A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #345 - Ecology, Energy: Nuclear, false solution, bringing real problems (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

For several years, nuclear energy has been presented as the solution of 
the future which will save us from the environmental crisis. This cloud 
fueled by numerous lobbies must not distract us from our anti-nuclear 
compass. Some elements of analysis ---- During COP 28 in Dubai, around 
twenty countries called for tripling nuclear energy on a global scale by 
2050 compared to 2020. In France, this announcement is in continuation 
of Macron's communication. In 2021, to defend its energy program, it put 
forward the deployment of modular mini nuclear power plants as a 
"sustainable" solution.

In the same sense, on December 11, 2023, during the France 2030 program, 
priority is given to nuclear fusion. These announcement effects, often 
unrealistic in the short term[1], only allow climate reassurance by 
dangling false solutions based on future technologies. Today, nuclear 
fusion is still at the research stage, and large-scale industrialization 
is not for tomorrow, whereas the energy problem was for yesterday.

An ever more effective lobby
In addition to the powerful industrial lobby, "green" personalities 
position themselves as absolute defenders of nuclear power. The most 
prominent is Jean-Marc Jancovici. An engineer and "good" speaker, he 
defends nuclear development in the various media. Despite a fairly good 
analysis of the energy crisis, Jancovici postulates that "capitalism is 
consubstantial with democracy"[2]

What's the point then in questioning our production system, we just need 
to decarbonize it! However, this analysis erases class relations within 
our society. Himself trained within the elite, at Polytechnique, it is 
not surprising that he is incapable of seeing the concentration of power 
within his social class and therefore the imbalance of relations of 
domination inherent in the system. Furthermore, he fails to understand 
that it is capitalism in crisis which is causing the rise of various 
authoritarian movements and endangering the systems of liberal 
democracies throughout the world.

Still according to Mr. Jancovici: "when we see the relationship that the 
Soviet regime had with the environment,[he is]not completely convinced 
that the problem is intrinsically linked to capitalism". It is amusing 
to note that it is indeed the PCF which, on the left, has been the only 
eternal defender of nuclear power in France. Our libertarian critique is 
based precisely on the intrinsic productivism of such technology but 
also its authoritarianism.

Pro-nuclear environmental criticism is satisfied with a partial 
democracy where the representatives of the people (Soviet or French) are 
not accountable. On the contrary, we believe that an ecological society 
can only come about through genuine local and working-class democracy. 
We have been carrying this criticism for several decades in the West as 
we have brought it to the Eastern bloc.

A scientific reality far from announcements
This lobby and this pro-nuclear communication hide the real difficulties 
of the sector to bounce back and face the climate emergency. The various 
new generation reactors (EPR) present multiple economic and technical 
difficulties, as we already highlighted in 2013[3], the situation has 
continued to deteriorate with ever more costs and malformations.

To this decline in technical skills must be added a global decrease in 
the production of electrical energy[4]via nuclear power, mainly due to 
the aging of the fleet.

To operate nuclear reactors, it is necessary to use a very large 
quantity of water. Part of this water is evaporated and the other is 
returned to its natural environment. As climate change causes more 
drought, conflicts over water are appearing all over the planet.

Nuclear power adds additional pressure to this resource. Monitoring of 
the pumped water level and the discharge temperature is carried out by 
the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN).

This state monitoring has the capacity to modify the water temperature 
threshold leaving power plants, as was the case during the summer of 
2022[5]to "deal with the exceptional meteorological situation". 
Unfortunately, these "exceptional" weather conditions will become more 
and more the norm. Thus, defending and proposing the development of 
nuclear power is, at best, a headlong flight, and at worst, climate 
skepticism.

As mentioned in the May 2023 issue[6], the government wishes to merge 
the Institute of Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) with the 
ASN. The IRSN is the independent technical body of the State, providing 
real protection against its authoritarian excesses.

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Energie-Nucleaire-fausse-solution-porteuse-de-vrais-problemes
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