AWA’s comments on the Proposed Peace River Nuclear Power Project Initial Project Description

May 14, 2025

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• Climate Change
• Nuclear Power
• Peace River

AWA recognizes and emphasizes the need for Alberta to transition to sustainable, non-emitting sources of energy to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 to help address and mitigate climate change. Climate change is primarily driven by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions released by the combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas.

Transitioning to non-emitting energies in Alberta would significantly reduce provincial emissions and energy demand. It would also help Canada meet its climate commitments, as Alberta’s fossil fuel industry is responsible for 22 percent of Canada’s total emissions. As a country with one of the highest per-capita emissions, Canada must do more to meet global climate goals and avoid catastrophic warming beyond 1.5 °C.

AWA supports an immediate phase down and timely phase out of fossil fuel production in Alberta in line with international climate commitments. However, all future development of non-emitting energy sources needs to happen in a responsible, sustainable, and equitable manner, to prevent further damage to Alberta’s environment and avoid repeating the harms caused by extractive industries to Indigenous Nations and local communities.

In AWA’s letter to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC), we raised a number of concerns that should be addressed in the next stages of the Impact Assessment process. These include, but are not limited to,

• Clarifying the purpose and need for the project.
• Correcting misrepresentations and subsequent comparisons to alternative renewable energies.
• Completing a more comprehensive, life-cycle assessment of the environmental impacts associated with the project.
• Determining and addressing the associated health, safety, and economic concerns.
• Evaluating the potential for accidents and liabilities.
• Natural disaster preparation and planning.
• The need for a cumulative impacts assessment.
• Lack of legislation and regulatory framework.

Our letter of support for The Society of High Prairie Regional Environmental Action Committee‘s comments to the IAAC can also be read here.