California is asleep at the wheel on nuclear

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OPINION – Last month, the World Bank lifted its six-decade moratorium on financing nuclear energy projects: a historic decision that opens new avenues for low-carbon development throughout the Global South.

For years, developing countries were in an impossible bind—under pressure to limit emissions but denied access to the most scalable, reliable form of carbon-free energy. The World Bank has now acknowledged what pro-nuclear advocates have long argued: there’s no path to a stable climate without nuclear energy in the Global South.

And it’s not just talk. The Bank also signed an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to outline a path to make nuclear for development a reality.

Nuclear energy is officially back on the table—not just at the World Bank, but around the globe. Countries, organizations, and governments increasingly realize that decarbonization can’t happen without nuclear.

In Europe, the shift is accelerating. Belgium halted its nuclear shutdowns. Italy lifted its moratorium. Denmark is reconsidering its ban. Poland and the Netherlands are committing to new reactors. The U.K. is advancing small modular reactors. Even Germany has agreed to stop opposing other countries’ nuclear projects in the European Commission.

Developing countries are catching on too: Kenya now officially supports nuclear, Uganda is scouting plant sites, and Namibia is in talks with Russia. In the U.S., Virginia, Colorado, Michigan, and Massachusetts have passed pro-nuclear legislation. New York has unveiled a bold plan to add nuclear capacity to meet its climate goals.

California, alas, remains paralyzed.

We say we want to electrify everything—cars, heating, industry—and we’ve passed some of the world’s most ambitious climate mandates. Yet we haven’t permitted or built a new nuclear project in over 40 years. Our last plant, Diablo Canyon, nearly shut down early and only received a last-minute extension when it became clear the grid couldn’t handle the loss.

This contradiction is no longer tenable.

California’s climate goals and prosperity depend on building vast amounts of clean, firm power: electricity that’s always available, regardless of weather. But our planning framework still assumes solar and batteries can do it all.

They can’t: not yet.

As the Public Utilities Commission knows, the cost of overbuilding intermittent renewables and backup is already raising rates and eroding public support for electrification.

That’s where nuclear comes in—not 1970s mega-projects, but new, small, modular, walk-away safe reactors that pair with renewables and form the backbone of a reliable, zero-carbon grid.

Both the current administration and its predecessor have supported this shift. Through the Inflation Reduction Act, advanced reactors qualify for production tax credits and loan guarantees. The NRC has streamlined licensing. States like Wyoming, Virginia, and even West Virginia are moving to capture the benefits.

But California still refuses to acknowledge what nuclear energy can do.

It’s not that the public is opposed. Polling shows growing support for keeping and expanding nuclear in California. What’s missing is political leadership. A recent proposal to merely discuss ending the state’s nuclear moratorium wasn’t even brought to a vote. As long as the moratorium stands, we can’t build. We have no funding for pilots. No strategy to evaluate how nuclear fits into our energy mix.

If we don’t move soon, we won’t just import electricity: we’ll import clean energy leadership. Californians have the world’s toughest climate goals, but we reject some of the most effective tools to achieve them.

This isn’t just a technical failure. It’s a governance failure. The World Bank, once a symbol of caution, now signals that nuclear must be part of equitable development. California should be leading that conversation—not sitting it out.

It’s time to put nuclear back on the agenda in Sacramento.

Guido Núñez-Mujica is Director of Data Science at the Anthropocene Institute. He is a climate activist and science communicator with 25 years of experience.