Canadians for Nuclear Energy support nuclear's role in fighting climate change

To the Editor:

Many residents of Kincardine work directly or indirectly at one of the largest nuclear plants in the world, Bruce Power. In the context of the two global challenges that face us, climate change and COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Kincardine is at the forefront of our solutions. 

Bruce Power provided 70 per cent of the energy needed for Ontario to get coal off of our grid which made Ontario a climate leader in terms of our ultra-clean electricity, and saved thousands of lives that would have otherwise been lost to air pollution. Every year, the plant also produces enough Cobalt-60, a medical isotope used to sterilize much of the world's personal protective equipment which is vital in the fight against the pandemic. 

Canadians for Nuclear Energy is a new grassroots, non-profit organization, made up of environmentalists, and health and labour advocates. We see Canadian nuclear energy as the keystone technology for fighting climate change, protecting clean air and keeping our economy healthy.

Up until now, there has not been a non-industry associated civil society voice advocating for the benefits of nuclear energy. This year, we created a House of Commons petition signed by almost 6,000 Canadians and an open letter signed by many notable Canadian and international figures, calling for our government to support this sector as a vital part of a green recovery.

To learn more about our work and campaigns and to join our movement, visit  www.canfornuclearenergy.org or www.C4NE.ca.
 

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The following is an open letter to all from the Canadians for Nuclear Energy:

Nuclear: A made-in-Canada climate change solution

Canadians for Nuclear Energy, a grassroots group of environmentalists, and health and labour advocates, is joined by climate scientists and prominent figures from around the world in supporting Canadian nuclear energy as a keystone technology for climate mitigation and as a backbone of a green recovery in the aftermath of COVID-19.

Nuclear’s role in fighting climate change should not be controversial. In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made it clear that the world needs to dramatically increase nuclear energy to meet our climate commitments. All four of the decarbonization pathways examined by the IPCC, see a prominent role for nuclear power. Three pathways call for an increase of between 150-501 per cent.

Nuclear power emits no carbon dioxide (CO2) or air pollution. Its entire lifecycle carbon emissions are as low as wind and one-quarter that of solar, all without requiring battery or fossil fuel back up. Nuclear has a proven track record of displacing fossil fuels. In Ontario, nuclear energy provided 90 per cent of the power needed to phase out coal. Air quality improved dramatically, with smog days dropping to zero in 2014 from 53 in 2005. The Ontario Power Authority has called this the single greatest greenhouse-gas reduction measure in North America.

Beyond the health benefits of zero air pollution electricity, our nuclear fleet has played a vital role in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. We produced enough Cobalt-60, a medical isotope specifically made in CANDU reactors, to sterilize 20-billion surgical gloves, masks or COVID-19 swabs in 2020.

Energy density is the secret to nuclear energy’s environmental benefits. Gram-for-gram nuclear fuel contains one-million times more energy than fossil fuels. As a result, nuclear requires a tiny fraction of the mining, processing, infrastructure and land, compared to every other source of energy including renewables.

This energy density also means that the amount of waste created is very small. All of the spent nuclear fuel produced in Canada since the 1960s would fit inside one hockey rink piled up 30 feet, or less than one telephone pole high. Nuclear is the only energy source that fully isolates its waste from the environment and our spent nuclear fuel has been safely stored without harm to a single person in more than 60 years.

Canada is well-positioned to be a climate leader with our home-grown nuclear technology, skilled nuclear workforce and experienced regulatory agencies. It's also good for our economy. Nuclear plants across Canada employ between 1,000-4,000 full-time workers each, most of them in high-quality, skilled, union jobs.

In total, 60,000 Canadians are employed across our nuclear supply chain from our state-of-the-art uranium mining to the skilled trades people and engineers working at our nuclear generating stations. Canadian nuclear is 95-per-cent made-in-Canada, meaning almost every dollar spent on fighting climate change with nuclear stays within the Canadian economy. This is truly unique.

It’s time to spread Ontario’s nuclear success story to high-emitting provinces, such as Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia. Small modular reactors (SMR), in particular, will have a vital role to play in decarbonizing grids in less-populated provinces, and replacing air-polluting diesel generation in rural and remote communities, as well as in such sectors as mining. The SMR road map is an exciting step in that direction.

We believe that Canada finds itself at a crossroads as it emerges from the economic challenges of COVID-19 into the ongoing crisis of climate change. In the context of the IPCC call for increasing nuclear energy, there is a highly-effective, made-in-Canada solution with a demonstrated track record of rapid and deep decarbonization. It's time to build on Canadian nuclear expertise and use nuclear energy to its full extent as a vital part of Canada’s climate-change response.

Sincerely,

Dr. James Hansen
Director of Climate Science, Awareness and Solutions Program
Columbia University Earth Institute

Dr. Kerry Emanuel
Professor of Atmospheric Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Madeleine Redfern
Former Mayor of Iqaluit
President Ajungi Arctic Consulting
Co-chief executive officer, CanArtic Inuit Networks

Jay Harris
Indigenous Energy Consultant
Cowessess First Nation

Andrew Weaver
Former Leader of the Green Party of British Columbia

Steven Pinker
Cognitive psychologist, linguist and popular science author

Carl Page
Founder and President, Anthropocene Institute

Paul Acchione
Past-President of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers

Tom Hess
Grid Operations Specialist and Trainer
Former IESO Shift Supervisor

Dr Geraldine Thomas
Chair in Molecular Pathology Faculty of Medicine Imperial College London
Director of the Chernobyl Tissue Bank

Wade Allison
Emeritus Professor of Physics University of Oxford

Dr. Douglas Boreham
Division Head of Medical Sciences at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine
Professor of Medical Physics and Applied Radiation Sciences

Anton Van Der Merwe, MD PhD
Molecular Immunologist
Co-founder Doctors for Nuclear Energy

Zion Lights
Founder and Editor of Extinction Rebellion Hourglass newspaper
UK director Environmental Progress

Dr. John Hollingworth
Founding member of Canadians Physicians for the Environment

Kirsty Gogan
Founder of Energy for Humanity

Mark Watson
Executive Assistant to the Executive Secretary-Treasurer
IBEW Construction Council of Ontario

Myles Sullivan
Assistant to the Director United Steelworkers, District 6

Peter Moss
President, United Steelworkers Local 1568

Dave Trumble
Vice-President, Grey Bruce Labour Council

Ross Galbraith
Business Manager, IBEW Local 37

John Wabb, President
Canadian Union of Skilled Workers