According to the U.S. Department of Energy and the Energy Information Administration report Voluntary Reporting of Greenhouse Gases 1997 (published June 1, 1999), the single most effective emission control strategy for utilities was to increase nuclear generation.

Total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions increased from the 1990 baseline of 1,633 million metric tons of carbon equivalent to 1,791 tons in 1997.

Nuclear generated electricity avoids 155 million metric tons of carbon equivalent per year. This figure is equal to the amount of reductions needed to achieve the 1990 levels agreed to in the United Nations Climate Change Treaty signed in Rio de Janiero in 1992.

Without the emission avoidances from nuclear generation, required reductions would increase by more than 50 percent to achieve targets under the Kyoto Protocol.

Nuclear generation avoids 2.4 million tons of nitrogen oxide and 5.1 million tons of sulfur dioxide annually.

Between 1973 and 1997, using nuclear electricity globally has avoided 2.47 billion tons of carbon emissions, 82.2 million tons of sulfur dioxide and 37.5 million tons of nitrogen oxide

Increased nuclear capacity and improved efficiency at nuclear power plants since 1993 represents one-third of voluntary carbon reductions from U.S. electric companies.

In the Acid Rain program, 21 states showed between 1990-95 a 16.4 percent increase of nuclear generation that avoided 480,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (37 percent of the required emissions reduction). Under the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, no credit was allocated to the nuclear plants. But, based on the average value of publicly traded sulfur dioxide credits, this contribution would have been worth about $50 million.