Nuclear power: a socially responsible investment?

Understanding the nuclear industry and including or excluding it as a component in a diversified, socially-responsible portfolio, is a complex matter. Can nuclear power play a role in a low-carbon economy?

The nuclear power industry has been on the wane for the past two decades, with the accidents at Three Mile Island in 1979 and Chernobyl in 1986 ensuring the industry has been long absent from public policy discourse. No new nuclear power stations have been built in the US since 1977 and in Europe only 18 out of the current 183 power stations have been built since 1985. However, in the past few years, nuclear power has catapulted to the top of the political and environmental agenda, driven by concerns over climate change, volatile fossil fuel prices and secure energy supply. Public opinion...