Throughout his presidencies, Donald Trump has been the most proactive leader for a renaissance of nuclear energy since the Cold War. But Democrats have consistently opposed most Trump policies, and the wipeout of GOP majorities in both houses of Congress raises questions whether his nuclear agenda will be disrupted or even dismantled.
During the 2020 presidential campaign, The Week national correspondent Ryan Cooper argued that both Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders were head and shoulders ahead of eventual nominee Joe Biden and any previous president on climate issues, but added that both had committed a serious policy error – one that may have cost them the nomination.
As Cooper explained, both disavowed both the use of nuclear power and, echoing Germany’s green energy strategy, called for the dismantling of all existing nuclear power plants. Sanders’ platform included a moratorium on existing nuclear power license renewals, while Warren simply said, “We won’t be building new nuclear plants” and pledged to wean “ourselves off nuclear and replace it with renewables.”
That, said Cooper, was “a bad priority for climate policy.”
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