Australia has three electricity futures - coal, nuclear or chaos. It's time to bring Australia into the 21st century by aggressively embracing the nuclear one, writes Terry McCrann, business columnist with The Australian newspaper.

The prime minister's thought bubble that a future could be crafted out of some hybrid mix of gas generation and so-called renewables is an embarrassingly inefficient and unworkable dead-end. The idea that we could go all renewables - with assorted batteries from the Tesla version in South Australia to the Turnbull one in the Snowy included - is a fantasy; it would be the embracing of the third future: chaos.

Developing countries are unable to enjoy the benefits of nuclear power owing to a lack of involvement from development finance institutions, but small modular reactors may provide the key, write Elina Teplinsky and Sid Fowler of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

Over the next decade, the world faces two significant interrelated challenges. First, developing countries must increase electric generation to provide their citizens with access to affordable, reliable energy. Second, all nations face the urgent need to rapidly and dramatically reduce carbon emissions.

As the United Arab Emirates' Permanent Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency and the UAE Special Representative for International Nuclear Cooperation, I am proud to have been given the opportunity to engage with responsible nations around the world for the promotion of peaceful nuclear energy, writes Hamad Alkaabi.

Sweden has been a great nation for many decades thanks, not to military might nor financial muscle, but to its energy policy. A leader in sustainable development, the country undeniably proved that it is possible to cut emissions dramatically and increase living standards. And it proved this long before climate change became the political issue it is today, write Agneta Rising and John Lindberg, respectively, director general and writer & analyst at World Nuclear Association.

A spike in New Jersey's carbon pollution following the closure of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in 2018 has exacerbated the challenge of addressing climate change, Carol M Browner wrote in an OpEd published on 3 January by NJ Spotlight. To achieve our climate goals, we must preserve existing nuclear plants, she said.

Nuclear power's role in the clean-energy solution must be agreed universally this year, writes Agneta Rising, director general of World Nuclear Association.

"The IPCC Global Warming of 1.5°C report of 2018 made clear not only the need to take urgent action to combat climate change, but also the need for nuclear energy to make a much greater contribution to electricity supplies. In 2019 a broad range of expert bodies recognized how nuclear energy is vital to ensure that electricity supplies needed for modern life are available to all, while respecting the environment and tackling climate change ..."

The pursuit of a solution to climate change via the route of fossil gas is a needless and harmful detour, writes Agneta Rising, director general of World Nuclear Association.

Climate scientist James E Hansen and others have written to the Financial Times, making the case for the inclusion of nuclear power in the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. The text of the letter, published yesterday, and the list of signatories to it, follows.

Nuclear energy is a mature and proven low-carbon source of electricity, with a 60-year track record of providing reliable and safe operation. Further innovation and technological development will enable even wider applications aimed at deep decarbonisation of economies around the world and supporting sustainable development. This was the message of King Lee, director of the Harmony Programme at World Nuclear Association, to delegates at the UN side event for Sustainable Development Goal 9, held today at COP25 in Madrid.

New nuclear power plant investments face significant challenges, especially in liberalised electricity markets. A regulated asset model may help resolve these challenges. Edward Kee, Ruediger Koenig, Paul Murphy and Xavier Rollat explore the potential and the limits of this model.

Fair energy markets can and should be the perfect place for establishing an effective clean energy system bringing about real emission reduction, writes Dr Józef Sobolewski.

Innovation has always been at the heart of the nuclear power industry and its future depends on this commitment to technological advancement in both large and small reactor designs. This was the message of the International Framework for Nuclear Energy Cooperation General Ministerial Conference held in Washington DC last week.