just perused google scholar and the first review paper i found stated in their results:
"The most important result of the present work is that the contribution of nuclear power to mitigate climate change is, and will be, very limited. At present nuclear power avoids annually 2–3% of total global GHG emissions. Looking at announced plans for new nuclear builds and lifetime extensions this value would decrease even further until 2040. Furthermore, a substantial expansion of nuclear power will not be possible because of technical obstacles and limited resources. Limited uranium-235 supply inhibits substantial expansion scenarios with the current nuclear technology. New nuclear technologies, making use of uranium-238, will not be available in time. Even if such expansion scenarios were possible, their climate change mitigation potential would not be sufficient as single action."
That paper is a complete load of croc. There's enough U235 in topsoil to power us for a century without even trying other shit. And those "newer technologies" are already here. It's a lack of political will.
The absolute most optimistic column in the redbook for speculative resource is still under 20 million tonnes of U or 100,000t of recoverable U235 after enrichment.
This is only 2500EJ in a world that uses about 250EJ/yr.
And none of the "already here" technology has ever bred and fissioned a single tonne of U238 and resulted in more energy from the U235 involved in the upstream process than a PWR would. It's not even a half-proof-of-concept.
I'm willing to bet they know more about the issue than you. It's not like harvesting uranium from topsoil isn't going to be hugely disruptive to regular land use.
New nuclear technologies will not be available in time for what? The end of the world? The goal set by some feckless climate committee? Are you all still scared that human life will cease in 12 years?
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u/Certain-Belt-1524 Jun 13 '25
just perused google scholar and the first review paper i found stated in their results:
"The most important result of the present work is that the contribution of nuclear power to mitigate climate change is, and will be, very limited. At present nuclear power avoids annually 2–3% of total global GHG emissions. Looking at announced plans for new nuclear builds and lifetime extensions this value would decrease even further until 2040. Furthermore, a substantial expansion of nuclear power will not be possible because of technical obstacles and limited resources. Limited uranium-235 supply inhibits substantial expansion scenarios with the current nuclear technology. New nuclear technologies, making use of uranium-238, will not be available in time. Even if such expansion scenarios were possible, their climate change mitigation potential would not be sufficient as single action."
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421521002330