IEER | Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free Index | Sign on to the Statement of Principles

STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
TO ACHIEVE A
CARBON-FREE AND NUCLEAR-FREE U.S. ENERGY SYSTEM BY 2050

We the undersigned believe that the United States can and should implement energy production, distribution, and use policies that will phase out the use of fossil fuels and nuclear power by the year 2050. A recent book, Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy,(1) provides a detailed analysis that shows that this goal is technically and economically feasible. The Roadmap lays out how we can get from a 94 percent reliance on fossil fuels and nuclear energy (as of 2005) to none by mid-century.(2) Oil imports would be completely eliminated along the way.

Action to achieve such an energy system as soon as possible is necessary given the scale of the climate crisis, global conflicts over oil resources, and the serious risks of nuclear power. Achieving a near total elimination of CO2 emissions in the United States is also implied by U.S. commitments under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) combined with the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC estimates that global CO2 emissions should be reduced by 50 to 85 percent by 2050 relative to 2000 levels to limit temperature increases to less than 2 to 2.4 degrees Celsius, with the former reduction being given only a small chance of accomplishing the goal. If global emissions are allocated on a per capita basis, the U.S. would have to reduce CO2 emissions by 92 to 96 percent by 2050 to have reasonable confidence that the temperature goal will be met. The United States has signed and ratified the UNFCCC, which went into effect in 1994.

A U.S. goal of zero-CO2 emissions would greatly enhance the likelihood of serious negotiations with China, India, and other developing countries towards an agreement to reduce global CO2 emissions by 50 to 85 percent. It would be the most practical way to recognize that the United States has contributed disproportionately to the build up of CO2 in the atmosphere. It would show developing countries by example that economic well-being can be achieved using ecologically sound approaches. And it would establish U.S. leadership in an area where it has been sorely lacking.

A reliable electricity sector that is more secure than the present one can be created without nuclear power. The promoters of nuclear energy have used the threat of global warming to rekindle interest, but nuclear power entails risks of nuclear proliferation, severe accidents, and terrorist attacks. It would exacerbate the problem of nuclear waste, for which no reasonable solution is in sight. Overall, it shifts the burden of radiation and proliferation risks arising from current energy use to future generations.

Greatly increased energy efficiency throughout the country will make possible a more economical and faster transition to a renewable energy economy. Solar, wind, biofuels, and other renewable energy sources are ample and capable of supplying the energy requirements of a zero-CO2 U.S. economy. But converting food, such as corn, into biofuel is not a suitable approach, because it is associated with increases in food prices, poor net energy output, and large greenhouse gas emissions. Biofuels must be derived from plants that trap solar energy efficiently and that can be grown on marginal lands. In addition, certain aquatic plants, including some types of algae, could simultaneously provide fuels as well as other environmental benefits.

Subsidies for problematic energy sources, notably fossil fuels, nuclear power, and food-based biofuels, should be ended. For example, neither loan guarantees nor production tax credits should be provided to new nuclear power plants.

New coal-fired power plants without carbon capture and storage (also called "sequestration") should be banned. While there is some experience with CO2 storage, it is not yet a proven technology for climate protection, which requires isolation of CO2 from the atmosphere for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Storage technology should preferably be developed and tested using emissions from existing rather than new sources of CO2. Carbon capture and storage technology may be needed to remove CO2 that has already been emitted to the atmosphere.

The U.S. government will need to invest tens of billions of dollars per year in the transition to a carbon-free, nuclear-free economy. The funds will directly support renewable energy and efficiency projects, assist state and local governments, and finance worker and community transition. The money can be raised in a variety of ways, including taxes and the sale of emissions allowances; it should be dedicated to help achieve the transition to a renewable energy economy.

Whatever set of policies is adopted, there should be no free emission allowances. Such giveaways are inequitable and regressive. There should be no international offsets or trade in CO2 allowances, especially with countries that have not set stringent limits on CO2 emissions. Further, importing biofuels from developing countries could create land pressures that could harm the poor and may even increase greenhouse gas emissions directly or indirectly, for instance, by increasing destruction of tropical forests and peat bogs. U.S. policies must ensure that the goal of reliably ending CO2 emissions by mid-century is translated into laws, regulations, and intermediate targets that are verifiable and enforceable all along the way.

Scientists, including leaders of the IPCC, have been warning that there is little time left to begin to shift from increasing to decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, of which CO2 emissions are the most important. The United States has delayed too long, partly using the argument that China and India and other major emitters also need to participate in achieving global reductions. We agree that they do; but we note that U.S. leadership, in both immediate action and long-term commitments, is a sine qua non for securing serious commitments from developing countries, which have until recently contributed little to the problem.

