Morning session A: Nuclear Energy​

Australia’s energy transition is faltering. Coal-fired power is leaving the system faster than renewables are being built to replace it. Never has the energy message to keep all options seemed more sensible.  What to do? Missing from Canberra’s political debate has been a serious discussion about nuclear power. Australia, with its huge uranium reserves, should be at the forefront of research into nuclear energy: it is efficient and inherently safe by design. Nuclear energy does not follow the green template of controlling private industry and suppressing economic growth. However, if environmentalists mean what they say about the urgency of cutting carbon emissions, nuclear is the only widely available power source that is zero-emitting and more reliable than wind or solar power. Investing in nuclear energy would form the cornerstone of a truly comprehensive energy policy.