Panel - The ethics of nuclear energy in the post-Fukushima Era

Worldwide the need for energy is growing. Particularly electricity demands seem to grow twice as fast as overall energy demands, rising by 73% by 2035. The production of nuclear power is also substantially growing in order to meet these electricity demands. The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that some 50 countries will have nuclear reactors by 2030, up from 30 today, with the latest entrant being Iran. If these projections are borne out, the 432 nuclear reactors currently operable around the world will be joined by more than 500 others within the next few decades. Nuclear technology has evident advantages for energy production purposes, but it also raises a variety of safety and security concerns. The recent nuclear accident in Fukushima Daiichi in Japan has again brought the nuclear debate to the forefront of controversy. While Japan is trying to avert further disaster, many nations are reconsidering the future of nuclear power in their region. Discussions about the desirability of nuclear power involve many intricate and distinctive ethical issues. Yet, there is currently surprisingly little scholarly work that explicitly addresses these ethical issues. The major academic discussions date back to the eighties and early nighties of the last century. A forthcoming volume with the Cambridge University Press on The ethics of nuclear energy: risk, justice and democracy in the post-Fukushima Era' [1] aims to revive the field of nuclear ethics. Four authors will present their contributions to this volume.