Australia rules out nuclear power

CANBERRA, Australia, Oct. 13 (UPI) -- A Nielsen poll published Tuesday shows 49 percent of Australians support nuclear power, saying it should be considered as an alternative source of energy to help combat global warming, while 43 percent are completely opposed.

The finding marks a shift of public opinion from 2006, when a Newspoll showed just 38 percent favored nuclear power and 51 percent opposed the idea.

Despite the increase in support for the alternative energy, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd maintains that the government will not introduce nuclear power in Australia.

"We believe that whereas some countries around the world have no alternative but to use nuclear power, that is not the case in Australia," said Rudd, Australian Broadcasting System reports.

"We do not support nuclear power plants in Australia," he said.

Rudd challenged the opposition to make its position on nuclear power clear, saying that in the past, they've left open the possibility of nuclear power plants around Australia.

Environment Minister Peter Garrett also says the federal government has ruled out nuclear power despite the increased public support showed in the poll. "There are always going to be polls that appear at different times and give different readings of the temperature on issues," he said, China's Xinhua news agency reported.

"But the key thing here is that this government has a comprehensive plan to deal with dangerous climate change. We have ruled out nuclear power because we have a wide suite of energy sources that we can draw on as we both manage and deal with climate change and provide the opportunity for sustainable livelihoods for Australians in the generations to come," Garrett said.

Ziggy Switkowski, who chairs the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization, called for Australia to provide the next generation of base load electricity generation with clean energy. "The only way to do that is with nuclear power,'' he said, The Age reports.

Coal-fired power stations, known for high carbon dioxide emissions, generate about 80 percent of Australia's electricity. Australia has surpassed the United States as the world's biggest per capita producer of carbon emissions, according to a report last month by British-based Maplecroft, a risk consultancy firm.

Another poll released Tuesday conducted by the Lowy Institute each year found that climate change is dropping as a priority for Australians. The issue fell 10 points since last year and 19 points from 2007. Yet 76 percent of Australians polled rated climate change a problem and viewed coming up with a solution as increasingly urgent.