A Necessary Investment in Decarbonization

With the world at a critical inflection point in the fight against climate change, decarbonization commitments are at the heart of the climate solution. And investments are a key part of the momentum to net zero. 

In the financial sector, markets are favoring companies that embrace impact investing and address sustainability issues, and many are calling for investors to move quickly to mobilize climate funding.  

BlackRock Chairman Larry Fink’s 2022 letter to CEOs called the decarbonization of the energy and industrial sectors “the greatest investment opportunity of our lifetime.” 

A mix of innovative clean energy technologies are needed to meet our nation’s climate goals, so investors should consider the full scope of current and future technologies on the road to decarbonization. 

U.S. commercial nuclear has already provided decades of large-scale, carbon-free, reliable power, and is currently half of America’s carbon-free electricity. In fact, operating reactors in the U.S. avoid the same amount of carbon per year as removing 100 million cars from the road, all while utilizing one of the smallest footprints of any carbon-free energy system.

Nuclear energy is at the core of any reliable, affordable climate solution. In its recent climate report, the United Nations recognizes the need to increase the amount of nuclear around the globe to address the changing climate. 

Governments, climate activists and companies all recognize nuclear energy’s value and are now investing in designing and building new nuclear energy technologies. In fact, the U.S. government is making unprecedented investments into public-private partnerships to bring these new reactor designs to market by the end of the decade.  

Nuclear carbon-free energy provides 24/7 power, which is necessary to integrate a growing share of renewable, intermittent generation onto the electric grid, enable electrification, and deliver emissions reductions while maintaining an affordable, reliable electric supply. 

We also need nuclear energy to produce carbon-free hydrogen that can feed our transportation and industrial energy demands. New nuclear designs, which offer advancements in heat, size, and economics, can be used to decarbonize heavy industrial processes. 

As the financial community seizes the greatest opportunity of our time, nuclear energy presents an unbeatable climate solution and is a necessary investment for decarbonization.