Friends of the Earth Lithuania are calling on Lithuanian officials to put a stop to a new nuclear plant in Visaginas, Lithuania. State officials are making the first steps towards building a new nuclear power station; pushing through the proposals without appropriate public consultation. FoE Lithuania, along with other NGOs and public society are initiating a compulsory referendum and mobilising people to vote against the new nuclear power station.
Today, FoE Lithuania emphasised the negative environmental, economical, and social impacts of nuclear power at a press conference in Vilnius. However, parliament voted in approval of the project, and the contract with Japanese investor Hitachi-GE, saying “Lithuania has to remain nuclear power country because nuclear produces the cheapest and most ecological energy”.
One year after Fukushima and more than 26 years after the Chernobyl disaster, one thing is clear – nuclear power will never be safe. Europe, and Lithuania, can secure its energy supplies, reduce its dependency on fossil fuels and cut emissions, without relying upon unsafe and costly nuclear power. Friends of the Earth Europe support FoE Lithuania and civil society’s initiative to organize a compulsory and legally binding referendum in the next two weeks, and demand energy safety and independence for Lithuania using alternative energy sources.
