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Call for debate on nuclear energy issues

Yvo de Boer

NEW DELHI: The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) believes that there should be extensive discussions with the public on all issues related to the use of nuclear energy as a safer alternative to traditional forms.

Talking to reporters here on Wednesday, UNFCCC executive secretary Yvo de Boer said nuclear energy had a role to play in meeting the commitments of halving the emissions by 2050, but there were issues related to its use. “Also, the use of nuclear energy would differ from country to country as there is a strong public opposition to it in some countries, apprehensions regarding waste disposal and even security,” he said.

Mr. de Boer said that while we were talking in terms of reducing the global emission by 50 per cent, the reality was that the emission would actually go up by 50 per cent as the investment on meeting the energy demands of the future would be $20 trillion. “All countries in the world have concerns over energy pricing and security,” he said.

However, the biggest challenge faced by the world at present was striking a balance between halting climate change and enhanced economic growth for poverty alleviation in the developing countries. “We need to take some bold actions by engaging developing countries such as India, China, South Africa and Brazil, but they can only be engaged if their economic growth is not checked,” Mr. de Boer explained.

On the post-Bali scenario, he said there were differences of opinion among the nations but the mood was positive. The European Union wanted internationally binding targets while the United States sought “aspirational” measures. Agreeing that there was not enough money in the Adaptational Fund, Mr. de Boer said the fund had just been launched and he expected it to grow in future once the 2 per cent levy on Clean Development Mechanism was in place.

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