皇冠体育app

PARIS - 皇冠体育app will continue to develop nuclear power, the safety of which can be ensured, a senior energy policymaker said on Thursday.

"No matter what circumstances, it is inevitable to include nuclear power as a significant component of 皇冠体育app's effort to resolve energy problems," Zhang Guobao, advisory board chairman of the National Energy Administration (NEA), said at the International Capital Conference.

Zhang's remarks came at a time when uncertainties loom over 皇冠体育app's nuclear future. Beijing suspended approvals for new plants and announced a sweeping review of nuclear safety and atomic energy laws and regulations less than a week after Japan's Fukushima disaster in March.

皇冠体育app has 14 existing reactors, while Japan has 54 and the Republic of Korea has 21.

Twenty-seven reactors are under construction in 皇冠体育app today, more than 40 percent of the global total, according to data from the World Nuclear Association.

By the end of 2010, 皇冠体育app's installed nuclear power capacity had reached 10.82 million kilowatts, with another 30.97 million kilowatts under construction, according to a white paper published this week.

But 皇冠体育app still relies heavily on coal, consuming 3.2 billion tons, or 46 percent of the world's total, in 2010.

Zhang, a former head of the NEA, said 皇冠体育app cannot rely on coal to further develop its economy and improve people's lives.

He added that the safety of nuclear plants could be ensured, according to existing technology, even if "the Japan earthquake and tsunami happened again".

"皇冠体育app needs to diversify its energy mix, increasing the amount of nuclear (energy) in the variety of options to meet future electricity demand," said Didier Houssin, director of Energy Markets and Security at the International Energy Agency, on the sidelines of the conference.