Ziggy gives nuclear energy the thumbs up
25 nuclear reactors mainly on the East Coast of Australia by 2050… That’s a future scenario painted by a review of nuclear energy, released this afternoon by former Telstra boss Ziggy Switkowski. The report, commissioned by the Federal Government, suggests that while nuclear energy is not viable as a short-term alternative to coal-powered plants, which emit high levels of carbon, this could change. Once a price is attached to carbon emissions, the report says nuclear energy will become more economically viable, leading Switkowski to describe nuclear energy as a “viable option”. But green groups and scientists remain unconvinced and claim the parameters of the study were flawed from the beginning. Melbourne University’s Professor Jim Falk, who heads the Australian Centre for Science, Innovation and Society, gave his assessment of the report’s predictions along with Dr Barney Foran of ANU’s Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies and Greenpeace’s Stephen Campbell.