Nuclear Energy Becomes Part of China-U.S. Talks, Official Says

Talks between the U.S. and China, the biggest producers of greenhouse gases, are evolving to include sharing expertise in nuclear-energy technology.

Atomic reactors, which discharge far fewer heat-trapping gases that conventional power plants, will become a “very important” part of the negotiations on energy and climate change, said David Sandalow, the U.S. Department of Energy’s assistant secretary for policy and international affairs.
The two countries release about 40 percent of the man-made greenhouse gases that enter the atmosphere and are blamed for global warming. They’re trying to bridge gaps on sharing responsibility for tackling climate change, and the U.S. plans to support more commercial cooperation on nuclear energy, Sandalow said.

“Nuclear is going to be more of a focus in future trips” to negotiate with China, he said yesterday in an interview. “It’s an important part of the solution to the global warming problem.”

Companies like General Electric Co., Toshiba Corp.’s Westinghouse Electric Co. unit and France’s Areva SA are jockeying for more than $1 trillion worth of contracts for reactors worldwide in the coming decade.

Bloomberg