Radioactive debates and a nuclear problem

Last weekend, we published in Azul an interview about the most paradigmatic of the “radioactive” discussions: the debate on nuclear energy. The conversation with the organic chemist Laurence Harwooda kind of outsider of the nuclear industry everything shortwas enriching for me, explaining in detail some issues about nuclear waste that, in other forums, usually boil down to buzzwords thrown between the barricades of nuclear supporters and detractors.

Despite his trust in science to find a solution, Harwood doesn’t shy away from the elephant in the room: “Any country that has nuclear energy has an ever-increasing problem to store and deal with. We are pushing the problem in the bud, letting it for other generations”. Despite the many nuances raised by the investigator, the comments were – unsurprisingly – in black and white, between those who accuse the newspaper of being pro-nuclear and those who did not appreciate the quote from an anti-nuclear critic.

In a media context that forces us to take a stance on everything (even on topics that we do not understand well), the increasing polarization of discourses is not surprising, ending up being based on stereotypical or even caricatured views of the “opposite” side. Journalism has the important role of explaining and making an increasingly complex reality more accessible – and it must do so, as far as possible, respecting this complexity, including all the “ifs” and all the “maybes” of the questions.

The energy transition is one of those complex topics on which, as citizens, we are called upon to have an opinion. And regardless of the degree of complexity of each of its aspects, it is a fact that we have lacked focus on the nuances related to three crucial issues: how will we implement technologies – including at what cost reais (financial and environmental) –, but also to what ends these new sources will be directed and, which is more difficult to disentangle, who they favor. Who will benefit from these bets and innovations? The populations? Or corporate greed?

No mix of energy sources that will replace fossil fuels, this is an equation in which even renewable energies do not always do well. The expansion of solar energy has been done, in many cases, at the expense of the environment, instead of directing investments to areas with less natural values ​​or even to the built heritage (hello, roofs).

Among the collisions with Aarhus Convention (on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental issues) and the operations of “citizenwashing“ – politically inconsequential – what public consultations have become in Portugal, or even in the face of processes such as the Operation Influencerwhich reveal the level of access (and influence) of large companies with political power, it is not too much to ask for more time and more transparency so that citizens are properly informed about the major issues that hang over their future.

The energy transition is an imperative, we already know. But the way in which each country will achieve this is a path to be built on a local scale, in which there are still many details to be clarified. At a time when nuclear energy has entered the range of clean energies that will be supported by the European Commission, based on its enormous potential for producing energy without emissions (exceeded only by the risk posed by the materials in question), it is important to lift the curtain of complexity with renewed arguments and not letting the debate be made up of caricatures built over decades. But it is also essential not to buy ready-made formulas or toxic debates from other countries. Let’s walk our path – which, by the way, has been relatively bright.

Do you want to exchange some ideas about this? Azul will participate in MediaCon, a journalism meeting that takes place at the Goethe-Institut, in Lisbon, on the 28th and 29th of June. On Saturday, from 11 am, we will be in Goethe’s garden, available for a chat, alongside journalists from other media outlets with alternative approaches. We’re counting on you!