The paper contains a brief description of the present situation with world energy production in conjunction with its environmental impact, discussion of environmental acceptability of the future fusion reactors, comparison of the environmental problems of fusion reactors with those of the competing future energy sources (fission, solar) and some speculations on the time-scale and optimum strategy of fusion development. The conclusion reached is that controlled thermonuclear fusion is one of the very few energy technologies that can (potentially) satisfy severe constraints imposed by the requirements of environmental acceptability and, at the same time, provide a considerable fraction of the baseload generation. In recognition of fusion as environmentally benign energy source, the extremely important role of ITER is emphasized.
The importance of fusion development towards a future energy source