유럽 내 원자력 대중 여론의 급격한 패러다임 전환 요인 (A return to grace for nuclear power in European public opinion? Some elements of a rapid paradigm shift)
본 보고서는 최근 국제 정세를 바탕으로 급격히 전환되는 원자력 대중 여론의 양상 및 그 원인에 대해 서술합니다.
The health crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, and perhaps above all the war in Ukraine, together with increasingly outspoken Chinese and/or American interventionism, have largely contributed to "breaking European energy taboos" towards more collective and coordinated approaches. This is undeniable in the field of energy: if certain mechanisms such as the general cap on gas prices have not been adopted, some measures, which were hard to imagine at European level until recently, have now been ratified, such as joint gas purchases, shared objectives for reducing energy demand, the obligation to store energy, etc.
The importance of the European level has therefore been established when it comes to energy issues. To date, three factors can be noted. Firstly, the Green Deal has become a robust instrument to the extent that it is now part of the May 2022 REPowerEU plan. This means, on the one hand, that renewable energies (RE) are clearly presented as one of the solutions to be developed; on the other, that the issue of energy demand is once again gradually becoming a priority, with objectives for efficiency and the reduction of consumption. Secondly, it is clear that the end of fossil fuels will not be immediate: in the European Parliament, the coalitions opposing gas are gradually weakening, and the deployment of LNG terminals and the development of hydrogen[3] offer possibilities for an extension of the use of these energies in terms of public policy. Finally, nuclear energy seems to appear to have become a credible alternative again, thanks to the discussion on European level green taxonomy; and the political window of opportunity which places the imperative of energy security squarely at the centre of the energy debate. These elements form a new energy landscape that identifies four possible levers of action, within the dual frame of decarbonising economies and improving Europe's energy independence: renewables, nuclear, gas and efficiency/sobriety. These four poles define, as it were, the boundaries of the possible energy mixes within which the Member States position their national energy policies.