A coalition of anti-nuclear groups yesterday demonstrated to raise awareness of the threat of nuclear contamination during war, as the world prepares to mark one year since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Banner-wielding members of the National Nuclear Abolition Action Platform gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei, chanting slogans in support of Ukraine ahead of today’s anniversary.
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine has been targeted by shelling as Russian troops attempt to occupy it, posing a threat to global safety, the groups said.
Photo: CNA
People used to think that nuclear power plants would be spared during military conflict, but war does not follow reason, Green Citizens’ Action Alliance secretary-general Tsuei Su-hsin (崔愫欣) said.
Although the Geneva Convention stipulates that nuclear power plants must not be attacked, it is ultimately just words on paper and cannot protect against shelling, Environmental Jurists Association deputy secretary-general Hsieh Pei-yi (謝蓓宜) said.
Countries, including Taiwan, must consider whether their nuclear plants would become a primary target during conflict, she said.
Although a fail-safe was added to the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant to shut off power in the event of an attack, it has not yet been tested, Hsieh said, encouraging urgent attention to the risk of wartime nuclear disaster.
Russian troops have allegedly used phosphorus munitions in Ukraine, generating massive fires and dense smoke, Homemakers United Foundation director Wu Hsin-ping (吳心萍) said, adding that an estimated 20 percent of nature reserves in Ukraine have been destroyed.
Warfare accounts for about 5 percent of all carbon emissions, compared with only 2.9 percent for global shipping, posing an even greater climate risk, she said.
The war has also cast into relief the danger of energy dependence on other nations, Mom Loves Taiwan secretary-general Yang Shun-mei (楊順美) said.
In response to the war, the EU has invested more heavily in renewable energy sources over natural gas to break Russia’s energy oligopoly, she said.
“Conservation and development of renewable energy is a matter of national security,” she added.
However, nuclear power is not a good resistance strategy, Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association attorney Tsai Ya-ying (蔡雅瀅) said.
A decentralized energy grid based on renewables is much harder to disrupt, Tsai said.
Russia has been targeting civilian infrastructure, leaving Ukrainians with unstable power and water supplies during winter, Taiwan Association for Human Rights secretary-general Shih Yi-hsiang (施逸翔) said.
The international community must seek an end to the war and hold Russia accountable, Shih said, adding that Taiwan cannot stay on the sidelines.
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