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The International
Nuclear Forum Greenhouse Gas Emissions |
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Nuclear power plants have met 38 percent of increased electricity demand since 1973. If the plants had never been built, that electricity would have been generated by fossil fuel-burning plants. This substitution of nuclear energy for fossil-fueled electricity has provided significant clean air dividends––particularly in reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas. To generate one million kilowatt-hours of electricity from coal releases 230 metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere, 190 metric tons from oil, and 150 metric tons from natural gas. But a nuclear power plant generates those kilowatts entirely carbon-free. Clearly, the use of nuclear energy to produce electricity has avoided significant atmospheric emissions from the use of fossil fuels. This section gives an overview of the electricity fuel sources—and resulting emissions––that were conserved in the world by the use of nuclear energy from 1973-95. Its findings are based on International Energy Agency data on historic fuel availability and use. For evaluation purposes, this section divides the world into geographic regions. |