Nusa Dua, Bali – Anti-nuclear activists have expressed their strong opposition to the use of nuclear energy to mitigate the impact of climate change. They condemned such an option saying it would only aggravate the already worsening climate situation.

In voicing their views, around 20 anti-nuclear activists erected a poster at the entrance to the Bali International Convention Centre (BICC) in Nusa Dua, Bali, where the United Nations Climate Change Conference is being held.

Activists wearing full-length white coats normally worn in a laboratory erected the huge white poster. They also wore dark glasses to protect them against dangerous nuclear radiation. “We don’t want nuclear [power to be used] to mitigate the rate of climate change”, said action coordinator Vladimir Slivyak on Thursday December 13.

The action proceeded for less than 20 minutes when United Nations police officers asked them to move away from the BICC entrance and hold the action instead at a side entrance some 10 meters away. Although there was no confruntion between the protesters and UN police, several protesters objected to the request.

The activists came from 13 non-government organisations from around the world who are focusing on anti-nuclear issues including, among others, Women in Europe for a Common Future (WECF), the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU) the Institute for Global Justice (IGJ). (ari/asy)

[Translated by James Balowski.]