Nobel prize winner Parisi attacks government's nuclear-power plans

Nobel prize-winning Italian physicist

Giorgio Parisi attacked the government's plans to bring nuclear

power back to Italy on Tuesday, saying this will only cover a

small part of Italy's energy needs and do little to wean the

country off the use of fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal that

are causing the climate crisis.

Italy abandoned nuclear power following a referendum in the wake

of the Chernobyl disaster but the government plans to return to

atomic energy with small latest-generation reactors to reduce

reliance on imports and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

A bill paving the way for Italy's return to nuclear power was

approved by the Lower House in June and has moved to the Senate.

"If it weren't such a tragedy, Shakespeare would already have a

title ready for this bill: Much Ado About Nothing," Parisi told

a hearing of the Senate's environment committee on the bill.

"This scenario would see nuclear power cover about 10% of

electricity demand, which, in turn, accounts for about one-fifth

of the country's energy consumption - that is, a few percent of

the overall total, a result which is, frankly, insignificant in

terms of eliminating CO2 emissions into the atmosphere".

He developed his argument with three further considerations.

"The first is that for decades, we have been unable to build a

national depot for existing nuclear waste; finding sites for

dozens of new power plants will be vastly more difficult than

finding a site for a passive depot," he said.

"Second: the estimated costs in the nuclear sector never match

the actual costs. "Third: every country must exploit on its

unique characteristics, and Italy has enormous potential in

solar and geothermal energy—the latter of which is stalled due

to permit issues.

"It makes no sense for Germany to focus on solar energy and

Italy on nuclear power.

"Nuclear power only produces electricity, so we are talking

about a technology that can address just over one-fifth of the

national energy problem.

"The structure of energy consumption in Italy is often

overlooked in this debate.

"In 2024, final energy consumption amounted to approximately 109

million metric tons of oil equivalent: 41% went to buildings,

35% to transportation, and 21% to industry.

"So electricity accounts for only about 22% of this consumption:

the rest—nearly 80%—relies on fossil fuels".

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