Prime Minister Tony Abbott says he has "no theological objection" to nuclear energy but says if a sector were to start up in Australia they would receive no government subsidies.

Mr Abbott's deputy Liberal leader, the Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, has said nuclear should be part of a debate about Australia's energy options, given the government is considering new carbon reduction targets to be announced by the time a new global treaty is struck in Paris, December next year.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott: "No theological objection". Credit:Andrew Meares

"It's an obvious conclusion that if you want to bring down your greenhouse gas emissions dramatically you have to embrace a form of low or zero-emissions energy and that's nuclear, the only known 24/7 baseload power supply with zero emissions," Ms Bishop told Fairfax Media when asked about Australia's options for reaching future carbon-reduction targets.

Respected economists Ross Garnaut and Frank Jotzo have both welcomed Ms Bishop's call and said nuclear could be an option for Australia's energy future but that would have to be stacked up against the costs and risks of competing sources including renewables and coal and gas with carbon capture and storage.