Spotlight: Nuclear power -- effective weapon for global climate battle

Just like on many other windless days, Beijing was enveloped in a cloak of smog on March 18, although the winter heating season, which consumes a considerable, albeit dwindling, amount of coal, had ended for three days.

Under the gray canopy, high-ranking officials from China and the United States braved the unpleasant air and gathered in southwest Beijing for the opening ceremony of the largest nuclear security center in the Asia-Pacific.

The advanced facility, a fitting prelude to the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, marks a significant achievement in China-U.S. nuclear security cooperation, and provides a superb venue for international exchanges in this potential field.

Perhaps more importantly, it will help promote the peaceful, safe and effective use of nuclear power around the world, which many experts agree serves as a bazooka to fight against global warming.

DISTINCT ADVANTAGES

In his speech at the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague, Chinese President Xi Jinping referred to nuclear energy as an important means to both ensuring energy security and tackling climate change, and likened it to the fire Prometheus brought to mankind, which has sparked a flame of hope and opened up a bright future for humanity.

Compared to fossil fuels, nuclear power results in considerably lower carbon emissions. Guo Zhifeng, an associate professor with China Institute of Nuclear Information and Economics (CINIE), pointed out that while other parts in the nuclear power industry chain, such as excavating, concentrating and transporting uranium and building nuclear plants, emit greenhouse gases, the electricity generation process of a nuclear reactor discharges zero carbon dioxide. The emission rate of nuclear power, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report, is only 1-3 percent of that of coal electricity.

"Moreover, nuclear power also has its unique advantages over other new energies," Guo said, noting that a nuclear power plant has a stable yielding, while the power generation of solar and wind farms heavily relies on the weather, which is prone to be capricious.

In addition, as the first nuclear power plant for commercial use was built as early as in 1954, nuclear power generation has already become a mature technology. Even without more major technological breakthroughs, it can meet the need of replacing fossil fuels for the foreseeable future.

"If we really want to tackle emissions and climate change, the climate-neutral nuclear power should not be ignored. Nuclear energy could be our way out of the current energy plight," said Jin Canrong, deputy director of the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China (RUC) in Beijing.

RADIOACTIVE SHADOWS

Just like fire, nuclear energy has its own downside. Opponents often argue that radioactive waste from nuclear power plants is too difficult to be dealt with and poses a threat to both people and the environment. They also readily point to the nuclear catastrophes of Three Miles, Chernobyl and Fukushima, which have cast a long shadow on the planet although nuclear power plants have kept a rather good safety record at large.

In the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster, Germany decided to halt operations of its eight oldest nuclear plants and shut down the other nine by 2022. France, once the most adamant proponent of nuclear power, has also announced plans to reduce its reliance on nuclear reactors.

However, according to a report presented by the Paul Scherrer Institute, the largest research center for natural and engineering sciences in Switzerland, nuclear power plants actually have caused less fatalities per unit of energy than other major sources of power.

"It's true that the spent fuel rods are highly radioactive, but they can be stored safely," said Guo, the CINIE researcher, stressing that no nuclear power plant has been shut down for being unable to keep the spent fuel rods safe and that the past disasters have led to new technological improvements that are making nuclear facilities safer and safer.

To harness nuclear power in modern times is similar to making cautious use of fire in the early days of mankind, a learning process mixed with both excitement and fear over its enormous power.

"We need to find better and safer way to use nuclear energy. And the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit offers an opportunity for countries to discuss the issue," Jin of RUC said.

At the fourth Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, Chinese President Xi stressed the importance of stepping up national responsibility and tightening up a line of defense with regard to nuclear security.

"Just as a country makes its own choice to develop nuclear energy, it bears unshirkable responsibility to ensure nuclear security," Xi said at the opening plenary of the summit on Friday.

"Taking into account national conditions, we must, at the national level, plan and implement nuclear security strategy, formulate mid-and-long term development plans for nuclear security, improve nuclear security legislation and monitoring mechanism, and ensure that relevant work receives sufficient input and support," he said.

NUCLEAR ASPIRATIONS

In line with its green commitment, China has been taking pains to reduce its dependence on coal electricity and actively reshaping its energy structure by enlarging the share of low-carbon power, particularly nuclear power.

As of the end of October 2015, the Chinese mainland had 27 nuclear generating units in operation, with a total installed capacity of 25.50 GWe, and another 25 units under construction with a total installed capacity of 27.51 GWe, according to "China's Nuclear Emergency Preparedness," a white paper Beijing released in January. By 2020, the total capacity is expected to reach 58 GWe.

Accounting for more than a third of all the nuclear power units currently under construction across the globe, the world's largest developing and most populous country outpaces all other countries in the pursuit of nuclear power, noted Guo of CINIE.

The front-runner also leads in developing the third-generation nuclear reactors. The Hualong (Chinese Dragon) One model, which China has independently developed, has passed the screening of the IAEA and is going global.

A Hualong One nuclear reactor has been under construction in Pakistan. Argentina signed an agreement with China in January to build a reactor of this type as the South American country's fifth nuclear power unit, and Britain and China are in talks over installing one in the European country.

On March 17, two Chinese nuclear power giants, China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group (CGN) and China National Nuclear Corporation, established a joint venture to promote Hualong One in overseas markets as the Chinese nuclear power industry's "flagship brand."

"We believe that Hualong One will be able to grab a large share of the global nuclear power market in the future, which will also drive China's equipment manufacturing industry to go global," said He Yu, president of CGN.

In the eyes of Liu Cixin, a well-known sci-fi writer in China who authored Hugo Award-winning novel "The Three-body Problem," almost all categories of energy being used today are nuclear energy in one way or another.

Once an engineer in a coal power plant in north China, the novelist explained that solar energy originates from the intensive fusion reaction inside the sun, while other energies, including fossil fuels and wind and hydro power, are just solar energy converted into different forms. Endi