Japan’s Atomic Rating May Fuel Opposition, Boost EU's Carbon Permit Price
Japan’s decision to increase the severity rating of its atomic accident may fuel more European opposition to nuclear energy and block new reactors, boosting the cost of emissions, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said.
Japan elevated the danger of its nuclear crisis to the highest level of 7, matching the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, after increasing radiation prompted the government today to widen the evacuation zone and aftershocks rocked the country. The higher severity ranking for the accident, which has sparked protests against atomic energy across Europe, “cannot help but cause a further increase in public concern about nuclear power,” which provide one third on the region’s electricity, New Energy said.
“Stronger public pressure would make it even more probable that there will be less atomic capacity in the coming years,” Matthew Cowie, a London-based analyst at New Energy Finance, said by e-mail today. “Europe will have to rely more on fossil fuels and bear higher pollution costs.”
The stricken Japanese nuclear plant, about 220 kilometers (135 miles) north of Tokyo, is leaking radiation in the country’s worst civilian nuclear disaster. The accident at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi station, triggered by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11, was previously ranked 5 on the scale.
European Union carbon-dioxide allowances rose as much as 0.2 percent to 16.79 euros today on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange, extending this year’s gain to 18 percent.
“In the short term, the difference in the EU carbon price is only likely to be a couple of euros from the closure of older plants,” Cowie said. “In the long-term scenarios, emission prices are close to 10 euros higher as a result of lower nuclear build are possible.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced a 90-day moratorium last month on planned nuclear-plant lifespan extentions, and British Energy Minister Chris Huhne asked the country’s chief nuclear inspector to report on the implications of Japan’s disaster. The European Union is also planning stress tests on its 143 nuclear plants to reassess safety standards.
To contact the reporters on this story: Ewa Krukowska in Brussels at ekrukowska@bloomberg.net;
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Stephen Voss at sev@bloomberg.net;
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