Nuclear Energy: A useful carbon-free energy option for Central and Eastern Europe

The document presents nuclear energy as a critical, low-carbon complement to renewables for meeting growing global electricity demand, specifically within Central and Eastern Europe. It highlights the region's existing nuclear infrastructure and the potential for new deployments to achieve EU climate-neutrality goals. The text addresses safety, waste management, and costs, noting that while upfront capital expenditures are high, nuclear power is among the safest and cleanest energy sources available.

• Nuclear energy is positioned as a necessary complement to wind and solar to address the variability and land requirements of renewables while meeting a global electricity demand expected to grow by one-third to three-quarters by 2050.
• Several Central and Eastern European countries already rely heavily on nuclear power for electricity generation, including Slovakia (54%), Hungary (46%), Bulgaria (44%), Slovenia (37%), Czechia (36%), and Romania (18%).
• Nuclear energy has one of the lowest life-cycle assessment footprints of all low-carbon technologies, estimated at 5.1 – 6.4 kgCO2e/MWh according to the UNECE, which is comparable to wind power and lower than solar power.
• Based on data from 'Our World in Data', nuclear power is classified as one of the safest power generation technologies, being 820 times safer than coal, 153 times safer than biomass, and 93 times safer than natural gas.
• Nuclear power is characterized by high upfront capital expenditures (CAPEX), ranging from 4,000 $/kW in the UAE to 12,000 $/kW in the USA, though costs are expected to decrease as industrial competence and supply chains are restored.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (n.d.). Nuclear Energy: A useful carbon-free energy option for Central and Eastern Europe. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/27050314/Nuclear-Energy-A-carbon-free-energy-option-for-Central-and-Eastern-Europe-CATF-Factsheet.pdf?_gl=1*1pbkuq5*_ga*R0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuMTE1MjA0NTM1Ni4xNzI0MTY4NDMz*_ga_88025VJ2M0*MTcyNTI4NTQyMi4xNy4xLjE3MjUyODg3ODIuMC4wLjcwNjgyODgy

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Nuclear Energy: A useful carbon-free energy option for Central and Eastern Europe. n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/27050314/Nuclear-Energy-A-carbon-free-energy-option-for-Central-and-Eastern-Europe-CATF-Factsheet.pdf?_gl=1*1pbkuq5*_ga*R0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuMTE1MjA0NTM1Ni4xNzI0MTY4NDMz*_ga_88025VJ2M0*MTcyNTI4NTQyMi4xNy4xLjE3MjUyODg3ODIuMC4wLjcwNjgyODgy.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Nuclear Energy: A useful carbon-free energy option for Central and Eastern Europe |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/27050314/Nuclear-Energy-A-carbon-free-energy-option-for-Central-and-Eastern-Europe-CATF-Factsheet.pdf?_gl=1*1pbkuq5*_ga*R0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuMTE1MjA0NTM1Ni4xNzI0MTY4NDMz*_ga_88025VJ2M0*MTcyNTI4NTQyMi4xNy4xLjE3MjUyODg3ODIuMC4wLjcwNjgyODgy |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforcendnuclear, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{Nuclear Energy: A useful carbon-free energy option for Central and Eastern Europe}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/27050314/Nuclear-Energy-A-carbon-free-energy-option-for-Central-and-Eastern-Europe-CATF-Factsheet.pdf?_gl=1*1pbkuq5*_ga*R0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuR0ExLjEuMTE1MjA0NTM1Ni4xNzI0MTY4NDMz*_ga_88025VJ2M0*MTcyNTI4NTQyMi4xNy4xLjE3MjUyODg3ODIuMC4wLjcwNjgyODgy}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }