Uscire dal nucleare non è poi così facile

L’uscita dal nucleare e l’ambizioso riorientamento verso le energie rinnovabili comportano sfide e problemi rilevanti sul piano politico, economico e sociale, che non possono essere evidentemente affrontate individualmente.

La scorsa primavera Svizzera e Germania hanno deciso di rinunciare all’energia nucleare per puntare decisamente verso un futuro di sole energie rinnovabili. A distanza di cinque mesi, si trovano a dover fare i conti con prospettive meno positive ed ottimistiche e con problemi economici e sociali che le classi politiche dei due paesi hanno difficoltà a risolvere.

Ecco dunque la ragione del Forum dell’innovazione che i due paesi hanno organizzato per questi giorni nella città di confine di Sciaffusa, riunendo i principali soggetti e i gruppi d’interesse della cosiddetta «mobilità sostenibile», i quali hanno discusso le possibili forme di collaborazione.. 

L’intenzione espressa da Berna e Berlino è di promuovere intensamente, nei prossimi anni, la ricerca e di rilanciare con forza l’innovazione nel settore economico. Inoltre, hanno ribadito la necessità di collaborare per un’economia sostenibile ed efficiente sul piano energetico e delle risorse.

Durante il forum, il consigliere federale Johann N. Schneider-Ammann e il ministro tedesco Annette Schavan hanno auspicato una maggiore collaborazione nella politica dell’innovazione per promuovere un’idea di economia e di società sostenibile ed efficiente sul piano energetico e delle risorse. 

A Sciaffusa gli esperti provenienti dalla Svizzera, dalla Baviera e dal Baden-Württemberg – i due Laender tedeschi di confne con la Confederazione – hanno presentato i propri progetti orientati al futuro in materia di «elettromobilità», «studi sulla mobilità» e «veicoli innovativi». I temi di ricerca e di sviluppo mostrano che i due Paesi si integrano perfettamente: la Germania con le competenze nella costruzione di veicoli e la Svizzera con la presenza di numerose aziende di componentistica e dell’indotto. Inoltre, le strategie di promozione e di pianificazione dei due Paesi sono articolate in modo simile.

La promozione delle attività economiche e di innovazione transfrontaliere è di primaria importanza per lo sviluppo di nuovi mercati.

Nella propria strategia di politica economica estera il Consiglio federale ha deciso di consolidare i rapporti con la Germania. L’incontro di lavoro bilaterale tra il consigliere federale Johann Schneider-Ammann e il ministro Annette Schavan è servito proprio ad approfondire le relazioni, tradizionalmente eccellenti, tra i due Paesi. Al centro dei colloqui vi sono stati i progetti in materia di politica economica e di ricerca, come la strategia svizzera Cleantech e la Hightechstrategie 2020 della Germania, nonché la questione del contrasto a lungo termine della carenza di personale specializzato.

Svizzera, il futuro energetico passa dalla ricerca

La ricerca come elemento fondamentale della politica energetica, per favorire lo sviluppo di tecniche innovative e contribuire alla garanzia di un approvvigionamento energetico sufficiente, sicuro, economicamente sostenibile e rispettoso dell’ambiente.

Sono le linee guide che la Confederazione Elvetica ha deciso di adottare per quanto riguarda la politica dell’energia da oggi fino al 2050 e attorno alle quali ruoteranno i lavori della nona conferenza nazionale svizzera sulla ricerca energetica, in programma oggi e domani al centro congressi della

BEA Expo di Berna. L’evento sarà inaugurato dalla Consigliera federale Doris Leuthard e vedrà la partecipazione dinumerose personalità del mondo scientifico, economico e politico.

Nel maggio del 2011 il Consiglio federale decise di abbandonare progressivamente il nucleare: una decisione che ha, ovviamente, un impatto significativo sulla ricerca energetica. “La Svizzera deve raddoppiare i suoi sforzi per individuare soluzioni che permettano di far fronte all’insufficienza delle capacità di produzione di corrente elettrica prevedibile a medio termine”, si legge nel comunicato che il Dipartimento federale dell’energia ha emesso presentando l’appuntamento bernese. Per questo è importante investire nel campo della ricerca nei prossimi decenni.

