The World Energy Council (WEC) is the leading global, multi-energy organization, with national member committees in 96 countries worldwide. WEC covers all forms of energy, including coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, hydro and other renewables. Its mission is to promote the sustainable supply and use of energy for the greatest benefit of all. Through a wide range of publications, programs and activities, WEC works toward influencing energy policy and practice in a global, multi-energy context and increasing understanding of key energy issues nationally, regionally and globally. For more information about the World Energy Council, visit the website at www.worldenergy.org.

At last September’s World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, a key theme was balancing the eradication of poverty with the fundamental need for sustainable development. Unlike Rio ten years ago, almost no one in Johannesburg was buying the early demise of fossil fuels or nuclear power in the world’s energy mix. Certain non-government organizations made their disappointment known, but they were admonished by the developing countries themselves, where two billion people do not have access to any commercial energy, resulting in great risk to their health, human rights and the environment.

The focus in Johannesburg was less on the environment and more on such key issues as access to commercial energy as part of a global effort to eradicate poverty. This echoes WEC’s long-standing emphasis on the importance of achieving access to commercial energy for those who do not now have it. To achieve this goal, WEC sees the following as necessary actions:

• Keeping all energy options open (including the safe use of nuclear power and the promotion of renewables)
• Market reform
• Developing stable regional trade policies, clear legal frameworks and
• sensible regulations for energy development
• Increasing efficiency through competition and technology diffusion
• Implementing advanced, cleaner technologies to reduce the impact of human-induced emissions on the quality of human life and the natural world around us

These goals are closely related. Trade and technology drive economic growth, which is the prerequisite for addressing poverty and access to energy. This in turn is closely linked to energy availability and energy acceptability. WEC believes that acting now to achieve these goals will contribute to a reduction in political tensions and promote greater harmony in the world.

While many poor continue to live in rural areas, most of the next two billion people to be born in developing countries will likely live in cities. Nuclear must be part of the solution to their energy demands and environmental problems. But to be fully successful, nuclear must be widely accepted by society. This means that governments should play an active role, educating society not only about nuclear waste but also about CO₂ and other emissions. Electricity consumers who have the choice must start comparing the risks of all technologies. Politicians should initiate debate, assist countries whose reactors are unsafe and ensure a level playing field in the energy market. And the nuclear industry must become responsible for itself – more transparent, independent and able to show through its long-term calculation of economic and safety performance that it can survive in the marketplace

Of course, if fossil fuel prices rise in the shorter term – either because of the cost of new, cleaner technologies or because of regulations to internalize CO₂ and emissions waste management costs in the price of energy services based on fossil fuels – nuclear power could benefit, in relative terms. Growing awareness of rational criteria regarding the economics, security/reliability and environmental performance favor nuclear’s significant rebirth when present power plants are replaced in the 2010-20 period.

It is a foregone conclusion that up to 2020, global reliance on fossil fuels and large hydro will remain strong, albeit with special emphasis on the role of natural gas and efficient, cleaner fossil fuel systems. However, total reliance on these energy sources to satisfy the growing electricity demand is not sustainable. While some question the future of nuclear power, many believe its role needs to be stabilized, with the aim of possible future extensions, and that efforts to develop intrinsically safe, affordable nuclear technology need to be encouraged.

WEC’s research and global studies lead us to believe that nuclear energy will play an essential role in electricity production and in strategies against global warming. For base-load electricity generation, one of the most effective means currently available to reduce CO₂ emissions is nuclear power. Countries with the highest proportion of nuclear and/or hydropower have the lowest CO₂ emissions per kWh. Nuclear energy has advantages in terms of global warming, cost stability and high capacity factors that make it compatible with the goals of sustainable development for tomorrow’s world.

WEC continues to address these and other key energy issues through our Work Program. Our study on “Drivers of the Energy Scene,” due out later this year, will guide four other WEC studies on market reform, technologies, life cycle analysis and climate change to be published in 2004. WEC also carries out a series of six technical services, including power plant performance and our GHG Emissions Reductions Database, with nearly 1.96 Gt of current total emissions reduction stored in the database. For more information, visit our Global Energy Information System at www.worldenergy.org.

Power Generation Worldwide by Energy Sources
(WEC-Reference Scenario)