On Monday this week,
inexperienced new energy minister Nadhim Zahawi made a speech on behalf of the UK to the
annual General meeting of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. (full speech is reproduced below)
These are the key career
elements of Mr Zadawi’s CV according to Wikipedia,
Following a career as
European Marketing Director for Smith & Brooks Ltd, Nadhim Zahawi
co-founded pollster YouGov, and was
YouGov's CEO from 2005 to 2010. In 2010 he was selected by the local
Conservative association for Stratford-on-Avon as a
prospective parliamentary candidate in the 2010 general election, and won the
seat. He was subsequently re-elected in 2015 and 2017.
As a backbench MP, he served on the Business, Innovation and Skills
Committee. In October 2013, he became a member of the Number 10 Policy Unit. From 9 January 2018 to 25 July 2019 he served
as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of
State at the Department
for Education, with responsibility for Children and Families.
Since 26 July
2019 he has been Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State for Industry at the business and energy
department, BEIS. (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadhim_Zahawi
)
His expertise on energy
has been less than two months. So perhaps he can be excused for not being very
conversant with details of nuclear, or wider energy policy. But his BEIS departmental
speech writers have no such excuse.
Why, then, have they
chosen to put significant disingenuous
words into the new energy minister’s mouth?
For example, Zadawi
told the IAEA General Assembly: “The UK Government is
committed to tackling the global challenge of climate change. We recently
became the first major economy to set a target of net zero greenhouse gas
emissions by 2050. We believe nuclear energy will play a key role in achieving
this..”
This
assertion misrepresents nuclear’s relationship to carbon emissions: it
represents a significant error of omission:
A recent and comprehensive Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) of greenhouse
gas emissions from differing power generation technologies by Mark Jacobson,
professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, California - and director of its
Atmosphere/Energy Program - have indicated that nuclear CO2 emissions are between 10 to
18 times greater than those from renewables. He is very qualified for such
analysis, being also Senior Fellow at the Precourt
Institute for Energy, and at the Woods
Institute for the Environment, where he has developed computer models to
study the effects of fossil fuel and biomass burning on air pollution, weather,
and climate.
Review of solutions to global warming, air pollution, and energy
security† Energy & Environmental Science, 1 December 2008;
In a newly completed chapter by Professor Jacobson in a forthcoming
energy book, Evaluation of Nuclear Power as a Proposed Solution to Global
Warming, Air Pollution, and Energy Security, in 100% Clean, Renewable Energy and Storage for Everything [Textbook
in Preparation] https://web.stanford.edu/group/efmh/jacobson/WWSBook/WWSBook.html) he argues cogently:
“There is no such thing as a zero-
or close-to-zero emission nuclear power plant. Even existing plants emit due to
the continuous mining and refining of uranium needed for the plant. However,
all plants also emit 4.4 g-CO2e/kWh from the water vapor and heat they release.
This contrasts with solar panels and wind turbines, which reduce heat or water
vapor fluxes to the air by about 2.2 g-CO2e/kWh for a net difference from this
factor alone of 6.6 g-CO2e/kWh.
“Overall,” he concludes, “emissions from new nuclear are 78 to178
g-CO2/kWH, not close to 0”
[See also, a meta-study by Dr
Benjamin K Sovacool, Professor of Energy Policy at the Science Policy Research
Unit (SPRU) at the School of Business, Management, and Economics, part of the
University of Sussex, who serves as Director of the Sussex Energy Group and
Director of the Center on Innovation and Energy Demand [which involves the
University of Oxford and University of Manchester] “Valuing the greenhouse gas emissions from
nuclear power: A critical survey, Energy
Policy, 36, 2940-2953, 2008. https://www.nirs.org/wp-content/uploads/climate/background/sovacool_nuclear_ghg.pdf)
He concludes the following:“This article screens 103 lifecycle
studies of greenhouse gas-equivalent emissions for nuclear power plants to
identify a subset of the most current, original, and transparent studies.
It begins by briefly detailing the
separate components of the nuclear fuel cycle before explaining the methodology
of the survey and exploring the variance of lifecycle estimates. It calculates
that while the range of emissions for nuclear energy over the lifetime of a
plant, reported from qualified studies examined, is from 1.4 g of carbon
dioxide equivalent per kWh (g CO2e/kWh) to 288 g CO2e/kWh, the mean value is 66
g CO2e/kWh. The article then explains some of the factors responsible for the
disparity in lifecycle estimates, in particular identifying errors in both the
lowest estimates (not comprehensive) and the highest estimates (failure to
consider co-products). It should be noted that nuclear power is not directly
emitting greenhouse gas emissions, but rather that lifecycle emissions occur
through plant construction, operation, uranium mining and milling, and plant
decommissioning.”]
