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BREAKING
Information Minister in Pakistani-administered Kashmir: Five civilians killed and at least 29 others injured in shelling across the border with India
Israeli Army Radio's diplomatic correspondent quoted a senior Israeli official as saying: So he [Trump] decided to cut off contact. That might still change, but that’s the situation right now
Israeli Army Radio's diplomatic correspondent quoted a senior Israeli official as saying: Trump’s circle told him [Dermer] that Netanyahu was manipulating him, and there’s nothing Trump hates more than being portrayed as someone being played
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: Meetings between the Israelis, Egyptians, and Qataris are all centered around the Israeli proposal, which does not guarantee an end to the war [on Gaza]
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: “Israel” is threatening to expand the ground offensive if Hamas rejects the proposal
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: Hamas rejects the Israeli proposal, viewing it as failing to guarantee an end to the war
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: “Israel” is sticking to its proposal, and insists there is no alternative offer on the table for negotiation
Senior Palestinian official to Al Mayadeen: The meetings between the Israelis and the Egyptians and Qataris all revolve around the Israeli proposal
The administration was clearly looking for an off-ramp for this campaign against Ansar Allah, NBC News reports, citing US official
Trump's operation against Ansar Allah cost more than $1 billion, NBC News reports, citing US official

A messy nuclear slowdown for Europe

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 22 Jan 2022 14:03
3 Min Read

Germany has almost finished phasing out nuclear plants and aging infrastructure is leading neighbors down the same path, while France and some critics argue this will harm green energy goals.

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  • Will Europe be able to meet a net-zero policy by 2050?
    Will Europe be able to meet a net-zero policy by 2050?

Germany has shut down three of its six remaining nuclear power plants On December 31 and plans to shut down the other three by the end of 2022 as well. In 2002, Germany relied on nuclear power for nearly 30% of its electricity. Within a year, that percentage will be zero. 

Belgium is also another country that is decreasing its reliance on nuclear energy, with Belgium committing to closing down its seven remaining nuclear power plants by 2025. Switzerland has also gone down the same road after a 2017 referendum that subsidized renewable energy.

France however, has gone down another path, as nearly 70% of electricity in the country is generated by nuclear power and more power plants are expected to be built in the future. Nuclear power proponents argue that it is one of the safest and lowest-carbon forms of electricity generation there is, and that is why France has some of the lowest-carbon electricity anywhere in Europe.

Nuclear skeptics, on the other hand, say nuclear’s low-carbon credentials are undercut by its high costs and the long timelines involved in building new plants, as well as long-standing public concerns about safety and radioactive waste.

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According to a report by Wired, in order to meet its target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050, Europe has to deliver a large reduction of those emissions by 2030. That is why critics of Germany’s nuclear plan have said phasing out nuclear power plants while still using coal-fired power plants is contradictory.

Is nuclear power the answer?

On the other hand, nuclear power in France is also unreliable. At the end of 2021, 17 of France’s 56 nuclear reactors were paused because of planned maintenance or technical issues, which forces France to buy electricity from its neighbors, even though it is usually a net exporter of electricity. Aging plants are also a problem for the UK, as not enough new nuclear reactors are being constructed to fill the gaps between the decommissioning of old ones and the need for new ones.

The UK will retire six of its nuclear reactors by 2030, but it only has one power plant currently under construction: a two-reactor facility being built in Somerset. The lengthy time scales mean that building nuclear reactors is not the best way for Europe to rapidly decarbonize.

The French government is hoping a new kind of reactor could provide a boost for its nuclear efforts. French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a €30 billion ($35 billion) investment plan that includes funding for small modular reactors. These are lower-capacity plants that would theoretically be faster and cheaper to build and could be placed in areas that are unsuitable for large plants.

The UK government has also put £210 million ($286 million) behind the development of small modular reactors, but so far the only such reactors to have been connected to a grid anywhere in the world are two that make up a floating power plant docked in Pevek harbor, in the remote northeast of Russia.

  • Germany
  • France
  • Nuclear Energy
  • carbon emissions
  • Carbon Emissions Reduction
  • Europe

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Throughout Operation Prosperity Guardian, current and former US military and intelligence officials expressed disquiet at the enormous “cost offset” involved in battling Ansar Allah. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab El-Hajj)

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