ENERGY-FRANCE: NGOs Press For Alternatives to Nuclear Power

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Angeline Oyog

PARIS, Dec 16 1994 (IPS) - A coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in France are pushing their own proposals for a sustainable future in a debate on alternatives to nuclear-run power which is at the moment dominated by the nuclear industry.

High on the list of the organisations’ proposals is a demand for democracy and transparency in the decision-making process on matters of energy now almost entirely in the hands of the state- run company Electricity of France (EDF).

For the past several years, the company has had a quasi- monopoly which has allowed it to impose its choices without question, complained the organisations in a White Paper containing 124 concrete proposals to change public policy on energy.

Despite the constraints, however, the NGOs stress there exists a variety of alternatives to nuclear power which are less harmful to the environment and public health in the North as well as in the South.

The White Paper was released this week after the committee of experts led by former Industry Minister Jean-Pierre Souviron and tasked by the government to conduct a national debate on energy policies submitted its conclusions to the authorities in November.

The Souviron paper, which echoed some of the NGOs’ analyses and concerns but criticised by EDF, was also presented this week to the National Assembly which is expected to enact legislation on energy in the coming months.

According to Pierre Radane, specialist at the European Environment and Energy Strategies Evaluation Institute (INESTENE), the long legislative process could be influenced by vested interests and stray far away from the recommendations of the Souviron committee.

The publicity campaign now being driven by both EDF and the operator of France’s nuclear reactors COGEMA on television has not escaped the notice of environmental organisations.

Commenting on the campaign, Jean-Luc Thierry, person in charge of the anti-nuclear campaign of Greenpeace in France, says this year’s objective is to build the confidence of the ordinary people and get their support for nuclear power which supplies 75 per cent of the country’s needs in energy.