About Nuclear For Net Zero

Nuclear for Net Zero is a grassroots environmental organisation launched in the summer of 2020 by authors and climate activists Zion Lights and Mark Lynas, and Extinction Rebellion strategist Joel Scott-Halkes. Our small but growing group has staged protests in the streets of Ipswich, on the beach beside Sizewell’s existing nuclear power station, and in central London, calling on the government to build new nuclear power stations at Sizewell and elsewhere in the UK.

We also want the government to bring forward the UK's legally-binding net zero target from 2050, reflecting the urgency of the climate emergency, an ambition which realistically is only possible with a major contribution from nuclear new-build if we are to decarbonise not only our electricity grid but also to replace fossil fuels in heating, transport, industry etc (whether through electrification or the use of hydrogen and other carbon-free synthetic fuels).

Who are we funded by?

We have no connections with any industry or special interest groups; everything we do is funded out of our own pockets or by small donations from individuals who support our work. (Please contact us if you want to help in any way.)

Why are we doing this?

We are concerned about climate change and other environmental challenges facing humanity and other species on this beautiful planet we call home. We know we are not the experts: we respect the work done by the hundreds of thousands of scientists around the world in understanding the challenges we face and the means we have to tackle them, and we advocate for citizens and governments alike to listen to and be lead by the science, and to act urgently and effectively to safeguard the well-being of ourselves, our children and our fellow world citizens.

Climate justice

In particular we recognise the gross inequalities between citizens of the world, and the injustice that the richest quarter of the world's population are mostly responsible for the climate emergency whilst the world's poorest people suffer most from its effects. We challenge those who propose climate change "solutions" which would keep the world's poorest from achieving a standard of living comparable with the world's better-off.

Reality check

We are realists. We consider it foolish and irresponsible to bank on climate change "solutions" which rely on speculative changes in human behaviour, which have never been found possible to achieve in comparable circumstances. And whilst we consider that there should be massive and urgent programmes of research and development into technical mitigation solutions, we should be implementing plans which use existing technology and that do not depend on technological breakthroughs to be effective.