L'ancien président de l'Union soviétique
Mikhaïl Gorbatchev a écrit au Premier ministre britannique
Tony Blair pour le mettre en garde contre l'énergie nucléaire,
rapporte jeudi le quotidien The Guardian. M. Gorbatchev a expliqué
à Tony Blair que l'énergie nucléaire "n'apportait
rien de plus sur le plan économique, environnemental ou
social" et n'aidera pas la Grande-Bretagne ou d'autres pays
à s'attaquer au changement climatique. Le Premier ministre
britannique a annoncé le mois dernier que "le renouvellement
du parc de centrales nucléaires est clairement de retour
à l'ordre du jour", suscitant de vives critiques des
écologistes.
The Guardian, June 8, 2006:
Nuclear power is neither an answer to energy problems nor a panacea for climate change, Mikhail Gorbachev told Tony Blair
Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet president,
has written to Tony Blair urging him not to pursue nuclear power,
which he says does not add up economically, environmentally or
socially, and will not help Britain or other countries tackle
climate change.
In London to talk to MPs about climate change, Mr Gorbachev wrote:
"Nuclear power is neither the answer to modern energy problems
nor a panacea for climate change challenges. It requires huge
amounts of initial capital, while decommissioning plants is very
expensive and costs continue to be incurred long after a power
station are closed."
The G8 group of rich countries will meet shortly to discuss global
energy security, and he fears that with other world leaders Mr
Blair will commit vast sums to develop nuclear power because of
oil price rises and potential gas supply interruptions.
"There is too much at stake to allow short-term political
considerations to dominate G8 proceedings [about energy],"
Mr Gorbachev told Mr Blair.
"The approach by the G8 of facilitating nuclear power lacks
vision, and relegates renewable energy and energy efficiency to
secondary status." While Mr Blair is said to have decided
to invest up to £20bn in new nuclear stations, Mr Gorbachev
urged him to help establish a $50bn (£27bn) "global
solar fund".
Mr Gorbachev, who resigned in 1991 and now works in Geneva, says
in a book just published that he turned against nuclear power
following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in what is now Ukraine.
John Vidal, environment editor.