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April 2008

Key Points

• Nuclear power plants generate electricity for one in five homes and businesses in the United States without emitting any greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide. Nuclear energy generates more than 70 percent of all carbon-free electricity in America and is an essential part of a technology-based solution for reducing greenhouse gases.
• Nuclear energy is the only option available today that can provide large-scale electricity production 24/7 economically and without emitting greenhouse gases. Even if carbon dioxide emissions are evaluated on a total life-cycle basis, those from nuclear energy are comparable to most other non-emitting sources, such as solar, wind and hydropower.
• Nuclear energy accounted for 36 percent of voluntary greenhouse gas reductions (138 million metric tons of carbon dioxide) reported by the electric power sector in 2005, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
• The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other international and U.S. policy groups recognize that nuclear energy should play a significant role in global greenhouse gas emission-reduction policies.
• The nuclear energy industry supports federal legislation or other action that reduces greenhouse gases. A credible program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will require a portfolio of technologies and approaches. Nuclear energy is an indispensable part of that portfolio.
  

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