Advocate: Nuclear energy looms large at climate-change conference

Evan Bayh, Nuclear Matters' co-chairman and a former U.S. senator, issued a statement on Monday regarding the conference on climate change underway in Paris, stressing the key role of nuclear energy in the future of power generation.

Bayh said the conference offers an opportunity to lay the foundations for plans to enhance national and international energy economies. Bayh said nuclear energy will need to be a part of climate-change mitigation strategies, especially in the U.S.

Bayh said that in the U.S., many nuclear plants are at risk of being prematurely shut down, and several are expected to or have plans developed to be shut down in the next few years.

Currently, nuclear generation provides approximately 20 percent of total electricity in the U.S., and it makes up approximately 60 percent of carbon-free generation. Bayh also said further shutdowns would compromise progress that the U.S. has made in carbon reduction.

“As President (Barack) Obama and other world leaders convene in Paris for the United Nations Summit on Climate Change to discuss groundbreaking measures that aim to combat the effects of global warming, carbon-free nuclear energy must be recognized for its role in helping us transition to a cleaner energy future,” Bayh said.