More nuclear power plants are needed to combat climate change and raise living standards, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency based in Vienna, Austria. The IAEA report released on 26 June predicts that the proportion of global electricity generated using nuclear energy will drop from 16 per cent today to 11 or 12 per cent by 2030, if current trends continue.
As it stands, nearly all new nuclear reactors are being built in Asia and Eastern Europe, including eight in India, four in Ukraine and three in Russia. None are being built in the 22 other countries with nuclear power, including the US, the UK and Canada.
To fight global warming and fuel economic growth, the IAEA says that the contribution from nuclear power should increase to 27 per cent. 鈥淚nnovative designs with shorter construction times and significantly lower capital costs could help promote a new era of nuclear power,鈥� says Yuri Sokolov, the IAEA鈥檚 deputy director-general for nuclear energy.
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But not everyone agrees. 鈥淭his would be a huge proliferation, safety and economic issue,鈥� warns Arjun Makhijani, president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research in Takoma Park, Maryland. 鈥淣uclear power is the wrong approach to addressing global warming.鈥