Global Warming

Nuclear energy 309

Policy instruments

Action in the energy sector on the scale required to mitigate the effects of

climate change through reduction in the emissions of greenhouse gases

will require significant policy initiatives by governments in co-operation

with industry. Some of these initiatives are the following^65 :


putting in place appropriate institutional and structural frame-

works;


energy pricing strategies (carbon or energy taxes and reduced

energy subsidies);


reducing or removing other subsidies (e.g. agricultural and trans-

port subsidies) that tend to increase greenhouse gas emissions;

tradeable emissions permits (^66) ;

voluntary programmes and negotiated agreements with industry;

utility demand-sidemanagement programmes;

regulatory programmes, including minimum energy efficiency
standards (e.g. for appliances and fuel economy);

stimulating research and development to make new technologies
available;

market pull anddemonstration programmes thatstimulate the de-
velopment and application of advanced technologies;

renewable energy incentives during market build-up;

incentives such as provisions for accelerated depreciation or re-
duced costs for consumers;

information dissemination for consumers especially directed to-
wards necessary behavioural changes;

education and training programmes;

technological transfer to developing countries;

provision for capacity building in developing countries;

options that also support other economic and environmental goals.
capital cost and on the cost of decommissioning spent power stations
(including the cost of nuclear waste disposal), which represent a signif-
icant element of the total. Recent estimates are that the cost of nuclear
electricity is similar to the cost of electricity from natural gas when
the additional cost of capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide is
added.^67
The continued importance of nuclear energy is recognised in the
WEC energy scenarios, which all assume growth in this energy source
in the twenty-first century. How much growth will be realised will depend
to a large degree on how well the nuclear industry is able to satisfy the
general public of the safety of its operations; in particular that the risk
of accidents from new installations is negligible, that nuclear waste can