US utility Xcel Energy says its current fleet of nuclear power reactors will help meet its target of reducing carbon emissions by 80% by 2030. It sees advanced reactors or small modular reactors playing a role in meeting its ultimate goal of providing zero-carbon electricity by 2050.

Policymakers have unreasonably and unfairly overlooked the role of nuclear energy in the fight against climate change, writes Borislav Boev, a PhD student at D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics in Bulgaria.

Climate change and its effects on Earth continue to be a hot topic in the media these days. A lot of organisations, both international and governmental, claim that they are putting their best efforts into tackling the issue of greenhouse gas emissions.

The USA risks losing a substantial portion of its nuclear power capacity unless it takes policy action, International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol told the US Senate yesterday.

Nuclear energy can help the European Union achieve a sustainable and low-carbon future while providing people with reliable and affordable electricity, Foratom - the European nuclear trade body - says in a new position paper.

Advanced nuclear reactors are part of a "critical subset" of technologies deemed to have very high breakthrough potential for the USA to transition to a "clean energy ecosystem", according to a new report. Meanwhile, a resolution introduced in both the US House and Senate proposes a framework for meeting 100% of the country's power demand through clean, renewable and zero-emissions energy resources.

Solving the USA's energy and climate challenges is more complex than replacing carbon-emitting sources with intermittent renewables, Nuclear Energy Institute president Maria Korsnick told the US Energy Association's 15th State of the Energy Industry Forum earlier this week.

Since 2012, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency has produced very useful reports on the cost of electricity generation with the aim of finding the most efficient and least expensive ways of decarbonising the energy system. The Paris-based organisation recently presented the conclusions of its latest report, The Costs of Decarbonisation - System Costs with High Shares of Nuclear and Renewables, which was published on 25 January. Philippe Costes, senior adviser at World Nuclear Association, here presents his review of the document.

Bill Gates has written in his year-end blog that nuclear power is "ideal for dealing with climate change". The technologist, business leader, and philanthropist wrote about nuclear power in his 29 December article What I learned at work this year.

All energy sources, including renewables, nuclear and high efficiency fossil fuel with carbon capture and storage, must be considered along with new business models and significant improvements in energy efficiency and productivity to ensure that the energy needed for sustainable development is available and affordable.

Agneta Rising, director general of World Nuclear Association, urges policy makers gathered at COP24 - the 24th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - to recognise the longstanding role of nuclear power in the low-carbon energy mix.

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and the UK’s Nuclear AMRC have signed a new agreement to develop jointly clean energy and next-generation nuclear technologies.

The European Commission has today adopted a strategic long-term vision for a "prosperous, modern, competitive and climate neutral economy" by 2050.