Nuclear power too expensive and slow to be part of Australia’s plans to reach net zero, study finds

Steam rises from cooling towers of a nuclear power station in France. Nuclear should not be in Australia’s net zero plans, a new report says. Photograph: Benoît Tessier/Reuters

Nuclear power should not form part of Australia’s plans to reach net zero emissions because it is too expensive and slow, according to the final report of a project that models how Australia might meet its 2050 climate target.

The Net Zero Australia report, a partnership between major academic institutions and the management consultancy Nous Group, says the federal government has a major role to play in accelerating all options that could make a “material contribution” to achieving net zero.