As the nations of the world develop their national strategies to meet aggressive climate change targets set at the COP21 forum, there is a growing consensus that those targets will be achieved only through a greater reliance on nuclear energy.

Nuclear energy is one of the key energy sources that offer viable alternatives to fossil fuels. It has the demonstrated capacity to power the industrialized economies of both developed and developing countries, irrespective of geography.

Moreover, nuclear energy is both low-carbon and virtually emissions-free. As such, it deserves to be at the heart of any climate change strategy that depends on the reduction of carbon emissions.

Major industrial economies such as the United States, France, China, the United Kingdom and South Korea have made significant commitments to nuclear energy a key pillar of their carbon reduction strategies.

Here in Canada, Ontario recently recognized the importance of nuclear to its climate change goals through its decision to extend the life of CANDU reactor units at the Darlington and Bruce generating stations.

These commitments will ensure safe, secure and low-carbon electricity for generations to come — and will help to make Ontario one of the lowest-carbon jurisdictions in North America.

None of this is to suggest that nuclear technology is perfect, or that it cannot be improved. Any commitment to nuclear must include a corresponding commitment to further R&D to address concerns regarding management of nuclear waste that have created barriers to wider deployment around the world.

In the past 50 years, nuclear energy has benefited from a period of dynamic innovation. Not only have reactors become increasingly efficient, they have become increasingly sustainable.

The AFCR will revolutionize nuclear energy. A single reactor will be able to consume the spent fuel of up to four conventional light water nuclear reactors. The AFCR will revolutionize nuclear energy. A single reactor will be able to consume the spent fuel of up to four conventional light water nuclear reactors.

‎CANDU technology is leading this cycle of innovation. Our reactors don’t just run on natural uranium; they also can use alternate fuels such as plutonium, thorium and even recycled uranium from light water reactors.

Working with both Canadian and Chinese partners, SNC-Lavalin is in the final stages of developing the most environmentally sustainable commercial reactor in history — the Advanced Fuel CANDU Reactor (AFCR).

The AFCR will revolutionize nuclear energy. A single reactor will be able to consume the spent fuel of up to four conventional light water nuclear reactors. This will greatly reduce waste as a part of China’s closed-fuel-cycle program, which aims to maximize resources through recycling spent nuclear fuel.

Once this technology is deployed in China, it will have the potential to make one of the single largest contributions to reducing global carbon emissions. It will position Canada as a leader not only in climate change policy, but in nuclear technology.

It also will create an opportunity to re-visit positions on nuclear energy by helping to address long-standing concerns about spent nuclear fuel. This is already happening, with several prominent scientists and environmentalists supporting further deployment of nuclear around the world.

Canada also has developed world-leading approaches to the management of the industry and of nuclear waste — another area in which Canada can be a model for the world. Our regulatory capabilities, policy framework and public consultation approach are second to none — but are sometimes overlooked as key enablers to further deployment of nuclear.

By seizing export opportunities in countries such as China, the U.K., Romania and Argentina, Canada’s nuclear industry can not only help reduce global carbon emissions but also create high-wage, high-tech jobs for Canadians.

Yet the full potential of Canada’s nuclear sector will only be realized if we formally acknowledge that nuclear energy will help, not hinder, efforts to achieve our climate change goals.

To that end, Canada must formally endorse nuclear as a sustainable source of energy, and include nuclear as part of its commitment to the COP21 targets as well as related projects such as Mission Innovation.

Future generations may look back at this period as a defining moment in the battle against climate change, and we owe it to them to explore all options available, based on science, facts and sound policy.

Preston Swafford is president and CEO of Candu Energy Inc. and chief nuclear officer of SNC-Lavalin Inc.

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