Emmanuel Macron vowed that France would also continue to develop renewable energy. (file)
Paris:
President Emmanuel Macron announced on Tuesday that France would launch a campaign to build new nuclear power plants to better meet growing energy and environmental challenges.
“In order to guarantee France’s energy independence and achieve our objectives, in particular carbon neutrality in 2050, we will restart the construction of nuclear reactors in our country for the first time in decades,” Macron said in an address to the nation. Will start with.”
Macron, speaking as part of the ongoing COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, vowed that France would also continue to develop renewable energy.
France, which derives most of its electricity from nuclear power, is currently only building Flamenville, a new third-generation EPR nuclear reactor in Normandy.
But work on the site, which started in 2007, is still not complete. French energy firm EDF this spring submitted a feasibility study to the government for a program to build six new reactors.
“If we want to pay for our energy at reasonable rates and not depend on foreign countries, we must both continue to save energy and invest in the production of carbon-free energy on our soil,” Macron said. needed.”
Greenpeace France in a statement criticized Macron’s announcement of more nuclear reactors, accusing him of campaigning ahead of the April 2022 elections. Macron has not announced his candidacy, but is widely expected to stand in next year’s elections.
Nicolas Ness, an energy transition campaigner for Greenpeace France, pointed to the delay in Flamanville, saying “the nuclear industry is mired in fiasco as the announcement of nuclear revival and the construction of new reactors.”
“Too expensive, too slow and too dangerous, nuclear power is obsolete in a climate emergency,” he said.
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