P-05-837 Green Energy for the Wellbeing of Future Generations in Wales
This petition was submitted by Welsh Anti Nuclear Alliance, having collected 1,028 signatures online and 288 signatures on paper, a total of 1,316 signatories.
Text of Petition
We call on the National Assembly for Wales to urge the Welsh Government to invest in green renewable energy sources thus reducing the need for fossil fuels and nuclear energy in Wales. More specifically to
· Support emerging low carbon technologies that could put Wales at the forefront of renewable energies and help to slow – down climate change; and
· Invest in energy sources that do not leave a legacy of radioactive waste, spoil heaps and damage to health and the environment.
We applaud the establishment of the "Wellbeing of Future
Generations Act (Wales) 2015", as it offers a huge opportunity to
make long-lasting, positive changes for current and future
generations particularly around clean energy.
We agree with the Energy Statement by Lesley Griffiths 6/12/2016
when she said the Assembly has 3 priorities. First, we will reduce
the amount of energy we use in Wales. Second, we will reduce our
reliance on energy generated from fossil fuels. Third, we will
actively manage the transition to a low-carbon economy. However a
reduction in nuclear should be included as it's not renewable or a
low-carbon option.
Additional Information
Nuclear power stations rely on Uranium to operate and considerable
amounts of carbon are released in the mining, milling and
separation of the Uranium from the ore and then it has to be
transported. Current estimates for Uranium say reserves will last
50 - 70 years and the higher the demand the more and more poor ores
will have to be processed. This will lead to a CO2 balance for
atomic power, which gets worse and worse over time (J. W. Storm van
Leeuwen and P. Smith, 'Nuclear Power: The Energy Balance', www.stormsmith.nl.)
"Nuclear energy is not renewable and Earth's uranium would
eventually deplete meaning that we are effectively depriving our
future generations from using that in new and maybe less harmful
ways in the future." (Sophie Howe - Future Generations Commissioner
for Wales 2018 when supporting the Swansea Tidal Lagoon)
"Claims that nuclear power is a 'low carbon' energy source fall
apart under scrutiny. Far from coming in at six grams of CO2 per
unit of electricity for Hinkley C, as the Climate Change Committee
believes, the true figure is probably well above 50 grams -
breaching the CCC's recommended limit for new sources of power
generation beyond 2030." (Professor Keith Barnham
https://theecologist.org/2015/feb/05/false-solution-nuclear-power-not-low-carbon)
Assembly Constituency and Region
· Brecon and Radnorshire
· Mid and West Wales