A new report, published by 12 civil society organisations from across Africa and Europe, is cautioning against the adoption of nuclear energy in Africa.
Image credit: Lukáš Lehotský on Unsplash
While Angola, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda have all made announcements concerning new nuclear power plants. South Africa has the continent's only operating nuclear power plant, commissioned in 1984 under the apartheid government.
The alarming rise of false climate solutions in Africa ― the nuclear energy misadventure was prepared by campaigners as a collective advocacy report with several strong recommendations that reflect the breadth of civil society’s shared concerns about the development of nuclear energy across the continent.
They are calling for a nuclear-free Africa and encouraging the building of a future powered by clean, affordable solutions.
“The demand for a Just Transition to a post-carbon economy means it must be green, sustainable and socially inclusive. This report lays out the case for why the nuclear energy option is not compatible with these demands. It shows how the nuclear energy lobby undermines and obstructs the need for net zero to be achieved by 100% clean, sustainable, renewable energy,” writes Makoma Lekalakala, Goldman Prize recipient for Africa 2018, in her foreword.
The report gives details on the extent of plans and announcements to roll out nuclear power plants across the African continent.
It explores the numerous reasons why this is not the answer to the continent’s effort to reduce emissions:
- The urgency of the climate crisis means nuclear energy is too slow to deliver
- It is harmful to human health and the environment.
- It is not suited to solving the present problems of energy poverty.
Additionally, it posits that the continent is becoming both a potential testing ground and, in particular, a battleground for conflicting geopolitical influences that are also playing out in the field of nuclear technology exports.
The report’s authors call for an end to plans and announcements to spend billions on building new nuclear power plants. Pointing out that three-quarters of Africa’s climate finance needs are not met, and more than half of the existing climate finance is in debt instruments.
The authors believe that the focus on nuclear energy will severely crowd out already precious and inadequate climate finance for climate mitigation, adaptation and renewable energy generation projects.
The climate emergency has thrown a lifeline to the nuclear power industry. This report suggests that Africa’s energy needs do not require nuclear power, but instead require funding for clean, safe renewable energy sources, of which the continent has an abundance.
