Responding to the statement by Deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe that no final decisions have been taken on the nuclear plan, Greenpeace Africa has said:

Greenpeace welcomes the comment by the Deputy president that a firm decision on nuclear expansion has not been taken by government. This is an indication that government is beginning to acknowledge the need to thoroughly analyse the country’s ability to expand nuclear.

"We have repeatedly asked government not to rush ahead with its plans and to analyse the cost effectiveness and risks of nuclear power stations meticulously before making any regrettable commitments ", said Ferrial Adam, Greenpeace Africa climate and energy campaigner.

“We remain concerned however, about the conflicting messages from government and it is quite surprising that at this advanced stage of the EIA, government has still not worked out the questions of cost and affordability” continued Adam.

Greenpeace Africa believes that, it is still not too late to stop the nuclear plans and to put more commitment and effort into renewable energy. Renewable energy has grown much faster than nuclear energy in the past five years. PV could already account for 12% of European power demand by 2020, and up to 9% of the global power demand by 2030. At the same time, global investments renewable energy technologies are set to double by 2015.

“South Africa can develop and grow its economy through an accelerated investment in renewable energy and its technologies” concluded Adam.