The top ten most polluting plants were in Poland, India, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Germany, and Japan. South Korea has three coal-fired power plants among the top ten super polluters. India has two, and the other countries mentioned above have one each.
How is the next generation of nuclear power supposed to avoid that problem if people build everything at once and then stop again for 50 years?
Time of construction and cost of these plants far outweigh its benefits when compared to easier and cheaper alternatives in the renewable sector.
The first step would be the set a definitive date when the coal plant will get demolished. Once that is done, people can continue to debating what optimal alternative should be constructed but if the date come and there is nothing built then what people get is no power, and the blame then goes to those who refused to build new power plants when they knew ahead that the coal plant is getting demolished.
It could be the UN leading the way on this, with a budget and a mandate to have these plants shut down or modified.
The timeframe must be ambitious, as the world really doesn't have the time for long schedules.
China and Taiwan seem to be the hardest to reason with, so additional pressure might be needed.
But it looks promising if these plants can really be changed or phased out.