A tale scopo è stato istituito un gruppo di lavoro sulla ricerca energetica diretto dalla Segreteria di Stato per l’educazione e la ricerca, al quale partecipano i principali Uffici federali interessati, la CORE, il Consiglio dei politecnici federali, le università e le scuole universitarie professionali. Nell’ambito della conferenza, alcuni rappresentanti di queste istituzioni coglieranno l’occasione per illustrare il loro punto di vista e i loro possibili contributi alla nuova strategia energetica 2050. Nel 2012 le proposte del gruppo di lavoro saranno integrate nel Piano quadriennale della ricerca energetica, che definisce gli ambiti della ricerca pubblica in Svizzera. Il Piano viene regolarmente aggiornato dalla Commissione federale per la ricerca energetica (CORE).

Il progetto che sarà presentato alla conferenza dei prossimi 28 e 29 novembre riguarda gli anni 2013-2016 e pone l’accento sulle quattro tematiche strategiche seguenti: «habitat e lavoro del futuro», «mobilità del futuro», «sistemi energetici del futuro» e «processi del futuro». Il progetto di Piano direttore è in consultazione fino alla fine di febbraio 2012.

Global warming a hoax

Forget all environmental campaigns and regulations; never mind the very many procedures and bureaucracies you have had to subject yourself – and your enterprise – to; all alerts and warnings, headlines and mayhems forecast about the next end of the human civilization because of the damages we humans have inflicted our natural environments…all hoaxes. Or at least gross exaggerations. Because the Earth’s temperature will rise less than expected even if current levels of CO2 emissions continue.

That is the surprising finding of research published this week in Science. Surprsing, at least, for those who have been used to take IPCC and radical environmentalists announcements and propaganda for granted, as if they were the repositories of True Science.

Now, this brand new study claims that according to the most accurate predictions on increasing CO2 levels and effects on the climate, increase in temperatures will be much lower than previously estimated. The new prediction lowers the maximum increase in temperature from 4.5K to 2.6K, below that expected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and discards the possibility of increases superior to 6K if CO2 levels in the atmosphere double in comparison to preindustrial levels.

It all goes round the concept and the evaluation of climate sensitivity. This measures how Earth’s surface temperature is affected by changes in the atmosphere. Scientists have developed models to calculate climate sensitivity in relation to an increase in CO2, i.e. to calculate how temperature would rise depending on the increase in CO2 concentration in the atmosphere.

According to the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), if CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere doubled in relation to preindustrial levels, the temperature of the Earth’s surface would rise an average of 3K. This is a probabilistic estimation and scientists point out a 66% chance of a rise between 2 and 4.5K, and a not negligible chance of reaching a 6K increase. Nevertheless, scientists have not been able to narrow down this estimation in the past 32 years.

A research published this week in Science significantly reduces the temperature increase predicted by IPCC, to 2.3K. It also shortens the difference between minimum and maximum temperature increase, with a 66% chance of it ranging from 1.7K to 2.6K and in no way reaching more than a 6K increase. The data is lower than that offered by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its latest report in 2007.

Researchers based their findings by reconstructing temperatures from the Ice Age (21,000 years ago, when concentrations of greenhouse gases were far lower than those found immediately before the preindustrial era, little over a century ago ) using climate simulation models. Surface temperatures and characteristics of the atmosphere at that period are well known thanks to palaeoclimate reconstructions.

According to the authors, "if climate restrictions 20,000 years ago can be applied to future predictions, as can be seen in the model, the probabilities of extreme climate changes in the near future are low compared to what was believed until now". Nevertheless, scientists do emphasise the fact that global warming is real and that the increase in atmospheric CO2 will have important effects.

The research, which included the participation of Antoni Rosell, ICREA researcher of the UAB Institute for Environmental Science and Technology, was directed by researchers from Oregon State University, and included members of Princeton University, Harvard University, Cornell University, and University of Oregon. Funding for the research was provided by the US National Science Foundation.

EU, an extra half a billion euros to close old Soviet-type nukes

The European Commission has proposed to provide further EU assistance of €500 million to support the safe decommissioning of old Soviet-type nuclear plants in Bulgaria, Lithuania and Slovakia. The proposal foresees for Bulgaria additional €185 million until 2020, for Lithuania €210 million until 2017 and for Slovakia €105 million until 2017 (in 2011 prices).

This new financial assistance should support the efforts of the three Member States who are ultimately responsible for nuclear safety, including the financing of decommissioning. EU Commissioner for energy Günther Oettinger said: "It is in our citizens’ interest, that these reactors will be safely decommissioned and that they will never be restarted again. This additional financial support will help the three Member States to timely progress in defueling and decommissioning of these nuclear reactors. This is a clear expression of solidarity of the EU, which has put nuclear safety as a priority."

