A pro-nuclear lobby group has urged US president Joe Biden and other world leaders attending a climate summit to “set the right tone” by backing measures to make big cuts in greenhouse gas emissions and to make sure nuclear is part of any energy transition.
Tim Yeo, chairman of the UK-based New Nuclear Watch Institute, said the nuclear energy industry must play a key part in this transition. “The world cannot completely replace fossil fuels by improving energy efficiency and expanding renewables alone,” he said.
Mr Yeo said nuclear has long been recognised as a reliable, efficient, and affordable supplier of low carbon baseload electricity. “No advanced economy can survive without this supply. This recognition has just been strengthened by a ringing endorsement for nuclear power from a new quarter.”
Mr Yeo pointed out that the European commission’s Joint Research Centre this month confirmed that the latest nuclear reactors have lower accident fatality rates than all electricity generation technologies.
