UK Green party drops longstanding opposition to nuclear power
UK Green party drops longstanding opposition to nuclear power
Party in England and Wales ditches commitment to phase out nuclear in major shift in its energy policy
英格兰和威尔士绿党放弃了逐步淘汰核能的承诺，这是其能源政策的一次重大转变。
Green party members have voted to end the party’s opposition to nuclear power, dropping a commitment to phase out the technology in a major shift in its energy policy.
绿党成员投票决定结束该党对核能的反对，放弃了逐步淘汰该技术的承诺，这是其能源政策的一次重大转变。
The motion, adopted at conference, removes a “blanket opposition to nuclear fission” and instead commits the Green party of England and Wales to assessing nuclear projects alongside other low-carbon technologies.
在会议上通过的这项动议取消了对“核裂变的全面反对”，转而承诺英格兰和威尔士绿党将把核能项目与其他低碳技术一并进行评估。
Its electricity generation policy still prioritises offshore wind, onshore wind and rooftop solar as the primary sources of electricity, but allows elected representatives to support new nuclear reactors on a case-by-case basis.
其电力生产政策仍然优先考虑海上风能、陆上风能和屋顶太阳能作为主要电力来源，但允许民选代表在个案基础上支持新的核反应堆。
The Green MP Carla Denyer said the decision recognised there was a role for nuclear while the country moved towards an electricity system based primarily on renewables. “This evolution of our policy does not commit the party to backing new nuclear, but accepts this power source is here to stay for now, while we transition to electricity generation based primarily on renewable sources,” she said.
绿党议员卡拉·丹耶尔（Carla Denyer）表示，这一决定承认了在国家向主要基于可再生能源的电力系统转型过程中，核能仍有一席之地。她说：“我们政策的这一演变并不意味着党派承诺支持新的核能，而是接受了这种能源目前仍将存在的事实，同时我们正在向主要基于可再生能源的发电方式过渡。”
Denyer said keeping existing nuclear stations running could be a low-carbon option because a significant proportion of their carbon footprint came from construction. “So if I were energy secretary, my evidence-based approach would be to keep existing nuclear plants in operation, but to consider proposals for new nuclear power very carefully, bearing in mind the cost, speed and environmental impacts.”
丹耶尔表示，维持现有核电站的运行可能是一种低碳选择，因为其碳足迹中有很大一部分来自建设阶段。“因此，如果我是能源大臣，我基于证据的方法将是保持现有核电站的运行，但会非常谨慎地考虑新的核电提案，并牢记成本、速度和环境影响。”
Her comments strike a different tone from her assessment in 2023, when she described nuclear energy as “incredibly slow and incredibly expensive”. She said at the time: “Renewables is simply the way forward. Nuclear is not going to help us out in this climate emergency.”
她的言论与她2023年的评估基调不同，当时她称核能“极其缓慢且极其昂贵”。她当时说：“可再生能源才是前进的方向。核能无法帮助我们摆脱这场气候紧急状况。”
Other senior Greens have previously criticised the technology. The party’s leader, Zack Polanski, has described it as outdated and compared investment in new nuclear reactors to “creating a fax machine”.
其他绿党高层此前也曾批评过这项技术。该党领导人扎克·波兰斯基（Zack Polanski）曾将其描述为过时，并将对新核反应堆的投资比作“制造传真机”。
Last year, Adrian Ramsay, then a Green co-leader, criticised government support for Sizewell C. “The money being spent on this nuclear gamble would be far better spent on insulating and retrofitting millions of homes, bringing down energy bills and keeping people warmer and more comfortable,” he said.
去年，时任绿党联合领导人的阿德里安·拉姆齐（Adrian Ramsay）批评了政府对赛兹韦尔C核电站（Sizewell C）的支持。他说：“花在这场核赌博上的钱，如果用于为数百万家庭进行隔热和改造，降低能源账单，让人们生活得更温暖、更舒适，效果会好得多。”
The Green’s previous opposition to nuclear fission was rooted in its staunch opposition of nuclear weapons, one of the party’s founding principles.
绿党此前对核裂变的反对源于其对核武器的坚定反对，这是该党的创始原则之一。
Eugene McCarthy, a co-founder of Greens for Nuclear and a supporter of the motion, said the urgency of the climate crisis demanded a willingness to consider all available options. “We are at the throw-the-kitchen-sink-at-it phase of the climate crisis where you cannot be ruling anything out for things like Chernobyl happening in the 1980s,” he said.
“核能绿党”（Greens for Nuclear）的联合创始人、该动议的支持者尤金·麦卡锡（Eugene McCarthy）表示，气候危机的紧迫性要求人们愿意考虑所有可行的方案。他说：“我们正处于气候危机的‘孤注一掷’阶段，你不能因为20世纪80年代发生的切尔诺贝利事件而排除任何可能性。”
The motion allows elected representatives to assess individual proposals on their merits, McCarthy said. “We will not say we support or don’t support any particular technology. This motion basically lets our elected members of parliament take it on a case-by-case basis and go: ‘This makes sense, we will extend the lifetime of Sizewell B,’ and on a different case say: ‘Actually the numbers don’t add up here.’”
麦卡锡说，该动议允许民选代表根据具体提案的优劣进行评估。“我们不会说我们支持或不支持任何特定的技术。这项动议基本上让我们的民选议员可以逐案处理，并说：‘这有道理，我们将延长赛兹韦尔B核电站（Sizewell B）的寿命，’而在另一种情况下说：‘实际上这里的数字对不上。’”
Asked about Polanski’s previous criticism of nuclear, McCarthy said the leader remained entitled to his views. “He’s still fully entitled to say that, and a lot of the nuclear technology that we are using is quite outdated, to be frank. What this means is that he can now take a nuanced position.”
当被问及波兰斯基此前对核能的批评时，麦卡锡表示，这位领导人仍然有权保留自己的观点。“坦率地说，他完全有权那样说，而且我们正在使用的许多核技术确实相当过时。这意味着他现在可以采取一种细致入微的立场。”
Prof Andrew Stirling, who has advised government on nuclear power and energy policy, said the motion was “completely irrational”. “Why would a party that pioneered concerns about nuclear power that have been so broadly vindicated by history, choose now to shift its position?” he said.
曾为政府提供核能和能源政策建议的安德鲁·斯特林（Andrew Stirling）教授称该动议“完全不合理”。他说：“一个率先对核能提出担忧，且这些担忧已被历史广泛证实的政党，为什么现在选择改变立场？”
“All authoritative sources agree that climate action is much faster, affordable and impactful with combined renewables and storage,” he added. “Why spend scarce resources on less effective actions?”
他补充道：“所有权威来源都一致认为，结合可再生能源和储能技术，气候行动会更快、更经济且更有效。为什么要将稀缺资源浪费在效果较差的行动上呢？”
McCarthy said: “Renewables are cheaper and have much more capacity, and you can roll them out much quicker. [But] there are issues with baseload, which nuclear can help with.”
麦卡锡表示：“可再生能源更便宜，容量更大，而且部署速度更快。[但是]基荷电力存在问题，而核能可以在这方面提供帮助。”