The Union assistance for decommissioning of nuclear power plants aims at reaching an irreversible state in the decommissioning process and eliminating the major source of radiological hazard.

Before the Union financial support will be provided, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Lithuania will have to meet certain conditions:

• EU legislation on nuclear safety and on the management of nuclear waste has to be fully implemented.

• The Member States have to create legal frameworks for the timely accumulation of national financial resources to cover the remaining financial needs. This will make sure that the Member States will be able to gradually take over the necessary financing responsibilities.

• Revised detailed decommissioning plans have to be submitted to the Commission. Those plans will be the basis for monitoring the implementation of the financial assistance from the Union.

Nuclear energy a ‘must’ for a sustainable energy mix

Including nuclear energy into a country’s energy mix is the best way to ensure a sustainable energy production, claims a report by the World Energy Council released a couple of weeks ago only.

The report – Policies for the future: 2011 Assessment of country energy and climate policies – starts from ranking countries according to how well they perform in the three pillars of energy policy: energy security, environment and affordability. The bad news, for all anti-nuclear activists, is that the best performers are those who have a good share of nuclear energy in their own energy mix: Switzerland (40% nuclear for electricity), Sweden (40% nuclear), France (75% nuclear), Germany (30% nuclear prior to reactor shut down earlier this year) and Canada (15% nuclear). A clear sign that nuclear plants cannot be closed just like that – just because a Kanzlerin has no strength to counter a screaming and yelling Gruene minority, all references to germany and Angela merkel is actually wanted – if our goal is a coherent and robust energy policy with a sustainable world as final destination.

These results are based mainly on data for 2009-2010, and that is why they still take Germany into consideration. Thus, they do not reflect the effects of changes in policy caused by the Fukushima nuclear accident and recent political instability in North Africa and the Middle East. It is clear, however, that nuclear energy plays a prominent role in the electricity generation mix of all countries highlighted and that moving away from nuclear could impact their performance.

The report notes that focusing solely on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and relying on market mechanisms only is not enough to achieve sustainability. Industry and policy makers must continue to work towards "Ensuring a stable regulatory regime that supports a large volume of capital investments while allowing policy updates and revisions as necessa; Driving changes in energy systems at a pace that may be faster than markets alone will support; Stimulating an urgency to reduce carbon emissions and the policies to drive those changes, while building and maintaining support from consumers and citizens."

Speaking at a media event World Energy Council Chairman Pierre Gadonneix, stressed the importance that; "public policies must provide the market with robust frameworks and typically grant actors with: prices that reflect real costs, long-term visibility, an implicit or explicit carbon dioxide price, an assumed responsibility of states to develop and ensure safety and acceptance, as well as environmental standards."

Nuclear safety, EU: stress tests well on track

The European stress tests of nuclear power plants are well on track and will further enhance nuclear safety and security in the EU, the Commission says in its very first Communication on the stress tests. Following the nuclear accident in Fukushima, the EU reacted swiftly and agreed on voluntary tests for all of its 143 nuclear power plants based on a set of common criteria. In its Communication published today, the Commission looks at first findings of these stress tests and points to some policy areas where new the EU nuclear safety framework can be strenghened with common standards. Results of the stress tests will be known next year once the tests are finalised.

European Commissioner for energy Günther Oettinger said: “The stress tests are an essential step in our effort to enhance the safety and security of nuclear power plants in Europe. We cannot accept anything less than the highest possible technical standards. While each individual Member State has the right to decide whether to produce nuclear power or not, it must be made sure that citizens are not put at risk and that the highest safety standards are not only prescribed but also respected everywhere in the EU, and beyond."

All 14 EU Member States which operate nuclear power plants (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom) and Lithuania, which is currently decommissioning its last nuclear power producing unit, are taking part in the stress tests. EU neighbours such as Switzerland and Ukraine also participate actively in the exercise, whereas other neighbouring countries confirmed their commitment to participate.

Tests are on track according to the agreed schedule and deadlines have been kept. Nuclear operators had to send a first report to the national regulators by 15 August, and the national regulators sent their interim national reports to the EU Commission by 15 September.