Finally, the establishment of a goal of achieving a carbon-free and nuclear-free U.S. energy sector by mid-century can have a transformative effect on the global political climate, which is a prerequisite for protecting the planetary physical climate. The ecological, health, and security benefits of realizing that goal will be immense. We are committed to establishing that goal, creating policies designed to achieve the goal, and dedicating the resources to implement those policies.

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Endnotes

(1) Carbon-Free and Nuclear-Free: A Roadmap for U.S. Energy Policy by Arjun Makhijani, Ph.D., is published jointly by RDR Press and IEER Press, 2007. It can be downloaded free at http://www.ieer.org/carbonfree/CarbonFreeNuclearFree.pdf. The Roadmap is described in Chapter 8.

(2) Another recent book, Winning Our Energy Independence: An Energy Insider Shows How, by S. David Freeman (Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith, 2007), also advocates a fully renewable, non-nuclear U.S. energy system.

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To sign on, send your First and Last Names, Suffix (Ph.D., M.D., etc.) or Title (if applicable), Organization You Represent (if applicable), City, State, and E-mail address to IEER's Outreach Coordinator at jennifer [at] ieer.org.

Signatories

Organizations

8th Day Center for Justice, Stephanie Dernek

Abolition 2000 Sustainable Energy Working Group, Alice Slater, Convener

Acting for a Greener World, Eileen McCabe, Nuclear Policy Advisor

Alliance for Affordable Energy, Karen Wimpelberg, Board President

Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility, Rochelle Becker

Alternative Energy Resources Organization (AERO), Ben Brouwer, Renewable Energy & Conservation Program Manager

Appalachia - Science in the Public Interest, Jack Kieffer

Atlanta Women's Action for New Directions (WAND), Bobbie Paul, Director

Atomic Mirror, Pamela S. Meidell, Director

Bend-Condega Friendship Project, Tim Jeffries, Coordinator

California PSR (Physicians for Social Responsibility), Myrna Seto

Carbon Caps Task Force, Robert McAfee, Chair

Carolina Peace Resource Center, Gerald Rudolph

Carrie Dickerson Foundation, Gwen Ingram, Vice President

Center for Public Environmental Oversight, Lenny Siegel, Executive Director

Chesapeake Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility, Baltimore, MD

Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Mike Tidwell, Director

Citizen's Action for a Safe Environment (CASE), Patricia J. Ameno, Chairperson

Citizens Against Ruining the Environment-C.A.R.E., Carol Stark, Director

Citizens Awareness Network, Deb Katz, Executive Director

Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin, Charlie Higley, Executive Director

Clamshell-To The Village Square, Lionel Delevingne, TVS Director

Clean Air Now, Inc, James J. Provenzano, President

Clean Water Action, Lynn Thorp, National Campaigns Coordinator

Coalition on West Valley Nuclear Wastes, Judith Einach, Director

Community Energy Services, INC., Patricia Greene, Energy Events Coordinator

Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety, Joni Arends, Executive Director

Connie Hogarth Center for Social Action, Connie Hogarth

Defenders of the Black Hills, Charmaine White Face, Coordinator

Dwyer Products, Jenel M Marunde, Director of Green Product Development

EAGLE, (Environmental Association for Great Lakes Education), Jan Conley, Board President

Earth Day Los Angeles, John Quigley, Executive Director

Environmental Center of San Luis Obispo County, Morgan Rafferty, Executive Director

Environmental Concerns Organization at DePaul University, Anne Rooney

Fairmont, Minnesota Peace Group, Judi Poulson, Chair

Feminist Collective, Megan Scott, President

Flagstaff Nuclear Awareness Project, Julia Rouvier

Fluoride Action Network, Paul Connett, Director

Food Not Bombs/Atlanta, Bob Darby, Coordinator

Foundation for Global Community/Atlanta, Tom Ferguson, Coordinator

Friends of the Earth, Brent Blackwelder, President,

Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, Bruce K. Gagnon, Coordinator

Grandmothers for Peace International, Lorraine Krofchok, Director

Grandmothers for Peace, San Luis Obispo County Chapter, Molly Johnson, area coordinator

Great Northern Solar, Christopher LaForge

Hanford Watch, Paige Knight, President

HOME: Healing Ourselves & Mother Earth, Jennifer O. Viereck, Director

Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, Arjun Makhijani, President

Institute for Policy Studies, Daphne Wysham, Fellow, and John Cavanagh, Executive Director

Just Transition Alliance, Jenice View

Kickapoo Peace Circle, Marcia Halligan

Mankato Area Environmentalists, Gladys Schmitz, SSND Board member

Midwest Coalition for Responsible Investment, Barbara Jennings CSJ, Director

Missourians for Safe Energy, Mark Haim, Co-Founder

Mount Rainier Bicycle Cooperative, Paul Joseph Park

NC Citizens Research Group, Wells Eddleman, Staff Scientist

NC WARN, North Carolina Waste Awareness & Reduction Network, Jim Warren, Executive Director

