Four years ago, a disaster such as the one at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station would have served to back up the British politician Chris Huhne's position on atomic energy.
"Ministers must stop the sideshow of new nuclear power stations now," he said on his campaign website in 2007. "Nuclear is a tried, tested and failed technology and the government must stop putting time, effort and subsidies into reviving this outdated industry."
But today Mr Huhne, the UK energy secretary, finds himself trying to moderate public discussions on nuclear power, which apparently will have to remain a key part of his country's energy mix.
"We don't know what the most effective way of generating low-carbon electricity is going to be in the 20, 30-year view, and therefore the sensible approach is to hold a portfolio of different energy sources without relying on any one," he said.
"There are also very substantial differences between the position of the United Kingdom and the position of Japan, not least that the Japanese earthquake was the sixth most-powerful earthquake in the history of the world, and it was 65,000 times stronger than the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in the United Kingdom."
The March 11 earthquake and tsunami that crippled three nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power station and led to radiation leaks has triggered a heated global debate on the future of nuclear energy.
In Germany, the government of Angela Merkel, the chancellor, has bowed to public pressure and plans to close 17 nuclear plants.
In the US, engineers have privately expressed concerns about how the country's older reactors would stand up against a major earthquake.
Inside the industry, analysts are predicting higher insurance costs for nuclear power stations.
Even in the UK, Mr Huhne has called for the chief nuclear inspector to review the country's 10 nuclear power stations in light of the Japanese disaster. That will hold up the construction of new reactors by at least three months, a delay Mr Huhne now has to defend against critics who fear the decision will derail the UK's climate-change timetable.
"I wanted the debate in the United Kingdom to be based on the facts and on the evidence rather than on some knee-jerk reaction," Mr Huhne said of the review. "In the great span of 2 degrees centigrade, a three-month delay, if that's what it turns out to be, is not going to make a lot of a difference."
Mr Huhne, a member of the anti-nuclear Liberal Democrat party, took over as the UK energy secretary last year as part of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government after hammering out compromises on nuclear power.
The UK's plan to combat climate change included cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 80 per cent from 1990 levels by 2050.
Yet four years ago, Mr Huhne said on his website that such a goal could be met without nuclear power, provided there was adequate investment in renewable energy and carbon capture and storage (CCS).
Since becoming energy secretary, he has had to add nuclear power to the list of the country's options for renewable energy.
"I'm technologically neutral between families of options that there are for electricity generation," he said in Abu Dhabi recently. "We'll have to wait and see what looks like the most sensible."
Along with energy ministers from the US, Australia and other nations, Mr Huhne pledged to support carbon capture and storage projects.
At least 100 such projects in the next decade and another 3,000 by 2050 will be needed to halve carbon dioxide emissions related to energy generation by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency, which represents 28 of the major energy-consuming countries.
The UK has allocated £1 billion (Dh5.99bn) to its first large-scale carbon capture and storage project and has committed itself to funding three others.
But the technology, which has yet to be proved on a commercial scale and requires the storage of gases underground, ignites some of the same "not-in-my-backyard" concerns as nuclear energy.
In November, Shell cancelled a plan to bury carbon dioxide from a refinery in the Netherlands after failing to gain the support of the community living near the proposed storage sites. That was just one of 22 projects delayed or cancelled last year, one fifth of all CCS projects, according to the Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute.
Still, the UK is pushing ahead with its carbon capture blueprint.
"We found a billion pounds in the current comprehensive spending review to make sure we have the first commercial-scale electricity generating plant for carbon capture and storage," Mr Huhne said.
"We've committed to three more demonstrations which are showing the technology works on a commercial scale," he added. "We have to get demonstration projects through first, and once we've done that, then we'll see.
ayee@thenational.ae
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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FORSPOKEN
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Assassin's%20Creed%20Mirage
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Starfield
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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OTHER IPL BOWLING RECORDS
Best bowling figures: 6-14 – Sohail Tanvir (for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in 2008)
Best average: 16.36 – Andrew Tye
Best economy rate: 6.53 – Sunil Narine
Best strike-rate: 12.83 – Andrew Tye
Best strike-rate in an innings: 1.50 – Suresh Raina (for Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals in 2011)
Most runs conceded in an innings: 70 – Basil Thampi (for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018)
Most hat-tricks: 3 – Amit Mishra
Most dot-balls: 1,128 – Harbhajan Singh
Most maiden overs bowled: 14 – Praveen Kumar
Most four-wicket hauls: 6 – Sunil Narine
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
You Were Never Really Here
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Starring: Joaquim Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov
Four stars
Napoleon
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Match info
What: Fifa Club World Cup play-off
Who: Al Ain v Team Wellington
Where: Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
When: Wednesday, kick off 7.30pm
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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QUARTER-FINAL
Wales 20-19 France
Wales: T: Wainwright, Moriarty. Cons: Biggar (2) Pens: Biggar 2
France: T: Vahaamahina, Ollivon, Vakatawa Cons: Ntamack (2)