Nuclear power won't cure climate change: Finnish PM

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Many energy experts say one key to cutting back carbon dioxide emissions that heat the Earth's atmosphere would be to rely more on nuclear power to generate electricity instead of coal-fired plants

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Building more nuclear power plants to reduce global warming emissions is not the way to fight global climate change, Finland's prime minister said on Monday.

Many energy experts say one key to cutting back carbon dioxide emissions that heat the Earth's atmosphere would be to rely more on nuclear power to generate electricity instead of coal-fired plants

But Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said reducing energy consumption, especially from automobiles, would do more to fight climate change.

"I don't see that (more) nuclear plants can be a global answer" to climate change, Vanhanen said in a speech to the National Press Club in Washington. "It can not be the only answer."

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The Bush administration is pushing for the construction of more nuclear power plants to help fight global warming.

The 104 nuclear power reactors in the United States provide about 19 percent of America's electricity supply and prevent almost 700 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

(Reporting by Tom Doggett; Editing by David Gregorio)