SYDNEY - The push by Australia and the United States for nuclear power as a solution to global warming raises other environmental concerns, Nuclear Disarmament Minister Phil Goff said today.
US President George Bush put climate change on top of the Apec meeting agenda today calling on all
Pacific Rim nations including China to work together on the issues.
Mr Bush endorsed a proposal by Australian Prime Minister John Howard that all members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum should agree to general goals without specific plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
New Zealand and others say countries should set specific targets laid down in the Kyoto Protocol.
Mr Bush also backed Mr Howard's encouragement for greater reliance on nuclear power to reduce dependence on coal and other fossil fuels for electricity generation.
Speaking at the Apec meeting, Mr Goff said while nuclear power would reduce emissions it would also "cause other concerns", among them waste disposal, safety issues and the creation of terrorist targets.
"These are concerns that should be addressed," Mr Goff said.
Other countries would make their own decisions in the end, but New Zealand would prefer a greater reliance on sustainable energy and energy efficiency.
Prime Minister Helen Clark, speaking in Wellington, said New Zealand would never go down the nuclear path being pushed by Australia and the US.
" We've always been on a different track on nuclear issues," Miss Clark said.
Mr Goff said 70 per cent of New Zealand's electricity came from sustainable energy sources and it could be 100 per cent in the future.
Nuclear power made no economic sense, he said.
Australia's foreign minister Alexander Downer also today raised the prospect of his country enriching uranium to get more value from its export of the mineral.
Downer told journalists it would first have to convince nuclear powers that having other another country enriching uranium was a good idea, though he believed having the process being done in a politically stable country was desirable.
Ministerial talks continue today and tomorrow under tight security on a range of issues including climate change and trade.
The leaders' summit takes place on Saturday and Sunday.
- NZPA
