Applying the complex environmental questions to the possible phaseout of nuclear power in Sweden, this book considers the environmental and energy questions that industrialized nations and developing regions face. It is suitable for those interested in nuclear-power issues and climate change.

Renowned economist William Nordhaus has developed many innovative approaches for analyzing complex environmental questions. He applies them here to the possible phaseout of nuclear power in Sweden, and the book is a major contribution to that debate. Its value extends beyond that issue, however, to the careful consideration of environmental and energy questions that industrialized nations and developing regions now face.

In Sweden, a 1980 advisory referendum called for phasing out nuclear power. Parliament declared that existing nuclear reactors should be phased out by 2010. Numerous developments since 1980 -- technological, environmental, economic, and political -- necessitate a fresh look at the referendum. Should the Swedes reconsider the phaseout in light of new information or circumstances?

Nordhaus discusses and models the impact of new factors such as possible deregulation of electricity generation, efforts to address global climate change, and the decline of Sweden's economic growth and the rethinking of its welfare state. What are the costs and benefits to eliminating nuclear power? What are the economic ramifications of various energy and environmental options? Is a phaseout the most prudent approach? The Swedish Nuclear Dilemma casts these important questions in a new light, and it sets the stage for more informed analysis of similarly difficult issues.

'Nordhaus displays the tradeoffs among energy costs, nuclear risks, toxic pollutants, and global warming. The skill of application and clarity of presentation offer rewards for the reader interested in any of these issues, not to mention the reader interested in Sweden.' William W. Hogan, Harvard University