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A renewed interest is being shown in nuclear power. With the climate crisis already pressuring countries to depend less on fossil fuels, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has now created another reason for governments to speed up their search for alternative energy sources.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate ChangeIt has just released its latest version ReportOnly a few days remain to stop the worst effects of climate changes, so nations must immediately decarbonise.
These European countries include FranceThe United Kingdom, Belgium FinlandThey are increasing their nuclear ambitions to combat climate change and deal effectively with the energy security concerns resulting from the backlash against the conflict in Ukraine. Even GermanyA country that has almost retired its nuclear power plants, considered extending the life of its existing facilities, but decided to go with the original plan of closing them down.
What’s drawing these governments towards nuclear power is that unlike fossil fuels, it doesn’t release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and once the technology is up and running, it can pretty much guarantee a steady stream of energy for long periods of time. Questions around nuclear power’s high cost and safety are factors that are preventing countries such as Germany from taking the same path as its peers.
If history is any indication, nuclear disasters can happen. Chernobyl FukushimaThey are still paying the price of the nuclear mishaps which exposed them to radioactive materials.
Meanwhile, in the hottest and driest part of the world, officials and key players met at the Middle East’s first Climate weekTo discuss ways to combat the increasing threats posed by climate change in the region. The Middle East’s dominant role is played by fossil fuels. It is vital to replace them with cleaner energy sources.
Experts warn that the risk of switching to nuclear energy is even greater.
‘Risks must be considered’
As Ghena Alhanaee, a researcher in the field of civil and environmental engineering, told Al Jazeera, “there are many layers of implications if an incident were to occur in the Gulf, given the uniqueness of the region”.
Most of the countries in the area fund their economies almost exclusively from oil and gas revenues. A nuclear accident could cause severe financial losses.
About half of the world’s desalination capacity is found in the region. StudiesDesalination is a process that removes salt water from seawater. This shows that Gulf countries like the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and Kuwait get more that 90 percent of their drinking waters.
“So if you get any nuclear accident in that environment you can start to say goodbye to Gulf desalination plants,” Paul Dorfman, associate fellow at the University of Sussex and chair of the Nuclear Consulting Group, told Al Jazeera.
Simply put, a nuclear accident could threaten the security of energy, water, and food sectors in the region.
“All such risks must be considered by the nations sharing this very unique natural treasure,” said Kaveh Madani of United Nations University, the former deputy head of Iran’s environment department.
When it comes to nuclear power generation, “the appealing side of it is clear, as is the side that could be harmful to the health and environment of its surroundings”, Madani said.
The Gulf region’s nuclear industry continues to grow, with the International Atomic Energy Agency helping some countries develop their nuclear programmes. The kingdom of Saudi ArabiaOne of them is.
As it stands, there is only one active nuclear power facility in the region: Bushehr nuclear power station in Iran, and the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the UAE. Bushehr currently has one reactor in operation and another one is under construction. Barakah, on the other hand, has two reactors in operation and two more in development.
Nuclear energy development in the Middle East is still in its early stages, but the number of plants is expected to increase given Saudi Arabia’s PlansTo take responsibility for its own abilities.
DataThe International Energy Agency (IEA), shows that the energy mix of the Gulf countries is 90 percent hydrocarbons. This releases large amounts of carbon dioxide, methane and other pollutants into the atmosphere.
Nuclear power, on the other hand, is a zero-emission source of energy. It is created through fission. This is the process of splitting uraniumatoms to generate heat that produces steam. The steam is then used to make electricity.
Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the UAE are among the top global greenhouse gas emitters. While their interest in nuclear energy may be justified, the risks of a disaster at any of the facilities could prove to be greater than the benefits.
“There is this paradox about nuclear; one never knows whether it would help you or damage you,” Dorfman pointed out.
Heat is on
Newly released DataTemperatures in the Middle East (MENA) have risen 1.5 degrees Celsius over the past century, which is twice the global average.
This means that the region will bear the brunt of the catastrophic effects of climate changes such as increased droughts, floods, heatwaves that threaten the lives and livelihoods of all its inhabitants.
Extreme weather can also cause damage to nuclear facilities and leave radiation footprints that can last thousands of years. The European heatwaves that shut down or slowed the nuclear reactors of France and Germany in France were a major factor in their demise. 2003 2019This is evidence.
There are many rivalries among countries in the region, making nuclear power even more dangerous.
“They can use one nuclear power programme to build up the infrastructure to at least send a signal that they could eventually develop the capability for nuclear weapons, so there are strategic reasons to want to move in that direction,” Gregory Jaczko, former chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, told Al Jazeera.
When faced with the prospect of going nuclear for whatever reason, countries around the Gulf “need to always think about the unthinkable and should have a chronic unease because this technology, by its nature, is a safety-critical technology and its accident is characterised as low-probability, high consequence,” said Najmedin Meshkati, civil environmental engineering professor specialising in nuclear safety at the University of Southern California.
“If something goes wrong,” said Meshkati, “these consequences will have a punishing impact for the workers, for the company, for the country, and for the entire region.”
