Prime Minister’s response to IPCC report misses mark on nuclear
As the prime minister talks up new technologies to cut our CO2 emissions he ignores our vast reserves of uranium which could power a clean energy future, James Morrow writes.
Opinion
Don't miss out on the headlines from Opinion. Followed categories will be added to My News.
To borrow and somewhat rewrite an old Chinese proverb about trees, the best time to build a nuclear power plant was 20 years ago.
The second best time is now.
It was quite something listening to the prime minister responding to the IPCC’s latest report on climate change telling us that, once again, time is running out to prevent an apocalypse.
“Technology changes everything,” Scott Morrison declared, insisting that new ideas, not new taxes, were the way to bring down global CO2 levels without taking global prosperity down with them.
But then he went on to talk about things like hydrogen and carbon capture and storage, leaving out the most promising technology of all: Nuclear.
On Wednesday Queensland Senator Matt Canavan announced he was moving amendments to remove legislative roadblocks to nuclear power — a good move even if unlikely to get up, particularly without prime ministerial backing.
The PM would be wise to think again about letting the idea die.
Australia sits on massive uranium reserves, yet we are unable to exploit them.
From an environmental point of view, other industrial nations such as France achieve far lower emissions than Australia thanks to nuclear fuel bought, you guessed it, from Australia.
The economics, increasingly, seem to be stacking up for the technology as well.
Last month Rolls-Royce announced it was making a major move into Small Modular Reactors or SMRs, suggesting a further lost opportunity for Australia. They wouldn’t do it if they didn’t think there was a quid in it.
Removing bans on nuclear would also be a signal to conservatives who feel the Morrison government runs too soft on the culture wars and too hard on Fortress Australia, leaving us cut off from the rest of the world while other nations come out of their post-Covid shells.
If Australia is serious about cutting emissions, hydrogen and carbon capture are great.
But if climate change really is an emergency, then why not go the nuclear option?
Join the conversation
A year after Voice, Labor still trying to silence and divide
Labor remains focused and determined to fundamentally change our liberal democracy, our values and our traditions to something out of a Young Labor socialist left policy document.
Read more
Why having more than one super fund can be good for you
Superannuation fund members have long been urged to combine their accounts to save money, but sometimes it pays to double up.
Read more