Conditions for the inauguration of a second nuclear era: chances of success of radical innovation

Facing the stagnation of the world nuclear capacity, the commitments of Kyoto, the chances of re-mobilizing this technology in order to tackle the stakes of stabilisation of CO2 emissions are assessed. The evolutionist economy of technical change offers a conceptual framework for the identification of factors of the incompatibility of nuclear technology with regard to the industrial, social and political environment in the majority of industrial economies. On the basis of this type of analysis, an examination of the conditions and chances for the re-launch of nuclear technology based on radical innovation designed to be in line with this environment is given. (author)