The IEC is a left-leaning climate and energy policy advocacy nonprofit that opposes the use of nuclear energy. 1 It is affiliated with an educational nonprofit: the Illinois Environmental Council Education Fund.
Opposition to Nuclear Energy
In 2023 the Illinois Environmental Council supported the Illinois governor’s veto of legislation that would have permitted expansion of nuclear power in the state. The Illinois Environmental Council released a statement supporting the moratorium on new nuclear power stations in Illinois: 1
“Nuclear power comes with significant safety risks and results in highly hazardous wastes that threaten our drinking water, with no safe, permanent waste solution in sight. Rather than abandon all safeguards, Governor Pritzker recognized that such substantial risks merit the highest protective guardrails our state can offer.” 1
Nuclear power plants produce no carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions, and as of 2021 accounted for 19 percent of American electricity production—the largest source of zero carbon electricity in the United States. 2 An October 2018 proposal from The Nature Conservancy noted that zero-carbon nuclear plants produced 7.8 percent of total world energy output and recommended reducing carbon emissions by increasing nuclear capacity to 33 percent of total world energy output. 3
References
- “Moratorium on New Nuclear Remains in Place in Illinois Thanks to Governor Pritzker’s Veto.” Illinois Environmental Council. August 11, 2023. Accessed September 24, 2025.
- “Nuclear explained.” U.S. Energy Information Administration. Accessed August 3, 2022. https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/nuclear/us-nuclear-industry.php>.
- “ The Science of Sustainability.” The Nature Conservancy. October 13, 2018. Accessed August 3, 2022. https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-insights/perspectives/the-science-of-sustainability/