Book contents
- In Search of Good Energy Policy
- In Search of Good Energy Policy
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Multidisciplinary Perspectives
- Part II Cases and Multidisciplinary Responses
- 10 The Ethics of Nuclear Energy: Its Past, Present and Future1
- 11 Fukushima and German Energy Policy 2005–2015/2016
- 12 Rethinking the Environmental State: An Economic History of the Swedish Environmental Kuznets Curve for Carbon
- 13 Fossil Fuel Systems to 100 Per Cent Renewable Energy-Based Smart Energy Systems: Lessons from the Case of Denmark, 1973–2017
- 14 The Politics of Carbon Capture and Storage: How Interests Have Outstripped Economics in Shaping the Evolution of a Technology
- 15 Scaling Clean Energy for Data Centres: Trends, Problems, Solutions
- 16 Public Participation in the Context of Energy Activities: The Role of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee
- 17 Biofuel Energy, Ancestral Time and the Destruction of Borneo: An Ethical Perspective
- 18 From Inspiration to Implementation: Laudato Si’, Public Theology and the Demands of Energy Policy
- Part III Multidisciplinary Cases
- Index
- References
10 - The Ethics of Nuclear Energy: Its Past, Present and Future1
from Part II - Cases and Multidisciplinary Responses
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 June 2019
Book contents
- In Search of Good Energy Policy
- In Search of Good Energy Policy
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- 1 Introduction
- Part I Multidisciplinary Perspectives
- Part II Cases and Multidisciplinary Responses
- 10 The Ethics of Nuclear Energy: Its Past, Present and Future1
- 11 Fukushima and German Energy Policy 2005–2015/2016
- 12 Rethinking the Environmental State: An Economic History of the Swedish Environmental Kuznets Curve for Carbon
- 13 Fossil Fuel Systems to 100 Per Cent Renewable Energy-Based Smart Energy Systems: Lessons from the Case of Denmark, 1973–2017
- 14 The Politics of Carbon Capture and Storage: How Interests Have Outstripped Economics in Shaping the Evolution of a Technology
- 15 Scaling Clean Energy for Data Centres: Trends, Problems, Solutions
- 16 Public Participation in the Context of Energy Activities: The Role of the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee
- 17 Biofuel Energy, Ancestral Time and the Destruction of Borneo: An Ethical Perspective
- 18 From Inspiration to Implementation: Laudato Si’, Public Theology and the Demands of Energy Policy
- Part III Multidisciplinary Cases
- Index
- References
Summary
In this chapter, we discuss the evolution of the field of ‘ethics of nuclear energy’, regarding its past, present and future. We will first review the history of this field in the previous four decades, focusing on new and emerging challenges of nuclear energy production and waste disposal, in light of several important developments. Four of the most pressing ethical challenges will be further reviewed in the chapter. First, what is a morally ‘acceptable’ nuclear energy production method, if we consider the existing and possible new technologies? Second, provided a new tendency to consider nuclear waste disposal with several countries, what would be the new ethical and governance challenges of these multinational collaborations? Third, how should we deal with the (safety) challenges of the new geographic distribution of nuclear energy, tilting towards emerging economies with less experience with nuclear technology? Fourth, nuclear energy projects engender highly emotional controversies. Neither ignoring the emotions of the public nor taking them as a reason to prohibit or restrict a technology – we call them technocratic populist pitfalls respectively – seem to be able to guide responsible policy making.
Keywords
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- Chapter
- Information
- In Search of Good Energy Policy , pp. 101 - 119Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019
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