The stress tests are carried out on a voluntary basis and conducted for the very first time in the EU. The comprehensive and transparent assessments currently underway will further enhance nuclear safety and security in the EU. Nuclear safety is indivisible. This is why, with the protection of EU citizens in mind, it is paramount to establish a process aiming for the highest possible common safety and security standards.

Security threats, namely the prevention of and response to intentional acts, are assessed in a parallel process run under the auspices of the Council of the EU. The progress report of the newly created Council Ad-hoc Group on Nuclear Security, annexed to the Commission interim report, highlights that Member States in their commitment to nuclear security are ready to go further, making full use of, and strengthening, relevant international regimes.

The European Commission is already now drawing the first lessons from the tests, although the final results of the stress tests will only be known next year, when the tests are completed. The Communication identifies a number of policy areas where further action is deemed necessary, either through better coordination among Member States or by proposing new EU legislation on nuclear safety:

• New EU legislation could define common criteria for the siting, the design, the construction and the operation of nuclear power plants. Legal provisions should also enhance the independence of national regulators which grant the licence and make controls on the spot.

• Member States could put cross-border nuclear risk management plans to prepare better for a nuclear emergency and to coordinate their response actions.

• A European approach to liability should be achieved. Victims should become the same compensation irrespective of their country of residence.

• EU Research Programmes should focus on nuclear safety.

Ecco perché la Germania sta affossando l’Europa

“Risorse finite, siamo a rischio blackout”: questo il grido d’allarme lanciato appenaieri da TenneT, società che opera nel store delle infrastrutture per la trasmissione e la distribuzione dell’energia in Germania.

La società ha presentato una relazione al governo di Berlino in cui afferma, in sostanza, che “le risorse umane, tecniche e finanziarie a disposizione per l’integrazione delle centrali eoliche offshore in costruzione nelle acque del Mare del Nord sono ormai finite e questo rende impossibile avviare nuovi progetti”. A meno che, dice sempre Tennet, non si provveda a trovare e a mettere a disposizione nuove risorse.

Cosa significa tutto questo? In primo luogo, la Germania è a rischio black out: sostituire il 25% del mix energetico che era coperto dall’energia nucleare, a cui il governo di Angela Merkel ha improvvidamente rinunciato sotto l’onda emotiva dell’incidente di Fukushima, si sta rivelando molto più difficile, complicato e costoso di quanto previsto nei piani governativi. In secondo luogo, la pressione della Germania sugli altri paesi dell’UE per ‘rubare’ loro le risorse economiche e destinarle alla soddisfazione della richiesta di energia tedesca aumenterà.

Dove altro potrebbe trovare, Berlino, i soldi necessari a pagare il costo del passaggio dal nucleare all’eolico se non enlle casse degli altri europei? La tempesta sctenatasi sull’euro, e che ha colpito in sequenza Portogallo, Spagna, grecia, Italia e sta ora arrivando ad Austria, Belgio e, soprattutto, Francia, serve alla germania esclusivamente a quello: mettere in ginocchio i paesi della zona euro, impadronirsi dei loro tesori, e con quelli pagare il conto della denuclearizzazione. Costi quel che costi. Anche se ciò dovesse significare la fine dell’Unione Europea e del sogno di un’Europa sotto un’unica bandiera. A meno che non sia quella rossa, gialla e nera della Germania.

Germany Makes a Move in the Smart Mind Global War

A country’s social and economical development depends by large on its capacity to keep its most brilliant minds at home and attract others from outside its borders. It is the globalization of brains and minds.

Researchers in all disciplines need find a comfortable environment for their work and studies, and that means labs with enough resources to help them in their researches, industries with the money it takes to invest in their work and in he industrializtion of their results and findings.

Germany has made another move toward further enhancement and promotion of early-career researchers. The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has approved the establishment of 16 new Research Training Groups, bound to enable doctoral researchers to complete their training at a high, specialised level within a structured research and qualification programme.

The decision is not German-only: globalization and internationalization of Science means that no country can do it on its own, collaboration with like-minded partner countries is a must, maybe for one project only. Four of the new units are International Research Training Groups that cooperate closely with universities in Canada, the USA and Austria. Internationality increases the attractiveness of completing a doctorate within the scope of a Research Training Group. In addition, interdisciplinarity promotes cross-border cooperation with universities and other research institutions. Diverse types and forms of cooperation also contribute towards the structural development of the programme.

