Nothing will be as important to the people of the world in the next century and beyond as energy to provide clean water and electricity. But how will this need be met with the increasingly recognized need to substantially reduce carbon dioxide emissions? Nuclear power provides a compelling option, but it must meet certain requirements in order to gain public and political support. In this paper, those requirements are examined and the imperative for continued research into advanced nuclear power technologies is discussed. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.