New analysis: Nuclear reactors a disaster for climate emissions

Climate pollution would blow out by more than two billion tonnes

New analysis has found the impact on climate change of attempting to adopt nuclear reactors in Australia would be the equivalent of emitting double the 2022 annual emissions of the resource state of Oman, every year for the next 25 years.

That equates to an additional 2.3 billion tonnes of climate emissions between now and 2050 when compared to the Australian Energy Market Operator’s Integrated System Plan ‘Step Change Scenario’ that models the most likely energy transformation scenario under current policy settings. 

The federal Coalition has not released the full details of their nuclear reactors plan. This analysis by Solutions for Climate Australia is based on public statements from Coalition leaders, Peter Dutton, Ted O’Brien and David Littleproud, including: a halt to utility-scale renewable energy projects; continuing to roll out rooftop solar; and using gas-fired electricity to cover the gap between coal closing and the proposal for nuclear reactors to come online. 

“This analysis demonstrates that nuclear reactors in Australia would contribute to worse climate outcomes. Nuclear is a worrying distraction from getting on with the urgent job at hand: replacing polluting coal and gas with the sun and wind technology we have right now,” said Elly Baxter, Senior Campaigner at Solutions for Climate Australia.

“Reducing emissions this decade is critical to tackling climate change, but this analysis shows that instead Dutton is presenting us with a nuclear fantasy that would add more than two billion tonnes of carbon emissions. 

“The Coalition needs to show us a real plan for getting on with replacing polluting coal and gas with urgency.

“At the 2022 Federal Election, Australians voted overwhelmingly for more action on climate change. The Federal Coalition lost government in large part because they presented very poor climate policy. What they have proposed with nuclear reactors is doubling down on this mistake, taking a policy to the next election that would not reduce carbon emissions in the current, critical decade,” said Baxter.