Does nuclear power have a place in a green-energy future?

Countries around the world have set ambitious goals to fight climate change by drastically reducing their emissions in the coming decades. Doing so means replacing carbon-heavy power sources, like coal and gas, with green-energy solutions. Renewables like solar, wind and hydroelectric power will certainly play a major role. But environmentalists, scientists and lawmakers are divided on whether or not nuclear power should be part of a clean-energy future.

In the 1980s, nuclear power provided about 17 percent of the world’s energy. But high-profile disasters at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl led many countries to stop investing...