We applaud John Law’s letter (December 27) about the closing of Germany’s Philippsburg nuclear power station. We’re facing the same issues here in the US. Right now, across the US, we are closing perfectly good existing nuclear plants because of low natural gas prices and discriminatory policies that, in the name of climate action, support renewables but not carbon-free nuclear energy.

It also means that we pay more: building new clean energy to replace existing clean energy means spending money for little to no actual emissions reductions. This high cost for low progress is also causing polarising political conversations when it comes to action on climate. Instead of continuing to rely on the renewables-only bandwagon, we need to focus on building public support for nuclear energy. There is growing public awareness on the importance of using science to inform our decisions as a nation.

The science is clear — nuclear is the safest way of generating reliable electricity. Of all of the “clean” energy sources, nuclear occupies the smallest land footprint per unit of energy produced, and we have the technology right now. We cannot continue to delay action on climate until some future solution is produced.

Heather Hoff and Kristin Zaitz mothersfornuclear.org San Luis Obispo, CA, US

Originally published in Financial TImes

https://on.ft.com/3NZDfuj

Image: Grohund Nuclear Power Plant in Germany, closed in December, 2021.