Nuclear Power Is Critical for the World’s Climate Crisis

"To understand the role that nuclear energy needs to play in our energy future, one must grasp the magnitude of the climate crisis. World energy consumption is projected to grow by nearly 50% by 2050, with most of this growth coming from emerging economies. These projections are likely understated, as they assume that development will continue at current rates.

"What happens, however, to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when countries such as India achieve full access to modern energy for their populations? India’s energy use per capita is 9% that of the U.S.; comparative numbers are similar for other fast-growing economies like Nigeria (11%) and Indonesia (11%).

Despite unprecedented growth in renewable power, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) last year warned that climate change was “widespread, rapid and intensifying.” This immense challenge underscores the need for reliable, clean, and scalable technologies that can produce both electricity and heat. Nuclear energy fits all of these criteria.

In 2021, the EU’s scientific body concluded that nuclear energy has as little or less impact on the environment as wind and solar. In addition, many analyses of energy markets have shown that the least-cost and most reliable path to deep decarbonization of our economy features a balanced portfolio of clean-energy technologies like nuclear, hydro, solar, wind, and even fossil fuels with carbon capture and sequestration. However, here we focus on the unique benefits of nuclear, as they are often overlooked in public discussions of clean energy."