Nuclear energy: Sense or nonsense for environmental challenges

Abstract

Environment is subject to many pressures. Climate change and the global warming constitute an additional pressure. The “climate change” and its consequences are more important than other challenges in 21 century. The global temperature has risen by more than 2.5 °C in recent years. Similarly, a global temperature rise of more than 2.5 °C increases the absolute number of people at risk of hunger by 80 million. Recent estimates indicate that 25% of the world’s mammals and 12% of birds are at significant risk of global extinction. The main reason for global warming is CO₂ increase that is obtained from burn reaction. According to California university, CO₂ emissions result from emissions of: transportation 49%, electricity 30%, industrial 11%, residential 7% and commercial 3%. In the mean time, CO₂ concentration is 360 ppm even, if severity plan will be applied as per Kyoto protocol it will arrive at 450–650 ppm in 2100. Thus, there is a global resolution for declining CO₂ emission and one of the practical approaches is CO₂ decreasing in electricity sector. Each of energies has strengths and weaknesses and we focus more on nuclear energy because its CO₂ emission is zero. It should be added, in most of countries there is a tax for gas e.g. in the U.K. 3.4$/gallon and in Italy 2.53 $/gallon, so fossil fuel is an income for their governments but for nuclear energy government pays subsidies. Therefore it is not possible to debate about it before removing tax and subsidy. In recent years, it has been stated about tax on carbon production that it is a step forward to low carbon economy and finding the real cost of fossil fuel with attention to external costs in the environment.