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The future of the disarmament agenda is on the line now as New START ratification moves forward in the US Senate.

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Tell President Obama: No More Nuclear Subsidies in the Senate Climate Bill

July 14, 2009

The House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) on June 26, 2009. Following the vote, President Obama stressed that he wants the Senate to send him climate change legislation to sign before year’s end and that he is willing to add nuclear subsidies to get votes. But at what cost? A Senate bill full of nuclear and coal subsidies will not bring us any closer to addressing the public health crisis that is global climate change. A bill that further subsidizes the nuclear industry is a step in the wrong direction.

By putting a cap on carbon, which ACES does, the nuclear industry already stands to profit nearly $1 billion dollars a year, according to their own calculations. Exelon CEO John Rowe recently told a gathering of investors and senior executives that the energy bill "will add $700 to $750 million to Exelon's annual revenues for every $10 per metric ton (MT) increase in the price of CO2 allowances."

The House climate bill makes additional concessions to the nuclear industry. Under the nuclear title of ACES, the Clean Energy Deployment Administration (CEDA) allows loan guarantees backed by the full faith and credit of U.S. taxpayers to be made for the construction of new reactors. The Senate version of the proposed bill, however, provides unlimited guarantee authority without further congressional approval and fails to prioritize energy projects that reduce greenhouse gases faster and cheaper.

But some Senators are saying that isn’t enough. Requiring radioactive waste reprocessing, categorizing nuclear as a “renewable” energy, and subsidizing 100 new nuclear plants (which would cost $1.9 trillion to $4.4 trillion more than generating the same electricity from renewable and efficiency measures) are all being mentioned as ways to prop up this chronically uncompetitive industry.

Please contact President Obama today and tell him no more subsidies for the nuclear industry. It is essential that we address climate change by pursuing the fastest, cheapest, and cleanest alternatives first. Nuclear power does not meet these criteria. A bill with more giveaways for the nuclear industry is no solution to climate change. 

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Action Alerts

  • Stop $25 billion in Nuclear Giveaways in the House

    Putting another $25 billion into costly, economically risky and polluting new reactors will be at the expense of solving climate change with clean, renewable energy and efficiency. Call or email your Representatives today and tell them that these subsidies are unacceptable.

  • Don't Undermine Public Safety in New Reactor Licensing

    Even as the consequences of lax regulation and lax oversight are washing oil onto the Gulf coast, proposed climate legislation in the Senate would cut regulatory corners in licensing new nuclear reactors.

More action alerts»

Resources

  • Dirty, Dangerous and Expensive: The Truth About Nuclear Power

    The nuclear industry seeks to revitalize itself by manipulating the public’s concerns about global warming and energy insecurity to promote nuclear power as a clean and safe way to curb emissions of greenhouse gases and reduce dependence on foreign energy resources. Read more »

  • Coal's Assault on Human Health

    PSR has released a groundbreaking medical report that takes a new look at the devastating impacts of coal on the human body. Coal combustion releases mercury, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and dozens of other substances known to be hazardous to human health. The report also considers coal's contribution to global warming, and the health implications of global warming. Read more »

  • Childhood Leukemia and Cancers Near German Nuclear Reactors

    A government-sponsored study of childhood cancer in the proximity of German nuclear power plants (German acronym KiKK) found that children < 5 years living < 5 km from plant exhaust stacks had twice the risk for contracting leukemia as those residing > 5 km. Read more »

In the Spotlight

  • August 16, 2010
    Countdown to Zero
    On the 65th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, the Sacramento Annual August Peace Event and Physicians for Social Responsibility-Sacramento screened "Countdown To Zero," a film that traces the history of the atomic bomb from its origins to the present state of global affairs. Read more about this month’s chapter in the spotlight event on Hiroshima.