Nuclear is Crucial to Decarbonization

Introduction #

We need to move away from ”either or” and start focusing on how we can expand all fossilfree generation, solar, wind, hydro, geothermal and nuclear. All have a low carbon footprint over the entire lifecycle.

Nuclear, a real technology with documented success decarbonizing modern economies, It had and can be deployed on a large scale. required, supplying the world with clean, reliable, and affordable electricity. When nations build nuclear plants, emissions reliably fall and when they shut them down.

Historical results #

There is no one-size-fits all energy scenario for every country. The data on the countries that have largely decarbonised demonstrate that it has only ever been achieved with a combination of nuclear energy, hydropower and a little wind and solar in addition.

Without nuclear energy, the global carbon emissions would have been considerably higher

In the report Nuclear Power in a Clean Energy System (2019), International Energy Agency (IEA) states [1]

Nuclear power and hydropower form the backbone of low-carbon electricity generation. Together, they provide three-quarters of global low-carbon generation. Over the past 50 years, the use of nuclear power has reduced CO2 emissions by over 60 gigatonnes – nearly two years’ worth of global energy-related emissions.

Global, nuclear is astimated to save 2.5 gigatonnes every year and avoided cumulatively 70 gigatonnes between 1971-2018 [2]. By reducing fossil fuel air pollution, nuclear has saved estimated 1.8 million lives between 1971-2009 [3].

Countries like France have proven this between 1979 and 1989 they reduced the share of fossil fuels in its electricity supply by 83% with nuclear energy [4]. Sweden between 1976-1986 added more than 600 kWh per person with nuclear energy. In less than 20 years reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 75% [5]. if the whole world followed the Swedish and France example , all fossil fuel-fired power plants could be replaced with nuclear power plants in about 25-30 years [6].

Figure. 2. Swedish total CO2 emissions and GDP per capita 1960–1990, normalized to the level of 1960. Source: Qvist & Brook. 2015.

Nuclear in Finland has also contributed to a lower CO2 footprint than otherwise would have been.

Future contributions #

The consensus across major international institutions is that all low carbon technologies, including Nuclear, will need to be deployed urgently and at scale in order to achieve Net Zero targets. OECD, IEA, IPCC.

Continued operation of the existing fleet, as well as new reactors could avoid 87 gigatonnes of cumulative emissions between 2020 and 2050 [7].

 IEA published a repport in 2022 which outlines that “building sustainable and clean energy systems will be harder, riskier and more expensive without nuclear”, and addresses some of the ways to overcome the challenges of new builds [8].

IEA director Fatih Birol in 2022 [9]:

Facts show that, in the absence of nuclear power, it will be much more difficult and costly to reach international climate targets…..Solar and wind are becoming very cheap, but one of the cheapest sources of electricity in the world is the lifetime extension of existing nuclear power plants.

In 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a major report on pathways to limiting climate change to 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels [10]. IPCC examined 4 pathways (P1-P4). The use of nuclear power increases in all four pathways in relation to 2010, by between 59 and 106% by 2030 and by between 98 and 501% by 2050. To limit the global warming to 1.5ºC the IPCC call for a doubling or more of nuclear generation by 2050.

A 2018 MIT study concluded the challenge of climate change will be more difficult and costly to solve unless nuclear energy is included in the energy mix [11].

Jacopo Buongiorno MIT

Our analysis demonstrates that realising nuclear energy’s potential is essential to achieving a deeply decarbonised energy future in many regions of the world

Read more on: Step to cheaper nuclear energy

1. Nuclear Power in a Clean Energy System – Analysis – IEA
2. Climate change and nuclear power 2020 (iaea.org)
3. Pubs.GISS: Kharecha and Hansen 2013: Prevented mortality and greenhouse gas emissions from historical and projected… (nasa.gov)
4. Fossil fuel energy consumption (% of total) – France | Data (worldbank.org)
5. Fossil fuel energy consumption (% of total) – Sweden | Data (worldbank.org)
6. Potential for Worldwide Displacement of Fossil-Fuel Electricity by Nuclear Energy in Three Decades Based on Extrapolation of Regional Deployment Data | PLOS ONE
7. Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) – NEA at COP26 (oecd-nea.org)
8. Nuclear Power and Secure Energy Transitions – Analysis – IEA
9. Nuclear in the Context of the Energy and Climate Crises | IAEA
10. Chapter 2 — Global Warming of 1.5 ºC (ipcc.ch)
11. http://energy.mit.edu/research/future-nuclear-energy-carbon-constrained-world/