Al Gore: nuclear power will play 'limited role' in future energy mix

Former vice-president says cost of nuclear power is 'absurdly high and still rising'

• Adam Vaughan
• guardian.co.uk, 
• 
  

Former US vice-president and environmental activist Al Gore speaks at an environmental forum in Gibraltar, October 2012. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Nuclear power will only play a limited role in the world's energy future because of its "absurdly high" cost, Al Gore said on Thursday.

Despite several countries, including the US, UK and China, pushing forward with plans for new nuclear reactors, the former vice-president said the economics of nuclear meant that it was unlikely to play a major role.

"It will play a role, but probably a limited role. I think the waste issue can probably be solved, and Fukushima notwithstanding, the safety of operation issue can probably be solved. But the cost is absurdly high and still rising," he wrote during a question and answer session on Reddit to promote his 24-hour Climate Reality webcast on the links between fossil fuels and extreme weather.

Gore's comments seem to suggest he has changed his mind on how attractive nuclear is – in 2009, he said he saw it playing "a somewhat larger role" in the energy mix because of climate change and efforts to cut carbon emissions. "I'm not a reflexive opponent of nuclear. I used to be enthusiastic about it, but I'm now sceptical about it," he told the Guardian at the time.