[E-rundbrief] Info 1143 - Brazilian nuclear power plant - German credit guarantees
Matthias Reichl
info at begegnungszentrum.at
Mi Sep 26 20:34:12 CEST 2012
E-Rundbrief - Info 1143 - Right Livelihood Foundation (S): Chico
Whitaker warns of “nuclear two class society”. German government's
export credit guarantees for companies involved in the construction of
the Brazilian nuclear power plant Angra 3.
Bad Ischl, 26.9.2012
Begegnungszentrum für aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
www.begegnungszentrum.at
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Right Livelihood Foundation
Press Release, 16 August 2012
Chico Whitaker warns of “nuclear two class society”
For months, the German Government has been considering export credit
guarantees for companies involved in the construction of the Brazilian
nuclear power plant Angra 3. Now Chico Whitaker, a 2006 Recipient of
the Right Livelihood Award (“Alternative Nobel Prize“), appeals to the
German Government to abstain from further assessments.
“The German Government should not wait for further tests and
assessments but should walk their talk in what they had announced
after Fukushima: the German phase-out of nuclear power. The German
stop on nuclear should also entail a phase-out of the support for
international nuclear power. Everything else would mean a ‘nuclear two
class society’: nuclear plants are too dangerous for Germans but not
for the citizens of other countries.”
Angra 3 would be placed between Brazil’s two densest populated cities:
Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo, in a region with high risk for land
slides. Whitaker says: "In Fukushima, the minimum distance for
evacuation was twice as high as the distance between the planned
nuclear power plant and the town of Angra dos Reis.“
In February 2012, more than 50 Right Livelihood Award Laureates and
members of the World Future Council had asked the German Government to
stop granting export credit guarantees for the construction of nuclear
power plants.
Ole von Uexkull, Executive Director of the Right Livelihood Award
supported the Laureates’ appeal: "Germany’s decision to phase-out
nuclear power echoed around the world and raised the profile of the
country as an international leader in energy policies. If the German
Government decided to grant export credit guarantees for Angra 3 or
for other nuclear power plants like Jaitapur in India the German
energy transition would lose all credibility.“
Chico Whitaker hopes that the German Government will reconsider its
ambigous stance and calls upon the German public to ratchet up the
pressure in demanding for a change in policy. "We hope that the
solidarity of the people of Germany will help us to free us of the
dangers of Angra 3“.
Background
In February 2010, the German Government basically agreed to 1.3
billion Euro export credit guarantees for Angra 3 but the allocation
is currently on hold. In September 2011, the commitment was continued
on the precondition that an assessment of how Brazil reacts to the
experience of the Fukushima catastrophe would take place. Till date,
no positive assessment has been presented. French banks involved in
the financing have requested further safety assessments, too.
Besides the guarantees for Angra 3, the German Government is
considering export guarantees for several other nuclear plants,
including the nuclear power plant in Jaitapur, India.
Over the years, Right Livelihood Award Recipients have come out
repeatedly demanding an end to nuclear power. Already in March 2011, a
global alliance of some 50 Right Livelihood Award Recipients and
members of the World Future Council demanded a global nuclear phase
out. The initiative inspired Right Livelihood Award Laureate Chico
Whitaker to help build up a movement in Brazil aiming at the shutdown
of Brazilian nuclear power plant Angra 3.
http://www.rightlivelihood.org/press_release_whitaker.html
Contact
RIGHT LIVELIHOOD AWARD FOUNDATION
Birgit Jaeckel, Communications Consultant
Phone: +46 8 70 20 340, Fax: +46 8 70 20 338
Cell phone: +49 170 24 49 348
info[at]rightlivelihood.org
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Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher/ press speaker,
Begegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
Center for Encounter and active Non-Violence
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fon: +43 6132 24590, Informationen/ informations,
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Honoured by the (Austrian) "Journalism-Award from below 2010"
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