Prejudice towards nuclear power among some policymakers is preventing a fact-based assessment of its benefits, including the ability to cut global greenhouse gas emissions, Bohdan Zronek, chief nuclear officer at Czech utility ČEZ, told participants in World Nuclear Association's Strategic eForum last week. ČEZ was one of seven utilities that wrote to the European Commission in March, arguing that the nuclear industry ought to benefit from future sustainable financing.

Speaking on the high-level panel Driving investment towards nuclear projects on 10 September, Zronek noted the emission reduction targets suggested by the European Commission and the European Parliament of, respectively, 55% and 65%, by 2030. The forecast for 2040 by the European Nuclear Safety Regulators Group, however, suggests "big trouble" ahead, he said.

"Most countries in Europe will be hardly sufficient in power production and it will be very difficult to know where to buy or import from. Power production is now more a matter of ideology and policy than a technical issue, which creates a tough environment for construction and financing of any power source as we operate usually as stock market utilities, and we all have to meet our laws, regulations and corporate rules," he said.