NUCLEAR reactors don’t emit carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. That
means they should qualify for subsidies under an international scheme for
combating global warming.
So says the nuclear industry—and at first glance it seems to have a
clear-cut case. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which is due to be
finalised this year, will let industrialised countries relax their targets for
reducing carbon emissions by paying for “clean” technologies in developing
countries. The capital cost of those technologies will be subsidised by up to 40
per cent.
Nuclear companies in the US, Britain and France want to sell reactors,…
