Chris Seeks Clarity On Cleanliness Of Nuclear
Sir Christopher Chope: Would you describe, for example, nuclear as cleaner than gas?
David Peattie: I would, yes.
Sir Christopher Chope: Why would you say that?
David Peattie: Because we are not depositing tonnes and tonnes of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. We have a much smaller, measurable quantity of waste, which we can control and ultimately put away safely, without heating up the planet. In that sense, I believe it is a cleaner source than natural gas.
Chair: Just for Chris’s benefit, you might want to repeat what you said earlier about the more efficient decommissioning processes of new nuclear, compared with the historical challenges.
David Peattie: Future nuclear reactors will be much more efficient in their use of fuel, so there will be smaller volumes per unit of power generated in the future than there have been in the past.
Sir Christopher Chope: But your answer is based on the premise that CO₂ emissions are innately dirty.
David Peattie: That is interesting. If clean power is intended to help protect the planet, minimise the impact of humans on climate change and allow us to have energy security, then yes, I am basing it on that premise.
Sir Christopher Chope: The reason I ask is that there is a lot of confusion among members of the public, because obviously they know that CO₂ is not, in itself, inherently dirty, and they do not want to lose access to gas. As we heard from one of my colleagues, there is quite a lot of scepticism about nuclear. People look at Germany and see that it is preferring to carry on with coal rather than nuclear.
David Peattie: Yes.
Chair: They are trying to phase coal out, to be fair, Chris.
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