Nuclear energy can help address climate change issues — DOST

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Nuclear energy can be used to alleviate the effects of climate change, according to Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Renato Solidum.

“A week ago, we participated in the Conference of Parties (COP) 28 held in Dubai, and the message is clear. Climate change is a problem that we all need to look into. We will be victims of global warming, so we need to act, and nuclear technology would play crucial roles in addressing our concerns on this,” Solidum said.

Solidum issued the statement at the opening of the 51st Atomic Energy Week (AEW) on Monday.

Solidum said that the Philippines’ science department expressed support for Senate Bill No. 2498, or the Philippine National Nuclear Energy Safety Act, filed by Senator Francis Escudero on November 29.

“This is the reason why the country’s science department has its full support for the efforts of the Nuclear Energy Program Inter-Agency Committee (NEP-IAC), as well as the establishment of a unified independent regulatory body for ionizing radiation sources through the bill for the Philippine National Nuclear Energy Safety Act pending in Congress,” he added.

The measure will propose a legal framework for the use of nuclear energy in the country, which it will only be used for peaceful purposes.

Meanwhile, DOST- Philippine Nuclear Research Institute Director Carlo Arcilla hoped that the AEW will clear misconceptions about nuclear energy among the youth.

“With a still-stigmatized perception of the word ‘nuclear,’ it is best that we slowly change such notions by educating and fully informing our young generation. In this day and age, when misinformation is easily proliferated by certain individuals who undermine and disregard the impact they can make on our country’s future, it is my hope that through AEW, we will be able to shed light on this crucial and social topic of nuclear science and technology,” Arcilla said.

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