Nuclear R., Heck, T., Hirschberg, S.,Cutler, J.C., ,

Nuclear energy can
be seen as one feasible mitigation policy in the battle against climate change
,as this type of energy resources has extremely low carbon dioxide emissions
during its life cycle. (Dones, R., Heck, T., Hirschberg,
S.,Cutler, J.C., , 2004).  Generally,it is assumed that except dramatic measures
are taken to cut down global warming, the world might perhaps face an
environmental disaster. (Stern, 2007; Adamantiade, A., Kessides, I.,, 2009; Reddy,B.S.,
Assenza,G.B.,, 2009; Decanio, 2009). Without decisive
action, energy-related emissions of CO2 will be more than twice by 2050 and
higher oil demand will increase concerns over the security of supplies. (IEA., 2009a)

The benefit of nuclear
energy has also become even more irresistible as a result of the Kyoto
Agreement that requires signatories to significantly reduce their emissions of
CO2 so as to cut down to on global warming (Becker and Posner,
2005). Many people are of the opinion that nuclear energy, as an
essentially carbon free source of energy, is one of the answers to global
warming and energy safety (Elliot, 2007;Ferguson, 2007). To this
end, severeapprehensions over growing fossil fuel prices, energy security, and
greenhouse gas emissions have brought about the significance of nuclear energy
to the vanguard of the broader problem of the energy debate. Nuclear energy is drawing
new awareness for increasing the variety of energy supplies, for improving
energy security, and for providing a low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels. (International
Energy Agency, IEA, 2008).

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(Pidgeon et al., 2008), has
it that the view about nuclear energy policy at the moment is obviously not as divided
as it was in the 1980s and 1990s , the assumptions underlying new build
proposals have been vigorously contested by some environmental groups and
academic commentators. Nuclear power is still bedeviled with uncertainties over
its economics, doubts about accident
risks and nuclear explosion, and the quest to finding a long-term solutions for
radioactive waste.

The literature on nuclear power opinions points
to established public fears in many Western nations for some time now. Major disasters
including the 1957 Windscale fire in England, and those at Three Mile Island in
1979, and Chernobyl in 1986, and recently the Fukushima accidents, in addition
to the environmental worries as it relates waste disposal, only served to
reinforce such concerns. The resistance to
the building of more nuclear power plants in the United States improved from
around 20% in the mid1970s to more than 60% in the early 1980s, Rosa and
Freudenburg (1993) .A comparable historical pattern was also seen from
theEuropean data ,but amplified further by the impacts of the Chernobyl
accident in 1986 (van der Pligt, 1992). During this period, nuclear energy and
radioactive waste were seen as uniquely “dreaded” and unknown (Slovic, 1987;
Pidgeon et al., 1992