Austria's Anti-Nuclear Stance: Rock Solid,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 VIENNA 000173 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ENRG EPET PGOV AU SUBJECT: Austria's Anti-Nuclear Stance: Rock Solid, Deeply Felt, Counterproductive REF: (A) 08 VIENNA 1819; 06 VIENNA 3482 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: There is no nuclear renaissance in Austria. This cable details Austrians' long-standing rejection of nuclear power and GOA opposition in every international context. Austria's new government will continue its role as Europe's strongest opponent of nuclear energy. While the reasons are historical -- a 1978 popular referendum (mothballing Austria's only nuclear power plant) and the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 -- the ban rests on very broad public support. "Anti- nuclear" is a central plank of Austria's foreign policy prompting frequent disputes over nuclear power stations across Austria's (eastern) borders and opposition to EU/IFI financing for nuclear energy. The anti-nuclear din drowns out the fact that nuclear power accounts for up to a third of Austria's electricity imports -- and the ban's negative impact on Austria's already spotty climate record. END SUMMARY. Nuclear Ban in Austria's Constitution since 1978 -------------- --- ¶2. (U) In November 2008, Austria's anti-nuclear activists celebrated the 30th anniversary of a referendum in which a then-narrow majority of Austrians (50.5%) voted against allowing Austria's first nuclear power plant to go into operation (mothballing the Zwentendorf reactor, which now serves as a training facility for nuclear specialists). In December 1978, Austria adopted a "constitutional law" prohibiting nuclear power generation. After the Chernobyl catastrophe in 1986 -- when radioactive fallout was recorded in some parts of Austria -- any support for reversing the ban evaporated; since then, Austrian politicians across the spectrum have led an aggressive anti-nuclear campaign in foreign affairs. ¶3. (U) The GOA's anti-nuclear stance is backed by polls consistently showing 90 percent or more of the Austrian public disapprove of nuclear energy. In January 2009 polling, 70 percent of Austrians termed nuclear power plants in neighboring countries (mainly Czech and Slovak facilities) a "potential risk" and 80% would like to stop importing nuclear energy. Nuclear Power: "A Dangerous Drug" -------------- ¶4. (U) New global debates on energy security and climate change have led Austrian politicians to re-affirm their opposition to nuclear energy, lest any cracks appear. �A;The October 2008 coalition program (for the government period through 2013) now has a chapter entitled "Anti- Nuclear-Policy" attesting that "nuclear energy is neither a sustainable form of energy supply nor a workable option to fight climate change." In order to "substantiate" this policy, the GoA is planning to demonstrate "concrete alternatives" in form of "energy partnerships" with new EU member states. Austria will oppose multilateral subsidies for the construction or operation of nuclear power plants, and the GOA cites its strict "nuclear liability" legislation as a model for the EU. New environment minister Nikolaus Berlakovich (a conservative) defended the policy during the Russia- Ukraine gas crisis: "Nuclear power is a drug with evil side effects." Temelin and Bohunice as Constant Irritants -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Nuclear power plants near Austria's borders are often the source of frictions with the Czech and Slovak republics. The Czech power plant at Temelin -- a perennial bete-noire in Austria -- figured prominently in the Czech Republic's EU accession negotiations (2000- 2003) and intense protests accompanied the commissioning of both of Temelin's reactors (at times shutting down dozens of border crossings). The tone moderated after the Czech Republic's EU accession in 2005, but Austria still maintains that Czechs have not fully implemented safety standards under a 2001 bilateral agreement ("Melk accord"). In 2007, the Austrian parliament called on the GoA to lodge a complaint with the International Court of Justice over those alleged breaches, but the GoA has demurred, judging that such a suit would have little chance of success. GoA representatives raise concerns over Temelin at every meeting with Czech counterparts, though absent any newsmaking accidents or other developments, the topic has become somewhat rote in VIENNA 00000173 002 OF 003 recent years. ¶6. (U) Slovakia's older Bohunice reactor has also figured prominently in bilateral ties. Austria succeeded in making the decommissioning of Bohunice (in December 2008) a condition for Slovakia's EU accession. It came as no surprise that Austrian media and officials