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China, the EU and Latin America : current issues and future cooperation
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TheRelationshipbetweenClimateChangePoliciesandEnergySecurity EuropeandBeyond 65 5.犖狌犮犾犲犪狉犈狀犲狉犵狔 Nuclearenergyiscurrentlythelargestsinglesourceoflowcarbonelectricity intheEU.In2007 itaccountedfor14percentoftheEUtotalenergysupply andprovided31percentoftheelectricitygenerated.Overall thereare145 nuclearpowerplantsinoperationacross15EU memberstates mostofwhich werebuiltbetweenthe1970sand1980s )( EuropeanNuclearSociety2009 ), with anotherfournuclearpowerplantscurrentlyunderconstruction.EU member statescontinuetobedividedaboutnuclearenergy.Eventhoughsomemember statesrecentlycameforward with plansfornew plants it would bean exaggerationtospeakofa nuclearrenaissance .Evenifallcurrentlyplanned nuclearpowerplantswerebuiltinEurope theywouldhardlybeabletoreplace theageingnuclearinfrastructure letaloneaddtoexistingcapacity should Germanyphaseoutits17nuclearpowerplantscurrentlyinoperation. Thoseinfavourarguethatnuclearenergycouldcontributetoincrease Europessecurityofenergysupplyandcontributesignificantlytoreachingthe EUsclimate objectives.First this support comes from theincreasing competitivenessofelectricitygenerationfromnuclear.Thisisduetodeclining fuel includingenrichment ), operatingandmaintenancecosts whiletheplant concernedhasbeenpaidfor World Nuclear Association2008 .However it shouldbenotedthatlargecapitalcostsforconstructionofnewplantsremain problematic especiallywithcapitalinshortsupplyduetothecurrentfinancial crisis.Inaddition decliningoilpriceshave made manynuclearprojectsless competitive atleastintheshortterm .Second theindigenousnatureof nuclearpowerproductionreassuresmemberstatesagainstrisksrelatedtoimport dependency.ItisnotsurprisingthatcentralandeasternEuropeancountries withthehighestdependencyonRussiangasimports aremostsupportiveof nuclearpower.Whilealmost100percentofEU uraniumrequirementsare importedfromabroad itsavailabilityinreliablecountriessuchasCanadaand Australia accountingfor45percentofEUuraniumrequirements usuallydoes notraiseimportdependencyconcerns.Thethirdreasonfornuclearsupportis relatedtothefactthat togetherwithrenewableenergysources nuclearenergy isoneoftheleastcarbonintensivesourcesofenergy.Thisargumentisoften usedbyproponentsofnuclearenergyinrelationtoachievingclimatechange objectivesatcurrentlevelsofenergyconsumption. Despitetherecentdeclarationsofintentby many Europeancountriesto undertakenewnuclearprojects somescepticismexistsonarealboosttonuclear powergenerationin Europe.Without massiveinvestmentstoreplaceageing