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Twenty years after Chernobyl disaster: "Nuclear Power? NO Thanks"
200 groups demand Europe-wide end of nuclear power
Brussels, 25 April 2006 - The largest European anti-nuclear coalition of civic society groups since the 1980s today demanded the phase-out of nuclear power all over Europe, as well as the scrapping of the Euratom Treaty. The coalition of more than 200 European non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures in all European countries to this end. The aim is to collect one million signatures and hand them to the European leaders this autumn. (1)
Twenty years after the explosion of the nuclear power plant near the Ukrainian town of Chernobyl, many European politicians are considering nuclear power as an option to combat climate change and to achieve a secure energy supply. (2)
Frank van Schaik, campaign coordinator of the "1 Million Against Nuclear Power Campaign", said: "The nuclear industry is back and trying to sell its outdated and dangerous technology as a solution to climate change. More than 200 European civic society groups representing millions of European are convinced: this is a myth. We call upon everyone to help us put an end to nuclear power by signing the petition."
Nuclear power creates dangerous waste for many generations to come. It is expensive and would not survive without taxpayer's subsidies. Uranium would run out in about 50 years if nuclear energy production is maintained at current level. Nuclear energy can lead to disasters like in Chernobyl and to the proliferation of nuclear weapons via technology transfers. It even emits climate-damaging greenhouse gases from cradle to grave - as much as a modern gas-fired energy plant.
André Lariviere from the French anti-nuclear network Sortir du Nucléaire, said: "The solution to climate change is to stop wasting energy, and massively increase energy efficiency and renewable energies like wind, solar and biomass. Green technologies are available, affordable and create safe jobs".
The recent Europe-wide survey Eurobarometer showed only 12% of the Europeans believed nuclear power is a solution to climate change, against 68% for renewable energy. (3)
Silva Herrmann, energy campaigner for Friends of the Earth Austria, added: "Euratom is a political oddity. Despite the fact that many EU Member States and a majority of European citizens oppose nuclear energy, all member states are forced by the Euratom Treaty to fund nuclear research. The EU Commission even proposed that its Euratom research programme for 2007-2011 include doubling the budget for nuclear research. In addition, new Euratom loans may help build new nuclear power plants in Bulgaria and Russia".
More information:
http://www.million-against-nuclear.net
Frank van Schaik <info@million-against-nuclear.net> or +31 6 20295755
Silva Herrmann <silva.herrmann@global2000.at> or +43 699 14200017
Notes:
(1) The campaign is organised by atomstopp (Austria), Friends of the Earth Europe, GLOBAL 2000 (Friends of the Earth Austria), Sortir du Nucléaire (France), WISE (Netherlands) and Women for Peace (Finland). It is actively supported by more than 200 NGOs.
(2) The Chernobyl disaster occurred on April 26, 1986. According to the recent TORCH report by two leading UK scientists (and commissioned by German Green MEP Rebecca Harms) Belarus, Ukraine and Russia were heavily contaminated, however more than half of Chernobyl's fallout was deposited outside these countries. Fallout from Chernobyl contaminated about 40% of Europe's surface area. About 2/3rds of Chernobyl's collective dose was distributed to populations outside Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, especially to western Europe. About 30,000 to 60,000 excess cancer deaths are predicted, 7 to 15 times greater than IAEA/WHO's published estimate of 4,000.
(3) Europe-wide survey Eurobarometer:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_247_en.pdf
