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A diverse and balanced energy mix is best for people and the planet. Achieving this globally means nuclear energy should really expand more than most expect, but this requires a concerted effort by the entire nuclear community and its stakeholders to remove barriers to growth, writes Agneta Rising.

The New York Department of Public Service has put forward a proposal to help preserve New York's upstate nuclear power plants by valuing their zero-emissions attributes based on the social cost of carbon. The department estimates that the state will realize $5 billion in benefits in the first two years alone if the proposal is implemented.

Preserving existing nuclear capacity and preparing to build large amounts of new nuclear capacity in the next decade are strategic imperatives for the USA, the Nuclear ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß Institute has told the US Department of ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß.

Poland is "taking all the necessary measures" to ensure its nuclear power program meets the highest standards of safety and security and best international practice, Józef Sobolewski, director of the nuclear energy department of the country's Ministry of ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß, has said. Sobolewski's comments followed the conclusion of the International Atomic ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß Agency that Poland has implemented all the recommendations and suggestions of a 2013 Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure ReviewÌýmission.

The leaders of Canada, Mexico and the USA pledged yesterday to generate 50% of their energy using clean power sources by 2025, using sources including nuclear, renewable and carbon capture and storage technologies.

The UK government has set a fifth carbon budget aimed at cutting the country's carbon dioxide emissions by almost 57% by 2032 compared with 1990 levels. Legislation ultimately aims to cut the UK's emissions by 80% by 2050.

The UK's decision to leave the European Union has not changed the government's commitment to new nuclear power, or to its climate change goals, says Amber Rudd.

One of the nuclear industry's most experienced executives has postponed retirement from a 45-year-long career for a rare challenge - to deliver a privately backed new build project. As CEO of Horizon Nuclear Power - the UK subsidiary of Japan's Hitachi - Duncan Hawthorne aims to demonstrate that such a project is able not only to attract investors, but that it will be delivered on time and to budget.

Two recent publications have highlighted the issue of air pollution, including that from energy generation. The International ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß Agency today published a strategy for cutting premature deaths from air pollution, while the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has studiedÌýits economic costs.

EDF ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß, NuGeneration and Horizon Nuclear Power have all stressed their commitment to the UK's nuclear new build program, despite the country's decision to leave the European Union. Nevertheless, the majority vote in favour of 'Brexit' - decided in a national referendum held yesterday - may have implications for investment in new reactors and nuclear research, as well as for the UK's future role in meeting climate change targets, industry participants said.

Despite challenging market conditions, the global nuclear industry delivered a strong operating performance and improvements in construction times of new reactors in 2015, according to a new report from the ¶¶Òõ´«Ã½ÔÚÏß Nuclear Association. The report says that if the world is to meet its climate change targets then the rate of new build will need to accelerate.

Politically feasible carbon pricing is not likely to provide the long-term revenue needed to support existing or new nuclear power projects. Instead, project-specific activities should be undertaken to keep existing nuclear in operation and to drive investment in new nuclear power plants - with the cost of these activities recovered as a cost of controlling carbon, writes Edward Kee.