In a letter dated Nov. 3 Gore, who is still awaiting the result of the presidential election that could put him in the White House, said nuclear should not be used as a means of cutting ``greenhouse gases.''

``I have disagreed with those who would classify nuclear energy as clean or renewable,'' Gore said in a letter to Harvey Wasserman of the Ohio-based Nuclear Information and Resources Center.

Gore said proposed U.S. legislation on restructuring the electricity sector excluded nuclear and large scale hydro electricity. ``It is my view that climate change policies should do the same,'' he added.

The comments will be warmly welcomed by environmentalists who fear world governments meeting at a ``climate summit'' during the next two weeks might allow nuclear power to be promoted in developing countries as a way of combating global warming, because it does not emit the carbon dioxide which comes from fossil fuels.

Canada and Japan are pushing for such a policy.

The leader of the U.S. delegation at the talks, David Sandalow, told a news briefing: ``The United States is open to discussion on this issue.

``We have expressed concerns. We have noted the challenges of cost, public acceptance, non-proliferation, waste and safety,'' he said.

Some 180 countries are meeting in The Hague to finalize the rules on implementing a 1997 United Nations agreement on cutting six gases believed to contribute to global warming.

Copyright 2000, Reuters

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