Nuclear energy amidst geopolitical competition and low-carbon transitions: revival or decline?

Abstract

Views on nuclear power as an energy source are radically different in the international arena. Some political leaders and experts argue that nuclear power can play a significant role in the transition to a low carbon economy. According to others, nuclear technology is too expensive and involves numerous major issues, such as the processing and storage of spent fuel and severe construction delays for new plants. Meanwhile, political instability and geopolitical rivalry has cast doubts over the security of uranium supplies from key producers, from Niger to Kazakhstan, and raised question about the potential weaponisation of enriched uranium trade. While the Western nuclear industry has struggled to remain competitive, Russia’s Rosatom has acquired a large portfolio of international orders, and China accounts for over one third of reactors currently under construction worldwide. What are the prospects for nuclear power within the transition to a low carbon economy? How has the geopolitics of civil nuclear power changed in recent years? What are the political and security of supply risks in the nuclear sector?

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