The Australian non-government environment sector is united in its opposition to all aspects of the nuclear industry including uranium mining, uranium enrichment, nuclear power, nuclear weapons and the creation and disposal of radioactive waste.
Every aspect of the nuclear industry is dirty, dangerous and enormously costly: costly to workers and communities; to the environment and future generations; as well as financially. There are no adequate safeguards to prevent nuclear proliferation, or to contain radioactive waste for the thousands of years required, or to prevent the use of nuclear facilities and materials as terrorism targets.
The Australian non-government environment sector reaffirms its conclusion that nuclear power offers no solution to the unfolding global warming crisis.
The nuclear industry and some politicians have seized on climate change to try to resuscitate the nuclear industry, but are ignoring fatal flaws inherent in nuclear energy that rule it out as an effective or ethically acceptable response. By continuing to hold up nuclear as an effective response to global warming, proponents distract attention and resources away from existing effective, safe and affordable solutions to rising greenhouse emissions and consequent climate change.
We call on all political parties to reject uranium mining, nuclear reactors, nuclear weapons and radioactive waste dumps in Australia and to work towards their elimination globally. The creation of more high-level radioactive waste must cease and existing stockpiles must be stored as safely as possible in surface facilities close to the site of production.
We call on all political parties to seriously combat global warming by adopting policies in support of the rapid expansion of the renewable energy sector and a concerted Australia-wide program of energy efficiency. These programs and technologies should also be exported widely around the world to help other countries, especially developing nations.
We acknowledge the strong and growing concern of the Australian community over global warming and the community's strong support for real measures to combat global warming, and commits to working with and for the community to ensure governments of all persuasions take responsible and timely action to prevent both catastrophic climate change and contamination of the planet by radioactive waste and nuclear weapons.
[The signatories to this statement, issued on May 8, include the Wilderness Society, the Australian Conservation Foundation, Greenpeace Australia-Pacific, the Nature Conservation Council NSW, the Total Environment Centre, the Conservation Council of SA, the Conservation Council of WA, Friends of the Earth, the Environment Centre North Territory, AID/WATCH, Environs Kimberley, the Conservation Council of the South East Region and Canberra, the Queensland Conservation Council, the Australian Toxics Network, Environment Victoria and the Australian Marine Conservation Society.]
From Green Left Weekly, June 7, 2006.
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