Nuclear Power and Climate Change

Complementing renewables, nuclear can contribute to the transition to a low-carbon economy, helping reach climate change targets.

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© IAEA Office of Public Information and Communication

[johnmoldavite]

Does the IAEA have a policy for decommissioning NPP's in runaway global warming? A lot of NPP's are close to a body of water. When the planet is 2 degrees (above the 1750 baseline) that body of water will be less stable. What degree of warming would be defined as too dangerous? 2 degrees? 3 degrees? 4 degrees?

[Travlinmo]

I have serious comments but the front of this just makes me think of Pac-Man and I cannot get past the audio of the game.

I do think the deliberate wording around already built power plants (I.e., neglecting all of the carbon emitted building the plants) makes this whole video problematic. Neglecting that nuclear has a large staff driving to the remote location of the plant everyday, while less important, is another neglected fact.

The statement that new nuclear will use uranium 50-60 times more efficiently than old nuclear sounds as honest as ‘nuclear will be to cheap to meter.’

I am a big fan of nuclear and work in the industry. I also am a huge fan of stepping back and looking at what is available and how it should be used. Coal has got to go. Natural gas may, after leakage is taken into account, be worse than coal or at a similar level. Currently operational nuclear should be run through it’s safe useful life. New generation should be on some scale where its long term impacts are added up side by side. If a utility wants to build new generation, the numbers behind the recommendations should be checked. (When they are, they frequently are out of date and skewed)

(Soap box, done. Back to Pac-Man)