Europäische Klimaschutzziele sind auch ohne Atomkraft erreichbar

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearch

Authors

  • Claudia Kemfert
  • Clemens Gerbaulet
  • Christian von Hirschhausen
  • Casimir Lorenz
  • Felix Reitz
The upcoming Climate Change Conference in Paris will once again highlight the need for action to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions in order to mitigate climate change. The relevant global energy scenarios are often still based on the assumption that the expansion of nuclear power can contribute to climate protection. The increasing investment and operating costs of nuclear plants, the unresolved issues concerning the dismantling of plants and permanent storage of nuclear waste, and the continuing lack of insurability against nuclear accidents make nuclear power extremely unattractive from an economic perspective. As a result, many nuclear power companies are facing financial difficulties. The nuclear renaissance is a myth: the majority of the around 400 nuclear power stations currently in operation around the world are outdated and will still need to be dismantled after they have been decommissioned. The construction of new nuclear power plants is restricted to a small number of countries, predominantly China. DIW Berlin has modeled a number of scenarios to forecast European power supply up to 2050 and they show that, with a marked expansion of renewable energy sources, Europe can meet its climate targets without nuclear power. The proliferation of more cost-effective renewable energy technologies, particularly wind and solar power, can compensate for the anticipated decline in nuclear power. In a scenario that includes no new nuclear power plant construction at all, renewables account for 88 percent of powergeneration capacity. Nuclear power was, is, and will never be a sustainable energy source and is, therefore, unsuitable for an efficient climate policy. A transition to greater use of renewables is the more cost-effective option overall.
Original languageGerman
JournalDIW Wochenbericht
Volume82
Issue number45
Pages (from-to)1063-1070
Number of pages8
ISSN0012-1304
Publication statusPublished - 2015
Externally publishedYes

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