The electricity & heat sector is the largest source of human-made CO2 emissions. It is also the sector that can most readily be decarbonised.

In 2015, 66% of the world's electricity was generated from the burning of fossil fuels; in 2005, ten years earlier, the figure was 66.5%(1).

At least 80% of the world's electricity must be low carbon by 2050 to have a realistic chance of keeping warming within 2°C of pre-industrial levels according to the latest (5th) IPCC Synthesis report(2).

The scale of the challenge requires growth of all available clean energy technologies. Whole lifecycle CO2 emissions associated with nuclear energy are among the lowest of all forms of electricity generation, similar to onshore wind(3).

Nuclear energy is proven, available today and can be expanded quickly – making it an indespensible part of the solution to climate change.

References

1. International Energy Agency, Electricity Information 2017.
2. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report – Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2015). 
3. IPCC, Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation – Summary for Policymakers and Technical Summary, Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Annex II, Table A.II.4 (2011, reprinted 2012). 
4. OECD International Energy Agency and OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, Projected Costs of Generating Electricity, 2015 Edition (September 2015) .
5. OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, Comparing Nuclear Accident Risks with Those from Other Energy Sources, 2010. 
6. UNSCEAR, Sources and Effects of Ionising Radiation, Report to the UN General Assembly, 2008.
7. World Health Organisation, Health Effects of the Chernobyl accident and special health care programmes, 2006.
8. American Cancer Society, Thyroid cancer survival by type and stage, N.D. 
9. United Nations, No Immediate Health Risks from Fukishima Nuclear Accident Says UN Export Science Panel, 2013.
10. UK Government press release, Government confirms Hinkley Point C project following new agreement in principle with EDF.
11. London Array website, Renewable Energy Record Achieved at London Array.
12. Kharechi and Hansen, Prevented Mortality and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Historical and Projected Nuclear Power, 2013.
13. UNSCEAR, Sources and Effects of Ionising Radiation, 2010.