Nuclear energy is clean but too risky to rely on

India and France have plans for this option. Nuclear power does offer us a tempting path to carbon neutrality free of fossil fuels, but we can't ignore meltdown and waste disposal risks

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India’s flurry of diplomacy over the weekend included a joint statement issued with France that envisioned the co-development of modular nuclear reactors, the kind with interchangeable parts meant for rapid assembly at scale. Since nuclear plants heat water to drive turbines and generate power without burning fossil fuels, they qualify as climate-friendly from an emission perspective. India’s current pace of renewable capacity addition—wind, solar and hydro energy projects—would need sharp acceleration for non-fossil sources to yield 500 gigawatts of electricity by 2030, a target the country must meet on its way to carbon neutrality by 2070. A huge nuclear step-up is not just a big temptation, but also the elephant in the clean-energy hall. Unlike other ways to keep our lights on and gadgets going, it remains tied up in global geopolitics over its potential for misuse. In 2005, a celebrated nuclear deal with the US gave India access to supplies of reactors and fuel under a regime that had long barred us for our defiant pursuit of nukes. It was an agreement seen as heralding a bol