ziggy: carbon trading good for uranium

Carbon trading seed for nuclear
Email Print Normal font Large font Barry Fitzgerald
February 10, 2007

Nuclear energy taskforce leader Ziggy Switkowski believes that adopting a national carbon emissions trading scheme — as proposed by Australia's state and territory leaders — would stimulate interest in the development of nuclear power, something the same leaders oppose.

Speaking after an address to the Uranium Club of Australia in Melbourne yesterday, the nuclear physicist and former Telstra boss said that once an intention to put a price on carbon at some time in the future was made, investment in all forms of "clean" energy — not just nuclear — would be stimulated.

The energy taskforce headed by Dr Switkowski handed its report to the Federal Government late last year.

Among other things, it found there was a case to suggest that by 2050, nuclear power could supply a third of Australia's electricity needs.

First nuclear power could be available within 10 years, more realistically within 15 years. But nuclear power would first need to be made more competitive with coal and gas-fired power by the pricing of carbon emissions.

Dr Switkowski said Australia could go it alone and make a commitment to the pricing of carbon emissions.

"But if Australia was to embark on an aggressive program of greenhouse gas reduction, it should do so only of it believes it has the potential to influence the global trend," he said.

"To do it for any other reason would be misguided, although one might feel morally better."

He said that was why the Federal Government was "hoping to be in a position to join a global trading scheme, once people have confidence that the scheme will make a difference".

Dr Switkowski said that once the framework for a move to carbon pricing was in place, attitudes to alternatives to fossil fuels would change. "Other technologies will be energised more than they are at the moment."

The Federal Government last week issued a discussion paper on Australia entering an international emissions trading scheme while yesterday, the state premiers announced they planned to introduce a national carbon emissions trading scheme by 2010, if the Federal Government failed to act.

age.com.au