From Watts Up With That?
Essay by Eric Worrall
Will Aussie PM Anthony Albanese listen to Bill Gates position that nuclear power is required to hit net zero?
Anthony Albanese hosts Bill Gates at Kirribilli House for discussions on climate change and global health issues
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is hosting Microsoft founder Bill Gates for discussions on climate change, global health issues and new and clean energy opportunities.
Jack Mahony Digital Reporter
January 21, 2023 – 1:35PMPrime Minister Anthony Albanese has hosted Bill Gates and representatives from his company Breakthough Energy and members from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
It is the first time the pair have met and they are expected to discuss responses to energy shortages, medical issues and climate change.
Mr Albanese thanked the Microsoft founder for his contribution to global health research and explained his government’s approach to climate change.
“We haven’t met before but I’ve admired your work and your contribution not just financially but in raising debates including the need to deal with health issues,” he said on Saturday.
…
“And of course climate change, my government was elected on a platform of taking climate change seriously, we’ve introduced the first legislated caps of 43 per cent by 2030 and net zero by 2050.”
Bill Gates on Nuclear Power;
Bill Gates: Stop shutting down nuclear reactors and build new nuclear power plants to fight climate change
Published Fri, Jun 11 202111:16 AM EDTUpdated Wed, Jun 30 20214:34 PM EDT
Catherine Clifford@IN/CATCLIFFORD/@CATCLIFFORD…
According to Gates, “if we’re serious about solving climate change, and quite frankly we have to be, the first thing we should do is keep safe reactors operating.”
But “even then, just maintaining that status quo is not enough. We need more nuclear power to zero out emissions in America and to prevent a climate disaster,” Gates said Wednesday.
…Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/11/bill-gates-bullish-on-using-nuclear-power-to-fight-climate-change.html
Nuclear power is all but banned in Australia. Australia operates a medical isotope reactor in Sydney, but has no nuclear power stations, despite having a third of the world’s known reserves of Uranium. In theory you could apply for a permit, but in the current political environment it won’t be approved.
Some politicians have put their head above the parapet, only to be shouted down by colleagues. For example, Anthony Albanese recently criticised his party colleague, the Premier of South Australia Peter Malinauskas, when the SA Premier appeared to open the door to considering nuclear – though the SA Premier later claimed his words were misinterpreted.
South Australia’s premier, Peter Malinauskas, is in ‘furious agreement’ with PM that nuclear power would not work for Australia
7.30 / By James Elton
Posted Tue 6 Dec 2022 at 7:45pmTuesday 6 Dec 2022 at 7:45pm
South Australia’s premier has comprehensively rejected the future use of nuclear power generators in Australia, saying the “completely uneconomic” technology had already been thoroughly investigated and dismissed.
Key points:
- Peter Malinauskas says he did not “seek to suggest that nuclear power should be part of the mix in our nation”
- He says nuclear power is not a viable option because it would make energy more expensive
- Mr Malinauskas says price caps on gas and coal are “worthy of consideration”
In an interview with ABC’s 7.30, Peter Malinauskas recast comments he made earlier in the week in a News Corp interview, that were widely interpreted as pro-nuclear energy and were labelled a mistake by the Prime Minister.
“I didn’t seek to suggest that nuclear power should be part of the mix in our nation,” the South Australian premier told ABC’s 7.30 host, Sarah Ferguson.
Will a visit from nuclear power enthusiast Bill Gates soften Albanese’s hardline opposition to nuclear?
Personally I doubt a visit from Bill Gates will lead to any changes to policy direction.
In my opinion Prime Minister Albanese and his team have repeatedly demonstrated their utter ignorance and their sketchy grasp of numbers. In my opinion their bone headed net zero plans and profound policy blunders, along with their eye raising statements about renewable energy, are evidence of their ignorance and incompetence.
The Albanese government is not going to change course, just because Bill Gates supports nuclear, because Prime Minister Albanese and his team believe they already know what is best for Australia.
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