were outraged when Slovaks announced they would re-start Bohunice during the gas crisis in January. Chancellor Faymann engaged on the issue and MinEnvir Berlakovich warned of a direct "breach" of EU law, signaling that Austria would escalate the conflict if Bohunice went back into operation (Austria even sent a ministry observer to ensure the reactor was not restarted clandestinely). GoA Strategy: Oppose Nuclear Power Everywhere -------------- -- ¶7. (SBU) How intense is GOA opposition to nuclear power outside its borders? A MinEnvir contact (Andreas Molin from the Department of Nuclear Coordination) shared a ministry non-paper providing insight into the GOA anti- nuclear policy beyond the official GoA program. The paper shows that GOA efforts go far beyond the fight against Bohunice and Temelin: Austria articulates its concerns in bilateral "nuclear information agreements" (including with the Czech Republic) and cross-border Environmental Impact Studies (EIS) under to the ESPOO Convention and a relevant EU directive. Within that framework, Austria is currently voicing opposition to new nuclear stations at Mochovce (Slovakia),Cernavoda (Romania),and Loviisa and Olkiluoto (both in Finland). The GOA is also participating in "strategic" Environmental Impact Studies with regard to waste storage in the Slovak Republic and Switzerland. Furthermore, the GoA seeks (unrealistically) to amend the EURATOM treaty to eliminate the goal of promoting nuclear energy and opposes higher liability limits for EURATOM loans. Molin ruled out any watering down of Austria's anti-nuclear policy as unimaginable. Despite being the host country of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),Austria also continues to take a strong anti-nuclear stance in IAEA fora. But Austria Imports a Lot of Nuclear Power -------------- ¶8. (U) Unsurprisingly -- given the interconnectedness of Western Europe's electrical grid -- Austria has imported a lot of nuclear power since 2001 when demand began outstripping Austria's hydroelectric production (which now covers only 60% of consumption). An estimated 30% of Austria's electricity imports (21,257 GWH in 2006) comes de facto from nuclear power in neighboring countries (NOTE: since electricity is fungible, in reality nuclear power is indistinguishable from other power sources, but Austrian energy suppliers openly trade nuclear power on electricity exchanges). GOA policymakers grudgingly acknowledge their import dependence, but claim the situation is temporary: MinEnvir Berlakovich has set a new goal to make Austria independent of electricity imports through a massive expansion of renewables. Industry Is Virtually Silent on Nuclear Power -------------- ¶9. (U) Unlike in Germany, Austrian industry representatives are largely silent on nuclear energy as a competitive issue. Veit Sorger, President of the Association of the Austrian Industry (which also represents big electricity suppliers),recently acknowledged that industry profits from cheap imports of nuclear energy and has publicly suggested buying stakes in nearby nuclear energy producers to avoid shortages in Austria. Association of Austrian Electricity Companies spokesperson Barbara Schmidt only advocates a more open discussion of the topic: "Every year we consume two percent more electricity, while at the same time there is opposition to building clean hydropower stations. As a result we have to import nuclear energy." COMMENT: Strong Against Nukes but Weak on Climate -------------- -------------- ¶10. (SBU) The nuclear ban is a sacred cow in Austria. When engage GOA representatives on their opposition to agricultural biotechnology, we occasionally hear apologies that the policy is based on public opinion and posturing -- not so with nuclear power, where opposition hardened intractably after the Chernobyl accident. VIENNA 00000173 003 OF 003 Austrians have a palpable fear of a nuclear catastrophe in one of the 20-odd reactors in Austria's neighborhood and have real concerns about the permanent storage of nuclear waste. Austrian public television recently featured a disaster film about the fictive meltdown of a Czech reactor (Dukovany),prompting Czech protests but affirming ordinary Austrians' fear that another Chernobyl is just a matter of time. ¶11. (U) Unfortunately, Austrians do not connect the dots between their poor performance on greenhouse gas abatement (ref A) and their anti-nuclear stance which raises the bar further for climate-friendly energy. Occasional dissenters within Austria -- like former Finance Minister Hannes Androsch -- are dismissed as cranks. We expect the GOA to continue maneuvering against nuclear energy in the EU, IEA, IAEA, and OECD -- and to reject any notion they are thereby doing harm to the climate or energy security. END COMMENT. YAP