I’m just not sure
Fossil fuels need to be phased out.
Renewable energy won’t be adequate to power our current lifeways.
Nuclear energy is toxic and dangerous.
Part of the process of greening our society will be movement away from things that are toxic and dangerous.
So I dislike nuclear energy.
But in coming decades there may be widespread privation, maybe starvation, without it. That’s a function of the levels of population and industrial provision of modern society.
I like Jonathan Porritt, but he’s somewhat mincing words in his article. He says: “The single most important element in any energy security strategy: EFFICIENCY.” He kind of means degrowth but he doesn’t say so. He knows that we too often increase efficiency but then use the savings to increase production. If efficiency lower prices it can increase demand. Increase, increase, increase is anathema. The real solution to the issue of living more lightly (without need for so much energy) is degrowth.
But I expect degrowth to play out over a period of centuries.
Meanwhile, from where things stand now (unfortunately) for the sake of provision and decarbonization we may need to deploy nuclear.
To say that just shows how utterly unsustainable are current levels of population, production, consumption, and pollution.
The levels must be reduced, but the process can only be gradual.
