Environmental NGO the Green Citizens’ Action Alliance and the international coalition Don't Nuke the Climate have jointly released statements emphasizing that nuclear power is not the solution to the climate problem. This comes after leaders from more than 20 nations, including the United States and Japan, pledged to triple nuclear power generation by 2050 at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai on Saturday.
Green Citizens’ Action Alliance researcher Lin Cheng-yuan (林正原) said in an interview that given the urgency of achieving the 2050 net-zero target, rapid deployment of renewable energy is necessary. He says that the construction time for renewable energy solutions like solar panels or wind power takes two years on average. In contrast, building a nuclear power plant takes an average of seven to eight years making it a slow and impractical solution. Lin added that the issue of nuclear waste remains unresolved to this day.
The Don’t Nuke the Climate Coalition stated that nuclear power is inherently unstable, dangerous, and economically inefficient. It says that from uranium mining to nuclear fuel cycles, including decommissioning and final disposal, human rights violations and environmental pollution are inevitable. The coalition says that the phase-out of fossil fuels is a crucial response to climate change and that proposing false solutions like nuclear power will only hinder genuine climate action.