Short abstract:

We highlight the influence of the nuclear sector over national climate, industrial and energy strategies. Studying the case of France characterized by a 50 years old support to nuclear energy, we show how this hegemony played against other low carbon solutions such as carbon capture and storage.

Long abstract:

The communication highlights the influence of the nuclear sector over national climate, industrial and energy strategies. Studying the case of France characterized by a 50 years old transpartisan support to nuclear energy (providing today 60% of the French power), we show how this hegemony played against other low carbon solutions. Analyzing the development of carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), we show the competition between the oil and gas sector and the nuclear sector over decarbonation strategies. Through the analysis of discourses and practices about CCUS in France since the 1970s, we develop 3 arguments. Firstly, many members of the French elite demonstrate a certain self-satisfaction over the level of decarbonisation and energy independence related to nuclear power. We argue that the choice of nuclear power disincentivized further action toward decarbonation until the late 2010s. Secondly, decarbonation strategy is mostly addressed rather disconnected from other issues such as reindustrialization and energy independence. We argue that decisions are still often made in a classic State-centred technocratic problem-management style. Third, the promoters of CCUS are marginal actors because the French energy transition is mostly steered toward electrification using large part of nuclear energy making it less relevant to support “bridging” technology such as CCUS but also weakening industrial sectors with carbon emissions unrelated to energy consumption. We conclude on how post carbon transformations are an occasion for the French government to double-down on nuclear energy and to forget the attempt made in 2015 to move away from nuclear energy.