By IANS,
Mumbai : Nobel laureate Dr. John Byrne Wednesday challenged nuclear power as a source of sustainable energy Wednesday.
“Nuclear power’s unfulfilled promises and demonstrable environmental, economical and social risks have led many researchers to look elsewhere for tools to build a sustainable energy future,” Byrne told reporters and activists in Mumbai.
While interacting with activists protesting the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, Byrne noted that there were negative advisories from credit rating agencies regarding nuclear power.
Byrne is the director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy (CEEP) and a distinguished professor at the University of Delaware, US.
Byrne has contributed to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 1992 and shares the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with the IPCC researchers.
In an interaction organised by environmental NGO Greenpeace, Byrne heard the concerns of residents of Jaitapur and surrounding villages. He also expressed his concern over the dangers from a power plant to the marine economy.
Those present at the interaction included Pravin Gavankar, leader of anti-Jaitapur movement and president of Janhit Sewa Samiti, Madban village; anti-nuclear activist Mansur Solkar from Nate village, and Pradeep Indulkar, who has been fighting for the cause for many years.