Should Nuclear Energy be Supported or Banned by Governments?

The Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 damaged the Japanese public's perception of nuclear energy. A survey found that before the Fukushima disaster about 20-30% of Japanese people believed that nuclear power generation should be "abolished" or "reduced," with it increasing to 70% four to six months after the accident (Kitada). This ensuing skepticism surrounding the safety of nuclear power plants resulted in a noticeable decrease in the expansion of nuclear infrastructure in other developed nations plus the closure of those already built, as more than 60 permanent atomic reactors shut down around the world the year after Fukushima ("Nuclear Power Shutdowns''). With the current global goal of having net-zero emissions by 2050, the importance of clean energy development, specifically, nuclear energy is ever so significant. Nuclear energy is a clean, efficient, consistent energy source. Each kilowatt-hour of electricity generated over the lifetime of a nuclear plant emits a footprint of 4 grams of CO2 equivalent (gCO2e/kWh), in comparison, coal units have an emissions rate of 109 grams CO2 per MWh, and solar power units produce 6gCO2e per kilowatt hour (Evans). This report aims to quantify the impacts on perception and the development of nuclear power projects due to Fukushima.

Citations:

Kitada, Atsuko. "Public Opinion Changes after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident to Nuclear Power Generation as Seen in Continuous Polls over the Past 30 Years." Taylor Francis Online, 4 May 2016, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00223131.2016.1175391?scroll=top&needAccess=true.

"Nuclear Power Plant Shutdowns 2021 | Statista." Statista, Statista, 2021, www.statista.com/statistics/238656/number-of-nuclear-reactors-shut-down-worldwide/. Accessed 7 June 2022.

Evans, Simon. "Solar, Wind and Nuclear Have Amazingly Low Carbon Footprints, Study Finds." Carbon Brief, 8 Dec. 2017, www.carbonbrief.org/solar-wind-nuclear-amazingly-low-carbon-footprint. Accessed 28 July 2022.