Nuclear jobs are green jobs

In order to truly have a 'just transition' for nuclear communities, the Scottish Government must acknowledge that nuclear communities (who have lived experience of working and living near nuclear sites), are entitled to want new nuclear development.

Why the contribution is important

Scottish Government policy is currently blinkered and does not account for ultra-localised views, particularly in nuclear communities such as Caithness and North Sutherland.

In order to de-risk the loss of hundreds of highly skilled workers to other parts of the UK, the Scottish Government must take a pragmatic approach to new nuclear, both in terms of citing new reactors and also supporting initiatives that allow local skills to be deployed elsewhere in the UK or indeed abroad.

by struanmackie on August 29, 2022 at 12:25PM

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Based on: 6 votes

Comments

  • Posted by Malachy September 01, 2022 at 12:46

    Nuclear is a bad idea. It is expensive to set up, expensive to run and is not sustainable. It creates deadly toxic waste that must be stored and managed for generations.

    https://foe.scot/the-latest-nuclear-con/

  • Posted by Innes September 02, 2022 at 13:27

    Nuclear needs to feature in the mix of energy sources. It is the only source capable of ensuring reliable supply regardless of weather conditions and it doesn't warm the planet. Renewables just aren't capable of reliably supporting our needs and ambitions. Nuclear can eventually be phased out when a better technology emerges, but current renewable technologies fall far short of that.

  • Posted by CGCPhys September 05, 2022 at 10:27

    By no means am I anti-nuclear, however, labelling nuclear jobs as green jobs is a very slippery slope. It may be worthwhile making a distinct separate group for nuclear jobs, as they are neither truly green, but they're far from the fossil fuel industry.

    The biggest issue I have with nuclear comes down to practicality. It often solely looks at the global north where the choice to have nuclear energy or not is seen as a "right". However, nuclear requires an enormous amount of fresh water, has a high start-up cost, incredibly high security issues, produces toxic waste which must be monitored and protected whilst it isn't the most sustainable alternative. Would a war-torn country, with an autocratic government, with local militias or commonly suffers from droughts be a candidate for hosting nuclear power? No. So, the prioritisation of nuclear investment and pushing for it to be seen as superior to renewables isn't just misleading, its ignorantly unethical.

    Nuclear also suffers from the same energy storage issues as renewables, the difference is it doesn't stop, and so if the energy isn't used, its wasted. Our best option is to invest in energy storage options, prioritise renewables, and recognise that nuclear jobs aren't green jobs.

    Tl;dr - Nuclear isn't bad, but it certainly isn't green, practical nor accessible for numerous reasons. That said, creating a distinct category outwith Green Jobs for Nuclear Jobs is crucial because creating this distinction is important for research, investment and energy infrastructure as a whole.

  • Posted by MarionGRobertson September 05, 2022 at 13:43

    I agree with Malachy's comments. CGC Phys is right that new nuclear is in no way 'green'.
    Also, nuclear power stations are resource-hungry in both fuel & construction eg uranium-235 used in nuclear reactors is finite & non-renewable. Like fracking, ScotGov should remain opposed to new nuclear.

  • Posted by grahamworrall September 08, 2022 at 13:39

    As learned from Ukraine nuclear installations are vulnerable to attack. In a conflict we will find that an enemy that can bomb just one nuclear power station in the UK would wipe us all out.
    Douneray has 75,000 tonnes of waste on site. It contaminates the sea. It threatens us all. Douneray stocks enough plutonium on site to blow up the whole of UK. Any plans to produce any more of this toxic material whose safe storage or disposal is not possible are a kind of madness which is a daily threat to the whole world
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