Topic: Future of Nuclear Power
Country: Portugal
Delegate Name: Tanvi Sharma
School: Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Portugal position papers GLIMUN 2011 committees
The nation of Portugal does not currently have a nuclear energy programme within the country. The main reason for Portugal not having a nuclear energy programme is that it is a very large and expensive investment. Nuclear energy could also result in problems with the safety of the Portuguese citizens. In addition to this, Portugal is already heavily invested in solar energy, and is focusing on very safe alternative energies. However, Portugal does do research on nuclear energy. Portugal is not planning on creating a nuclear power plant in the future.
Even though Portugal does not have any nuclear systems in the country, the nuclear systems of other nations do have an effect on our nation. The Almaraz power plant, located in Spain, is very near Portugal’s borders. Portugal and Spain are working together to be prepared for any disaster that might affect the safety of the citizens of both nations.
In light of the disaster at the Fukushima power plant in Japan, Portugal believes that there should be regulations and guidelines to be met for every country. We believe that what happened in Japan was a horrible occurence and do not think any disaster like this should be allowed to happen again. We believe that the safety of the world’s population is the most important thing. If this cannot be ensured, then nuclear energy systems cannot be allowed to continue. If, however, a country has their nuclear power plants inspected regularly and has certain safety measures met, nuclear energy systems are a good energy source for the world.
