“Nuclear energy has a really important role to play in the fight against climate change, and I think administrations in the past have recognized this but they’ve tended to be kind of quiet about it,” said Eileen Claussen, founder of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.

“What’s important about this White House meeting is that in a sense it’s a coming out meeting,” Claussen said. “Here we have an administration that is making it clear that nuclear energy is important in the fight against climate change, and some of the new nuclear technologies will be energy sources for the future.”

NEI appreciates the administration’s efforts to spotlight the fact that nuclear energy is key to reducing carbon emissions in the electric sector. If the U.S. is to substantially reduce carbon emissions, the nation cannot afford to prematurely shut down any more operating nuclear plants because of flawed electricity markets.

Also on the agenda for Friday’s meeting are discussions of advanced nuclear technologies like small modular reactors, and how the U.S. nuclear industry furthers multiple national objectives including: global nuclear safety, nonproliferation, job creation and technology leadership.

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