Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
The adoption and transition to clean energy alternatives is a long-standing debate and point of
non-convergence among many developing as well as the developed western world. Among
the many renewable sources of energy, Nuclear energy has always invited controversies and
speculation on it’s real worth as a “Clean fuel”. This leads to an ethical dilemma for its
adoption and implementation. In the context of a developing nation such as India, which is
trying to catch up with the lost industrial development during the 18 th and 19th century , the
challenge presents additional acute dimensions through the eyes of economical front, besides
social and environmental implications. The report presents with the facts , relevance in the
Indian sub-continent , the consequences of the decisions ( short term and long term ) and
finally some recommendations to the Indian government on its path forward.
Nuclear energy has advocates in it as the most viable alternative to the existing oil based non-
renewable energy sources. This is because the energy requirement of a country like India
which is moving towards accelerated industrial development is bound to grow by 120% by
2040.The existing fossil fuels besides running out of existing resources , also are creating
huge carbon footprints , the impacts of it being witnessed globally through symptoms of
climate change, air pollution, land pollution, ozone layer depletion etc. Hence the huge
energy requirements , as per experts can only be met by the unravelled potential of a nuclear
alternative. It is endorsed that only nuclear energy can meet the growing demands with least
implications to environment. However, there are many facets to this argument which we shall
dissect here:
1. Identifying the moral values, obligations, ideals, rights through the established “Code
of ethics”
International atomic energy agency ( IAEA) is a global organisation that has jotted down
many codes to ethics for nuclear operating organizations. Some of the most important
behaviours include
Adopt a conservative, risk-based approach to decision making
Always place safety before commercial gain
Integrate safety and environmental considerations into business practises
Accept personal responsibility for own and others’ safety
Being a good neighbour to, and supporter of, the local community , including
advising them of measures taken to protect their health and safety , and the local
environment.
From the above most important expectations, it is aptly clear that for operating with a high-
risk energy source such as nuclear power , safety should be placed the highest on priority.
Extending the argument, we can understand that building nuclear plants take substantial
investment but also few decades before it becomes operational. Additionally , a lot of
investment and time should go into making the design completely fool proof and highly safe
that demanded as per global standards. This is a significant economic investment for a
country like India which at the present time is looking to catch up with the developed western
world on industrial revolution at cost efficient means. This also translates to the fact that the
priority of country like India is in alleviating Poverty over its contribution to sustainability.
Options Options
Develop an energy
Increase the safety For the first few
Maximum adoption portfolio which is a
standards of Nuclear years , maximize the Continue with the
of Nuclear energy healthy mix of
plants , draft detailed industrialization goal present trend on fossil
sustainable and non- fuel consumption
code of ethics, RACI to alleviate poverty
sustainable energy
matrices to ensure while taking actions
sources balancing
that the local to implement
economic and
community is not sustainable sources
sustainability aspects
affected by its in the following
Roll No : 1903025 presence years : Mohanapriya J
Name
Strategic Business Ethics
Both of the extreme options can only help a country like India to achieve either of the goals,
to alleviate poverty or to keep pace with the global requisites to sustainable energy options
which protects the environment. From our analysis , we have established that a country like
India needs to concentrate on its internal needs before being able to make significant
investment for the studies on sustainable and safe use of nuclear energy, build expensive and
safe nuclear power plants, hence the proposal is to move from the rightmost option to left
over the period of next 50 years. We recommend continuing using Fossil fuels for a
period of 5-8 years , while closely monitoring the global situation with the advancements
in Nuclear energy. Over the period, India should of course diversify the energy portfolio
reducing the fossil fuel consumption, opting for solar & wind energy ( a success story in
tropical countries ) . Also furthering into the 25 year horizon India should strengthen its
regulations, compliances, standards with Nuclear power, identify potential locations but draft
detailed action plans to relocate the communities there safely and also take adequate
measures such as clean dumping, opting for expensive constructions which keep the
radiations internal, reduce manual interventions in the operations, apply highest level of
safety protocols etc before gearing to use nuclear energy at a commercial level.
It is in the best interests for India to channelize its resources , policies, and government
expenditure for the first decade into advancing industrialization and employee generation.
From the current situation and the ongoing studies, the developed world is surely studying the
long-term adoption of nuclear energy and it’s expected that there will be improvements from
the present design that would avoid the repeat of Chernobyl, Fukashima. The ongoing protest
against the nuclear power plant in Kudankulam ( Tamil Nadu, India) is a testimony to the
popular sentiments of common man and underpreparedness of government to rise above the
speculations.
References :
1. https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-g-n/india.aspx
2. https://www.power-technology.com/features/nuclear-power-pros-cons/
3. https://www.solarreviews.com/blog/nuclear-energy-pros-and-cons
4. npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/04/10/473547227/for-the-navajo-nation-uranium-
minings-deadly-legacy-lingers
5. https://www.orfonline.org/research/the-future-of-nuclear-energy-in-india/
6. https://cnpp.iaea.org/countryprofiles/India/India.htm
7. https://www.epw.in/engage/article/nuclear-energy-answer-indias-growing-energy-needs
8. https://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/Publications/PDF/P_1311_web.pdf
9. https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/news/newsmajor-pros-and-cons-of-thorium-nuclear-
power-reactor-6058445/#:~:text=The%20fuel%20in%20nuclear%20fission,significant
%20emissions%20of%20gamma%20rays.