Scalise: UN Secretary General Says Nuclear is a Renewable Source of Energy

Press Release

Congressman Steve Scalise today participated in a secure energy briefing with the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Members of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee were invited to the closed briefing.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon discussed global climate change and the international negotiations leading up to the U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009. They also discussed energy policy and the development of renewable energy.

"I asked Secretary General Ban Ki-moon if he considers nuclear power a renewable source of energy and he agreed that it is," Scalise said. "He said that his country, South Korea, uses nuclear to generate approximately 40 percent of their electricity."

Scalise added, "It is a major revelation that even the U.N. Secretary General agreed with the assertion that nuclear power is a vital part of a comprehensive energy policy. This flies in the face of some liberals in Washington who want to discourage nuclear power and punish energy-producing states like Louisiana with a $640 billion energy tax that would impact every American family."

The President's budget assumes $646 billion in new revenues generated from a "cap and trade" provision that would implement an energy tax on every American.

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