NUCLEAR POWER can help halve CO2 emissions and double energy production by 2050, an expert in nuclear energy has said on a visit to Northern Ireland.
Prof Bertrand Barré, chairman of the International Nuclear Energy Academy, said last night that the twin objectives of emission reduction and increased production within 40 years would not be attainable without nuclear power.
Prof Barré, who delivered the eighth Sir Bernard Crossland Lecture at Queen’s University, Belfast last night, said greater reliance on nuclear and renewable energy sources was an “immense challenge”. If managed correctly it would be of huge ecological and economic benefit to the entire planet.
“Today, 80 per cent of the world’s energy is produced by burning oil, coal and gas, and this puts CO2 into the atmosphere.
Prof Barré insisted that increasing energy production twofold was imperative in ensuring that developing countries could attain “a decent level of life”.