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Reacting to the announcement that South Africa has signed an agreement withRussia to create a strategic partnership on nuclear energy, Melita Steele, Senior Climate and Energy Campaign Manager for Greenpeace has said:

“Nuclear power is nothing more than a dead-end: it takes far too long to deliver and will cost much more than South Africans can afford. South Africa needs electricity now - not in ten years’ time and with a trillion rand price tag. This latest deal is taking us one step closer to the construction of new nuclearreactors, but Russia’s ability to deliver on the deals it offers remains untested and its ability to provide finance to markets like South Africa is in serious doubt. We absolutely should not be taking the risk of betting on dangerous nuclear power, it is not the answer to our current electricity crisis, and new nuclear investments put all South Africans at risk.”

“Renewable energy is the clear answer to South Africa’s electricity needs, and to putting power back into people’s hands. Renewable energy can be built quickly, it is clean, much cheaper than nuclear and it will create far more, long-lasting jobs.”

Issued by Greenpeace