Four percent of that supply, or 20,000 megawatts, is expected to be generated by nuclear energy plants. Nuclear energy will be particularly important to serve major coastal metropolitan centers that are located far from China's vast coal resources, and that already are experiencing poor air quality. Although the Chinese will generate a portion of their electricity from hydroelectric facilities, they are the world's largest user of coal, and will expand their heavy reliance on indigenous coal supplies for electricity. This expanded dependence on coal will carry obvious environmental consequences in terms of greenhouse gases and other emissions. In fact, China is projected to be the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world by 2015.
Nuclear energy plays an important role in avoiding greenhouse gases.
Nuclear energy produces no greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, nor any sulfur oxide or nitrogen oxides because nuclear power plants do not burn fossil fuels. Generating the same amount of electricity using oil emits 190 metric tons of carbon and 150 metric tons of carbon using natural gas. Producing 1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity at a nuclear power plant emits no carbon dioxide. Earlier this year, the Worldwatch Institute issued a report on fossil fuel use and carbon emissions. The group reported that China today accounts for 14 percent of total global emissions of carbon, and that these emissions increased by 27 percent between 1990 and 1996.