Nebraska Green Party, Steve Larrick, Co-Chair

Nevada and Eastern California, Jane Feldman, Energy Chair

NJ Environmental Federation, Peggi Sturmfels, Program Organizer

No New Nukes, Carolyn Treadway

North American Water Office, George Crocker, Executive Director

Northwest Environmental Advocates, Nina Bell, J.D., Executive Director

Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Michael Mariotte, Executive Director

Nuclear Policy Research Institute, Helen Caldicott, Founding President

Nuclear Watch New Mexico, Jay Coghlan, Executive Director

Nuclear Watch South, Glenn Carroll

PACE (People's Action for Clean Energy, Inc.), Judi Friedman Chair

Peace Farm, Mavis Belisle, Director

Peace & Justice Coalition, Lucy Duff, co-coordinator

Peak Oil Action Group, Suzanne Simpson, Co-Founder

People's Alliance for Clean Energy, Elena Day

PHASE (Promoting Health and Sustainable Energy), Susan Shapiro, President

Prairie Island Coalition, Bruce A Drew, Steering Committee

Progressive Action for the Common Good, Iowa, Caroline Vernon

Project Laundry List, Alexander Lee, Executive Director

Proyecto Caribeno de Justicia y Paz (Caribbean Project for Justice and Peace), Wanda Colon Cortes, Director

PublicGen/EarthSync, LLC Public Fuel Cell, Inc., Grant Millin, President

Radiation and Public Health Project, Joseph Mangano, Executive Director

Rainforest Action Network, Michael Brune, Executive Director

Redwood Alliance, Michael Welch

Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, Judith Mohling

San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, Jane Swanson

Sirius Community, Winifred Windriver

Snake River Alliance, Boise, Idaho

Snake River Alliance, Deborra Bohrer, Board President

South Dakota Resources Coalition, Luanne Napton, President

Southern Energy Network, Liz Veazey

St. Andrew Watershed Stewardship Project, Beverly Logan, Project Manager

St. Joseph Church, Rev. Lawrence G. Bernard, O.F.M., Pastor

Stop Uranium Mining (SUM), Elizabeth Mozer, Director

Students Against Violating the Environment, Georgia Students for Sustainability, Jacqueline Murray

SUN DAY Campaign, Ken Bossong, Executive Director

Terra Foundation, Linda Seeley, President

The Ecological Options Network, Mary Beth Brangan and James Heddle

The Stella Group, Ltd., Scott Sklar, President

Three Mile Island Alert, Inc., Eric Epstein, Chairman

Toiyabe Chapter of the Sierra Club

Tri-Valley CAREs, Marylia Kelley, Executive Director

Vermont Yankee Decommissioning Alliance, Debra Stoleroff

Winter Sun Design, Chris Herman, Owner

Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice, Judy Miner, Office Coordinator

World Good Products, LLC, Ellen Garduno

Individuals

S. David Freeman, former Chairman Tennessee Valley Authority*, and President, Los Angeles Board of Harbor Commissioners*

John Miller, Vice-President, Advanced Transportation Systems, Maxwell Technologies*

Hisham Zerriffi, Ivan Head South/North Chair at the University of British Columbia*

(* = organization for identification only)

International organizations

Association MEDIANE, France

Center for Assistance to Citizen Initiatives, Russia, Mikhail Piskunov

Citizens Advocating Use of Sustainable Energy (CAUSE), Canada, Sophia Lang, co-chair

Citizens For Renewable Energy (CFRE), Canada, S. (Ziggy) Kleinau, Co-ordinator

Coalition Against Nuclear Energy (CANE), South Africa, Dominique Gilbert, Acting National Coordinator

Earthlife Namibia, Bertchen Kohrs

Energy Conservation Mission, The Institution of Engineers (India), Capt.J.Rama Rao I.N.(Retd) Adviser

Institute for Zero Waste in Africa (IZWA), Muna Lakhani, National Co-ordinator

Friends of the Earth, Australia, Jim Green

Greenspiration, Canada, Angela Bischoff, Director

Movement against Uranium Mining in North-Karelia, Finland, Tuomo Tormulainen

NGO "Ecoclub" Ukraine, Andriy Martynyuk, The Chair of Board

Nuclear Energy Costs the Earth Campaign (NECTC) Earthlife Africa, South Africa, Mashile Phalane

Pelindaba Working Group (PWG), South Africa, Dominique Gilbert, Coordinator

Siberian Ecological Agency, Russia, Alexey Toropov, Ph.D., Director

Posted March 26, 2008
Updated March 27, 2008