An Appeal to Ajay Banga, World Bank President
This article was written by Robert Hargraves, who is associated with RealClearEnergy.
The World Bank's policy clearly states that it will neither finance nuclear power generation nor provide specific technical assistance for its assessment and development. This is because the safety of nuclear facilities and non-proliferation are not within the World Bank Group's areas of expertise. Furthermore, the World Bank Group will not build internal capacity in matters related to nuclear power generation.
Ajay Banga, you have shown social leadership in your chairmanship of General Atlantic's climate-focused fund, BeyondNetZero, and also business leadership at Mastercard. Can you now guide the directors of the World Bank to finance nuclear power, which is the only realistic, CO2-free path to transform energy poverty into economic prosperity for billions of people in developing nations?
The World Bank has ceased financing new coal-fired power plants in an effort to help mitigate climate change. However, this decision is morally conflicting as such abundant, reliable electricity is vital for prosperity in developing nations. As a compromise, the World Bank continues to finance natural gas power plants, as their CO2 emissions are half as bad.
Powering Prosperity
Without better jobs, poor people cannot afford labor-saving electric luxuries such as washing machines. A prosperous economy requires ample, full-time power to support industry and commerce. The average power use in North America is 1500 watts per person, in the European Union it's 700 watts, in China it's 400 watts, and in India, SE Asia, and Africa it's under 100 watts.
For developing nations, 100 watts of full-time average electricity use correlates with $3500 of GDP. A new 1 GW power plant can support $32 billion of GDP growth.
Access to Electricity
Providing nearly one billion people without power access to electricity is a noble goal for the World Bank. However, simply installing solar panels for them is not sufficient. Intermittent solar and wind power cannot drive nations' commerce and industry.
Today, poor nations choose coal-fired power plants because they provide ample, reliable, 24x7 power at affordable costs, despite their CO2 emissions creating societal costs. You can help change their choice by endorsing new low-cost nuclear power plants that can generate full-time electricity cheaper than coal-fired or LNG-fired power plants.
The Fear Factor
Will the World Bank continue to be a victim of the flawed 'common knowledge' that low levels of radiation cause cancer? Many nuclear power opponents are financed by fund flows they induce from public fear of all radiation. Yet nuclear power plants have the best safety record of power generation technologies.
Science shows that moderate radiation is not harmful, but biased scientists and international agencies such as the International Commission on Radiological Protection ignore DNA repair and immune response biology revealed by three 2015 chemistry Nobel Prize winners.
Many misled people are fearful of nuclear power, urging officials to further increase burdening over-regulation and costs. But no one was hurt by radiation from the Fukushima catastrophe. No one has been harmed by nuclear power in nearly four decades.
The Cost Factor
World Bank reports state "solar PV now cheaper than nuclear in developed economies" but PV solar only seems cheap in nations with obscure, complex tax, subsidy, and backup power systems.
Radiophobia and resulting over-zealous regulation have inflated nuclear costs in rich nations that can also afford to invest trillions of dollars in expensive, intermittent, renewable energy.
New nuclear power plants can be built for less in factories and shipyards, then set up on site within two years. Technologies such as low pressure liquid fuel simplify design and reduce costs. At least two developers claim ample, full-time energy cheaper than coal.
Wilful Ignorance
The World Bank's refusal to "build internal capacity in matters related to nuclear power generation" is a clear indication of its ignorance towards nuclear fear and cost evidence.
Blacklisting Nuclear
One hundred voting member countries are interested in nuclear power, but it seems wealthy voting members Germany, Portugal, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Ireland, and Australia are allowed to blacklist nuclear power.
Emission-Free Prosperity
You can guide World Bank directors to recognize the truly benign health effects of nuclear power plant radiation and to finance low cost, reliable, nuclear power plants for developing nations seeking full-time, CO2-free, electric power.
Robert Hargraves teaches at Dartmouth’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and is a co-founder of nuclear-engineering company Thorcon International and author of New Nuclear is HOT!
Bottom Line
This article presents a compelling argument for the World Bank to reconsider its stance on nuclear power. It suggests that nuclear power could be a viable solution to energy poverty in developing nations, and could also contribute to mitigating climate change. What are your thoughts on this perspective? Do you agree that the World Bank should finance nuclear power? Share this article with your friends and let us know your views. Don't forget to sign up for the Daily Briefing which is everyday at 6pm.
An Appeal to Ajay Banga, World Bank President
This article was written by Robert Hargraves, who is associated with RealClearEnergy.
The World Bank's policy clearly states that it will neither finance nuclear power generation nor provide specific technical assistance for its assessment and development. This is because the safety of nuclear facilities and non-proliferation are not within the World Bank Group's areas of expertise. Furthermore, the World Bank Group will not build internal capacity in matters related to nuclear power generation.
Ajay Banga, you have shown social leadership in your chairmanship of General Atlantic's climate-focused fund, BeyondNetZero, and also business leadership at Mastercard. Can you now guide the directors of the World Bank to finance nuclear power, which is the only realistic, CO2-free path to transform energy poverty into economic prosperity for billions of people in developing nations?
The World Bank has ceased financing new coal-fired power plants in an effort to help mitigate climate change. However, this decision is morally conflicting as such abundant, reliable electricity is vital for prosperity in developing nations. As a compromise, the World Bank continues to finance natural gas power plants, as their CO2 emissions are half as bad.
