Andrew Bolt: The truth about Chris Bowen, the global warming zealot

As Chris Bowen flies to the 28th big United Nations global warming conference he looks increasingly unhinged and irrational insisting nuclear power stay banned in Australia.

Well, this is embarrassing for Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen, just as he’s packed his bags to join the climate circus in Dubai.

How often has Bowen claimed that cutting our emissions by switching to nuclear power – as the Liberals suggest – is a “dumb”, “wrong”, “very bad” and “simplistic” idea pushed by “climate charlatans”?

Yet he’s now flying to the 28th big United Nations global warming conference, where more than 20 countries just vowed to cut emissions by tripling the world’s nuclear power capacity by 2050.

And just to rub that pie in his face, these nations – including the US, Britain, Canada, France and Japan – say they want to develop small modular reactors, which Bowen has blasted as “unproven, too costly and too slow”.

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen. Picture: Martin Ollman

Hmmm. So what does Bowen know about nuclear power that these countries don’t? Or that the countries now building another 60 nuclear plants overlooked?

The truth is this global warming zealot looks increasingly unhinged and irrational in insisting nuclear power should stay banned in Australia.

What’s even nuttier is that no one is asking Bowen to actually build a reactor.

They just want the Albanese government to drop the ban on anyone else doing it with their own cash.

What’s his problem? Either Bowen is an antinuclear hysteric, or he’s just pandering to Labor’s anti-science Left.

I’m tipping the latter. Many in the Left grew up coached into a tribal hatred of nuclear power that fed on lies, much like the global warming movement today.

They’d fondly remember former Labor environment minister Peter Garrett claiming the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 killed “30,000 people”? Real number: fewer than 80 known deaths, says Dr Robert Gale, who treated the injured.

Bowen tries to justify the ridiculous nuclear ban by arguing a reactor would cost billions of dollars and take years to build, yet he’s meanwhile betting on green hydrogen, which is unproven at scale and will also cost billions and take years to develop, if it ever works.

At least nuclear power is a proven technology and pumps out zero-emission electricity, 24 hours a day.

Voters now sense Bowen’s ban doesn’t make sense. A Resolve poll last week showed 49 per cent wanted it scrapped, and just 18 per cent didn’t.

Yet Bowen still yells that nuclear is crazy, when more than 20 countries now say tripling it is key to cutting emissions.

And Bowen runs our electricity system? Freaky.