Do we Need Nuclear Energy to Stop Climate Change?
Do we need nuclear energy to stop climate change? More and more voices from science, environmental activists, and the press have been saying so in recent years, but this comes as a shock to those who are fighting against nuclear energy and the problems that come with it. The world needs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero in 2018. Electricity is a real lever for a radical transition, but there are a few problems making this transition really hard.
In most places in the world, electricity is still generated mostly by burning fossil fuels. Despite our progress, emissions from electricity are still rising worldwide. Even though it’s not renewable, its greenhouse gas emissions are tiny compared to burning stuff. The majority of the world’s nuclear reactors are old technology that’s very costly to replace. In France, only around 10 percent of electricity comes from fossil fuels, while 67 percent comes from nuclear power and 23 percent from renewables, primarily hydroelectric.
The main problem is reliability and consistency. It’s not always windy and the sun doesn’t always shine, especially in the mornings and evenings, when humans need the most electricity. Next-generation technologies can already turn radioactive waste into new fuel, but so far they have not been deployed at a scale where they can have a significant impact.
If we’re going to electrify sectors that currently use fossil fuels like cars or heating, we will need significantly more electricity than we’re currently using everywhere around the world. We need massive storage capacity where we can save energy collected when the sun or wind are at their peak and release it later when we actually need it.
Both nuclear power and renewables need innovation and investment, but if we don’t know which technology will be ready how quickly, why not just invest in both and see what happens? If we take nuclear energy offline, then that missing capacity will be replaced by fossil fuels.
