friends of the Earth Europe: +32 485 930515, rosemary.hall@foeeurope.org

Notes:

[1] http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/02/st07/07124en2.pdf and http://www.iter.org/index_newsroom.htm

[2](March 2002) report "Kernfusion -Sachstandsbericht" - TAB Arbeitsbericht Nr. 75) drawn up by the German Parliamentary TA body, TAB (Büro für Technikfolgen-Abschätzung beim Deutschen Bundestag). The full report in German can be obtained by writing to: Büro für Technikfolgen-Abschätzung beim Deutschen Bundestag Neue Schönhauser Strasse 10 D-10178 Berlin

[3 http://www.csvts.cz/cns/news06/060111f.htm
" Mr Chirac said, “the domestication” of the sun’s energy is on the horizon for the end of the century."

[4] Comparison of 6 th and 7 th Framework Programmes

The total budget for research and development across the European Union has increased from €4.4 billion per year in the 6 th Framework Programme to €7.17 in the 7 th, a 160% increase, while the energy budget has only increased by 130%.

Friends of the Earth Europe campaigns for sustainable and fair societies and for the protection of the environment,
unites more than 30 national organisations with thousands of local groups
and is part of the world's largest grassroots environmental network, Friends of the Earth International.

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