China has emerged as the world leader in new nuclear power plant construction, with plans to complete up to 58 GW of nuclear capacity by 2020. To explore the extent to which nuclear power can and should play a role in China's energy future, NRDC, in collaboration with the International Forum of Clean Energy (Macao), convened a roundtable on "The Role of Nuclear Power in China's Power Sector Transition" on December 21, 2015. Independent energy policy expert, Mycle Schneider, the convening lead author of the 2015 World Nuclear Industry Status Report (WNISR), kicked off the roundtable with the release of the first Chinese language edition of this report. China's top nuclear energy experts from the China Nuclear Energy Association, Development Research Center of the State Council, and Peking University, along with Mr. Schneider, then engaged in a robust discussion on the WNISR's findings and implications for China, including both the financial risks to nuclear energy developers facing increasing competition from renewable energy and potential safety risks of new technologies. While the experts' views differ, all emphasized the need for vigilance when it comes to nuclear safety. The Power Sector Roundtable raised great interest from the attendees and received extensive media coverage.

Click here to the conference files.