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“Before the accident, my political position was favourable to the continued development of nuclear power, so long as the necessary precautions were taken – I even promoted the technology abroad,” said Kan. “But afterwards my thinking changed completely. For the rest of my mandate I committed to reducing Japan’s reliance on nuclear energy and developed laws to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy. Just like atomic bombs, nuclear energy is a technology we cannot entirely control. The experts tell us there is no such thing as a zero-risk nuclear power station. Effectively, natural disasters are always a possibility and should that risk be manifested all we can do is try to manage the consequences.”

Adam Koniuszewski, Chief Operating Officer of Green Cross International, put the discussion into the context of Green Cross’ work, starting in 1993, with the victims of such disasters as the Chernobyl meltdown.

“The founding president of Green Cross, Mikhail Gorbachev, and Prime Minister Naoto Kan share the sad experience of having both led their country through major nuclear disasters,” said Koniuszewski. “Our local presence and ongoing activities to help the communities impacted by radioactive contamination in Chernobyl and Fukushima gives us first-hand experience of the human and environmental consequences of nuclear disasters. This is why we are demanding more transparency and better governance around nuclear power and the risks involved, and a better assessment of its mounting costs. New plants are plagued with delays and cost overruns; the management of nuclear waste in increasingly burdensome and the cost of decommissioning plants is escalating. In the meantime renewable energy solutions are getting cheaper. Over the last five years the cost for utility scale solar has declined by 78 per cent, and by for wind by 58 per cent.”…….

Kan had some closing thoughts, encouraging France to take the upcoming opportunity provided by ParisClimat 2015 to start moving away from nuclear power. He also recommended a much more comprehensive, transparent and democratic approach to preparing for a possible nuclear catastrophe.

“Zero-risk does not exist, and cost-effectiveness is a meaningless concern when weighed against the trauma and impact of a nuclear disaster,” said Kan.

Furthermore, Japan’s experience shows that nuclear power is not nearly as indispensable as its supporters claim. Following the Fukushima disaster, all of Japan’s nuclear reactors – providing 25 per cent of the country’s electricity – were shut down. In response, Japan managed to reduce national consumption from 65GW to 50GW and, as systems are built back up, many people are looking much more seriously at the opportunity to switch to increasingly attractive and cost effective renewable solutions. So far, local communities have taken the lead in putting renewable power sources in place. http://www.gcint.org/news/former-japanese-pm-naoto-kan-paris-green-cross-nuclear-debate