Closing Nuclear Plants Risks Rise in Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Report Warns

Fresh division among environmentalists over nuclear energy, the single largest source of low-carbon electricity.

Looming climate breakdown is opening fresh divisions among environmentalists over nuclear energy, with a major advocacy group calling for struggling nuclear plants to be propped up to avoid losing their low-carbon power.

Nuclear is the single largest source of low-carbon electricity in the US.  But a third of nuclear plants are unprofitable or scheduled to close, risking a rise in greenhouse gas emissions if they are replaced by coal or natural gas, a major Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) report has found.

US emissions could increase by as much as 6% if struggling plants are shuttered early, the report warns.  This scenario has put pressure on many environmental groups to re-evaluate their intrinsic opposition to nuclear energy as a dangerous blight that must be eradicated.

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