The DFG will provide approximately 50 million euros during the initial 4.5-year funding period, including a programme allowance for indirect project costs. In addition to establishing the 16 new collaborations, the Grants Committee also approved the continuation of one International Research Training Group. The DFG currently funds 199 Research Training Groups, 45 of which are international.

Food labels are good, but consumers do not read them

Food labels host a whole lot of meaningful nutrition informations, yet European consumers seldom pay attention to them. Main reasons? Lack of motivation and attention,and that prevents labels from impacting positively on food choices.

These are the final results from the Food Labelling to Advance Better Education for Life (FLABEL ) project, providing state-of-the-art research on consumer behaviour and nutrition labels, andalso guidelines for research, industry and policy-makers.

Nutrition labelling may be a quick guide to inform consumers about the nutritional value of different products, however use and actual effects on shopping basket composition have been largely unknown. Additionally, the different formats already in place (Nutrition table, Traffic Light scheme, Guideline Daily Amounts (GDA), Health Logos, etc.) may stimulate different responses. FLABEL’s goal was to fully examine what aspects and factors actually lead from label availability to effects on dietary intake.

The project’s experts carried out an EU-wide nutrition labelling audit. Eighty-four  retail stores and more than 37,000 products of five product categories – sweet biscuits, breakfast cereals, chilled pre-packed ready meals, carbonated soft drinks, and yoghurts-  were examined. Results indicate that 85% of all products carried nutrition information on the back of the pack, and 48% on the front of the pack. The most widespread back of pack format was the tabular or linear listing of calorific value and nutrient composition at 84%; whereas nutrition claims and GDA were the most prevalent forms of front of pack nutrition information, both averaging 25%.

When information was provided on key nutrients (i.e. fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt) and energy, most consumers were able to correctly rank products according to healthiness. Additional information, such as Health Logos, GDA or Traffic Lights, only marginally improved the accuracy of this ranking.

Consumers in the study said they preferred labels that provide complete information, but consumer liking and intention to use these labels, was not translated into actual product choices.

A big issue affecting the impact of nutrition labels on actual food purchases made by consumers was lack of attention to the nutrition information. FLABEL found that food packages held consumers’ visual attention for very short periods, with the average attention to elements of nutrition labels being between 25 and 100 milliseconds, as measured by sophisticated eye-tracking equipment.

FLABEL Scientific Advisor Professor Klaus Grunert , of Aarhus University in Denmark, suggests that “the FLABEL research shows the most promising option for increasing consumers’ attention to, and use of, nutrition information on food labels, is to provide information on key nutrients and energy on the front of the pack, in a consistent way. Complementing this information with a health logo can also increase attention to, and use of, the information, especially when the consumer is under time pressure. Similarly, use of colour coding can increase attention and use in certain situations, although the effects of both are not strong.”

Motivation was a major factor affecting the impact of nutrition labels on the choices made by consumers. Grunert explains that “when prompted, consumers were able to identify which products were healthier, but they did not use this information to choose which product they prefer. A lack of consumer motivation, therefore, is one factor standing in the way of healthy food choices resulting from nutrition labelling.

Europa: non solo Ue

Forse non tutti lo sanno, ma in Europa non c’è la sola Unione Europea. Esiste anche la Associazione  Europea per il Libero Scambio (AELS), nata anch’essa negli anni Cinquanta, periodo di grandi movimenti tendenti all’unificazione del Vecchio Continente.

L’AELS comprende solo quattro stati – Islanda, Liechtenstein, Norvegia e Svizzera – ma non manca certo di attivismo. Il prossimo 14 novembre, a Ginevra, i quattro terranno la riunnione ministeriale formale nel corso della quale sottoscriveranno un accordo di libero scambio tra AELS e Montenegro . Nell’occasione avvieranno anche i negoziati di libero scambio con tre Stati dell’America centrale, Costa Rica, Honduras e Panama.

Nell’incontro presieduto da Trond Giske, ministro norvegese del commercio e dell’industria, i ministri dell’AELS discuteranno sulla situazione attuale e sulle prospettive della politica di libero scambio degli Stati dell’AELS con gli Stati non membri dell’UE.

I ministri degli Stati dell’AELS passeranno in rassegna i negoziati di libero scambio in corso con l’India, l’Indonesia e gli Stati dell’Unione doganale Russia-Bielorussia-Kazakistan ed esamineranno i lavori preliminari e i contatti in corso con altri potenziali partner di libero scambio.