Why do BEIS officials not know this?
Later in his speech, Zadawi asserts “some States continue to
challenge the global non-proliferation system”, and immediately fingered Iran.
Yet Iran has no nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, the UK is a self-appointed nuclear weapons
[of mass destruction] state, which pledged in 1968, under article 6 of the
nuclear non -proliferation treaty (NPT) -
which British diplomats helped to draft in the mid1960s – “to pursue
negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of
the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament…”(www.un.org/disarmament/wmd/nuclear/npt/text/)
Not one UK nuclear weapon has been withdrawn from operational deployment in the e51 years since as a result of “negotiations”. The only nuclear weapons withdrawn from service are those deemed redundant by the Government. The UK’s nuclear destruction capacity has massively increased in this period, with the deployment of the mass killer Trident WMD.
The hypocrisy of the speech writer (s) text is spectacular.
UK Statement to the 63rd
International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference
Delivered by
Minister for Industry and Business Nadhim Zahawi in Vienna, 16 September 2019.
Published 17
September 2019
From:
Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy,
and Nadhim Zahawi MP
Delivered on:
16 September 2019 (Original script, may
differ from delivered version)
Madam
President,
Congratulations
on your appointment as President of this Conference. It is my great pleasure to
lead the UK’s delegation this year, and to continue the close partnership
between the UK Government and the IAEA.
It is with
sadness that I reflect on the passing of former Director General Amano. A
committed public servant and friend of the United Kingdom, he led the Agency
through significant challenges and leaves a positive legacy for global peace,
security and development.
Madam
President,
The UK
Government is committed to tackling the global challenge of climate change. We
recently became the first major economy to set a target of net zero greenhouse
gas emissions by 2050.
We believe
nuclear energy will play a key role in achieving this, so our landmark Nuclear
Sector Deal is bringing industry and Government together to ensure the nuclear
sector thrives in the UK.
As work
progresses on our new nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point C, we are exploring
innovative financing models for new build projects and ways to reduce the costs
of decommissioning. We are also exploring the potential of small and advanced
modular reactors.
At the same
time, our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy will develop new talent
and a diverse workforce for the UK.
Mindful of
our responsibilities to future generations, we have also launched consent-based
processes to identify a location for a Geological Disposal Facility for our
higher activity radioactive waste.
Madam
President,
Next year’s
50th anniversary of the Non-Proliferation Treaty is an important moment to
emphasise the importance of its three Pillars, and celebrate the Agency’s
support for its peaceful uses and non-proliferation aspects.
The UK is
among the biggest supporters of the Agency’s Technical Cooperation Programme
for sustainable development. I am proud to pledge our 2020 contribution of
€3.8m to the TC Fund today. I urge all Member States to join us in pledging and
paying their full share.
It is right
that more countries benefit from peaceful nuclear technologies. But this brings
responsibilities to protect people and maintain public acceptance of nuclear
energy.
If something
goes wrong, whether accidental or deliberate, all States must meet their
obligations to openness and transparency with their neighbours.
We strongly
support the IAEA’s work to help Member States implement robust nuclear safety
and security measures. To ensure our own regulations meet the highest
standards, the UK will host an Integrated Regulatory Review Service mission
next month. We encourage others to use IAEA advisory services.
Madam
President,
The
application of IAEA safeguards is indispensable for global peace and security.
All States should ratify an Additional Protocol, the gold standard for
safeguards agreements. The UK’s own new safeguards arrangements are ready and
will ensure we continue to meet our obligations once EURATOM arrangements no
longer apply to the UK.
However, some
States continue to challenge the global non-proliferation system.
The UK calls
on Iran to reverse its suspension of stockpile and enrichment limits and comply
with its obligations under the JCPOA. We welcome the Agency’s monitoring of
Iranian compliance with the deal, and we remain committed to its full
implementation.
North Korea’s
recent missile launches and violations of UN resolutions are of great concern.
We are clear that sanctions must remain in place until North Korea takes
concrete steps towards denuclearisation. Finally, Syria has not met its
safeguards obligations since 2011. This issue must remain on the Board’s agenda
until Syria returns to full compliance with its obligations.
Madam
President,
The UK will
continue to give the Secretariat, and the future Director General, our full
support in fulfilling the Agency’s unique and important role.
Thank you.
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