Singapore - The environmental group Greenpeace called Thursday on the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to adopt binding renewable energy and efficiency targets to avert dangerous climate change. Energy ministers from the grouping's 10 countries were discussing nuclear safety at a meeting in Singapore which could pave the way toward introducing nuclear energy to the region.
Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam have all said they hope to develop atomic power by 2020.
"The urgent need for decisive action is now," Athena Ballesteros, Greenpeace International climate and energy campaigner, told a news briefing. "ASEAN must establish among its governments" the right energy and climate policy.
A joint report by Greenpeace and The European Renewable Energy Council said adopting nuclear power proposals are very dangerous due to the inherent risks nuclear power poses in addition to ASEAN's geologically unstable areas and governance problems.
It cited the July 16 earthquake that caused a small water leak at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Japan.
"Besides the dangers of accidents and unresolved issues of nuclear waste storage, building a nuclear power plant involves enormous financial and opportunity costs, diverting funds from clean, safe and far more economical renewable technologies," the report said.
Investing in a renewable energy future will save 10 times the fuel costs of a "business as usual" fossil-fuelled scenario, saving 180 billion US dollars annually and cutting carbon dioxide emissions in half by 2030, Ballesteros said.
She described nuclear power and so-called "clean coal" being discussed by ASEAN as "false, costly and dangerous" solutions to climate change and energy security while renewable energy including solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and bio energy makes "economic sense."
ASEAN comprises Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar (Burma).
The energy ministers were holding a one-day meeting, first among themselves and then joined by counterparts from China, South Korea and Japan.
The South-East Asian region ranks third highest in carbon dioxide emissions among developing countries, following China and India.
By shifting to renewable energy, East Asia stands to save as much 2 trillion US dollars in fossil fuel costs over the next 23 years and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 22 per cent from 2003 levels, said Jasper Inventor, Greenpeace Southeast Asia Climate spokesman.
