Nuclear power will help Europe reduce carbon dioxide emissions and its dependence on foreign fossil fuels, according to a report from Frost & Sullivan.

"Despite the environmental risks, nuclear energy shows potential to reduce emissions and dependence on fossil fuels, and therefore, will be a major contributor to the European energy mix in 2020," a release from Frost & Sullivan stated.

Even as many countries, like Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Belgium, have renounced nuclear energy and said they plan to phase it out in the coming decades, researchers said it's hard to imagine a nuclear-free Europe. France, Finland, the United Kingdom and Sweden, however, remain committed to nuclear power generation. In the UK and Finland, regulators are pushing for better safety standards to support nuclear power growth over the next five years.

The Prague Daily Monitor reported the Czech Republic and Hungary are both increasing their nuclear power plants. Hungarian officials said the country is looking to produce more nuclear power in order to reduce its dependence on foreign sources.

The Frost & Sullivan report said renewable energy projects could help European energy demand but are currently not cost-effective.

"Moreover, it is not possible for renewables to compensate for the large-scale energy production currently supported by nuclear sources, until the next decade," according to the release.

PennEnergy's research area offers details on nuclear power in Europe.