Dear Minister,

The undersigned Indian social and political organisations, human rights organisations, NGOs, women's rights organisations, and trade unions are writing to urge you to exclude nuclear power from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol. We fear that the inclusion of nuclear power in the CDM will be used by the Indian Government as an economic and political justification for the building of new nuclear plants.

One of the stated mandates of the CDM is to assist non-Annex I countries in achieving sustainable development. Nuclear power is not a sustainable technology for a number of reasons:

• Nuclear power leads to radioactive pollution and the creation of large quantities of radioactive waste. The Indian nuclear industry has already caused serious environmental damage and caused serious medical problems in people living near nuclear facilities;
• All nuclear power plants are vulnerable to serious accidents that could contaminate the environment and cause serious health impacts. Last year's accident at Tokaimura in Japan underlined the dangerous of nuclear technology. Indian nuclear plants have also experienced accidents;
• All nuclear power plants produce weapons-usable plutonium, adding to the threat of nuclear proliferation. This is a critical concern for us at this moment, given the Government's commitment to continuing nuclear weapons development and the close links between the military and civil nuclear fuel cycle in our country. We do not understand why your country is now proposing to support a new subsidy for the Indian nuclear industry when at the same time you place restrictions on nuclear trade with India because of concerns about proliferation? If you are really concerned about proliferation on the subcontinent, you should be helping to encourage non-nuclear energy technologies;
• Nuclear power is the most expensive of all conventional energy sources. Expenditure on nuclear power diverts resources from other crucial areas of the India economy and makes it harder for India to meet the energy needs of its large population;

If nuclear power is made eligible for the CDM, it will provide a new source of funding for construction of nuclear power reactors in India, which will also be of benefit to the Indian nuclear weapons program. We urge you to reject nuclear power and support the text proposed by the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS) that CDM projects shall "not support the use of nuclear power". Furthermore, we call on you to ensure that the CDM is structured in such a way that only renewable energy technologies will be eligible. This is the only way that the CDM can achieve its stated intent of assisting sustainable development while helping to reduce global carbon emissions.

Signed by:

Praful Bidwai - independent author on nuclear and disarmament issues

Indian Network on Ethics and Climate Change (INECC)

Tata Institute

All India Coordination council of Trade Unions

Movement for Secular Democracy

Visthapit Mukti Vahini

Academy for Mountain Environics

Calcutta AHEAD (Action on Health, Education And Development)

Committee for Communal Amity

Narmada Bachao Andolan

Guatam Bandopadhyay

International Center for Networking, Ecology, Education and Re-integration

Sanctuary Magazine

Union Research Group

Net.Com Strategix

Pani-lagori Homone Mahila Sangatan

Vistapith Vahini

Adivasi Mahila Manch

B.I.R.S.A (Bindra Institute For Research and Action)

MMP (Mines Minerals and People)

Dialogue Society.

Womens Sahayog

Haldia Vigyan Parishad

People's Institute for Participatory Action

Research (PIPAR)

Rural Action for Development, Justice and Peace Commission

Central Arid Zone Research Institute

Northeast Indian Social Research Centre

Mass Education and Organisation Society

Comprehensive Social Service Society

National Fishworkers' forum

Drought Action Program

YUVA

BUILD

Advocacy Centre for Eco Health

Madras Institute of Development Studies

Centre for Research on New Internationalism

Prof Sarma, Dept of Meteorology and Ocean Studies, Andhra University

Committee for Information and Initiative on Punjab