DUBLIN — The future of atomic energy in Europe looked bleak after the nuclear disaster in Japan, but some European leaders now see nuclear power as the only clean alternative to dirty coal-fired plants or unreliable wind and solar energy.
For Europe’s politicians — treaty-bound to reduce carbon emissions from coal- and oil-powered plants — the fears of nuclear meltdown and radiation are now being balanced by the need to keep the lights on and factories open across the Continent.
