Environmental debates over nuclear energy : media, communication, and the public

• Main Authors: Ho, Shirley S., Kristainsen, Silje
• Other Authors: Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Social sciences::Communication; Nuclear Energy; Risk
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/140532
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Environmental debates over nuclear energy often center around two polarized sets of arguments – the potential benefits of nuclear energy as a clean way of producing energy, helping to mitigate climate change and the concerns over the possibility of ionizing radiation release and nuclear waste contamination of the environment. As a form of clean energy, the environmental benefits of nuclear energy can be attributed to its low carbon emission (International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA], 2014; Lovelock, 2004; Monbiot, 2009). On the other hand, previous nuclear accidents have triggered concerns about the possibility of ionizing radiation leaks and nuclear waste contamination to the environment (IAEA, 2014). The debates over nuclear energy are further compounded by arguments over other potential benefits of nuclear energy such as reliable energy production, economic competitiveness and stable electricity prices, and the potential adverse effects of nuclear energy such as the possible proliferation of nuclear weapons and the high upfront costs of nuclear power plants (IAEA, 2014). In the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear incident in Japan, many nations such as Germany, Belgium, and Switzerland decided to phase out nuclear power, but nations such as China, India, Finland, the UK, and the US are planning or already building new nuclear energy plants (Goodfellow, Dewick, Wortley, & Azapagic, 2014; World Nuclear Association, 2019).