John Kerry, the US’s climate envoy, defended the statement. “We are not making the argument to anybody that this is absolutely going to be a sweeping alternative to every other energy source,” he said.
“But we know because the science and the reality of facts and evidence tell us that you can’t get to net zero 2050 without some nuclear. These are just scientific realities. No politics involved in this, no ideology involved in this.”
Bill McKibben’s campaign group 350.org were less enthusiastic. Masayoshi Iyoda, a Japan campaigner at the group, said: “There is no space for dangerous nuclear power to accelerate the decarbonization needed to achieve the Paris climate goal … it is nothing more than a dangerous distraction.
“The attempt of a ‘nuclear renaissance’ led by nuclear industries’ lobbyists since the 2000s has never been successful – it is simply too costly, too risky, too undemocratic, and too time-consuming. We already have cheaper, safer, democratic, and faster solutions to the climate crisis, and they are renewable energy and energy efficiency.”
The signatories to the declaration were: Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Ghana, Hungary, Japan, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Sweden, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.
