Energy experts urge reversal of 2025 shutdown plan for Diablo Canyon

“The threat of climate change is too real and too pressing to leap before we look,” the February 1 letter states. “Considering our climate crisis, closing the plant is not only irresponsible, the consequences could be catastrophic. We are in a rush to decarbonize and hopefully save our planet from the worsening effects of climate change. We categorically believe that shutting down Diablo Canyon in 2025 is at odds with this goal. It will increase greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and make reaching the goal of 100 percent clean electricity by 2045 much harder and more expensive.”

The letter was organized by Isabelle Boemeke, a Brazilian model and nuclear influencer better known to the Twitter world as Isodope. Boemeke was also one of the organizers of the December 4 rally to save Diablo Canyon.

Signatories to the letter include Steven Chu, Nobel laureate and former energy secretary in the Obama administration; Kerry Emanuel, professor of atmospheric science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; James Hansen, director of climate science, awareness, and solutions at Columbia University’s Earth Institute; John Mackey, founder and chief executive officer of Whole Foods; Jacopo Buongiorno, professor of nuclear science and engineering at MIT; and Ken Caldeira, senior scientist in the Department of Global Ecology at the Carnegie Institution for Science.