Australia needs to increase exploration for uranium as developing nations seek alternatives to burning fossil fuels blamed for global warming, said an official from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Carbon dioxide ``emissions from natural-gas combustion power plants are about 30 percent less than those from oil-fired power plants, but still about 22 times higher than those from nuclear power plants,'' Hidehiko Nishiyama, director general of the ministry's electricity and gas department, said at a conference in Perth today.

Japan plans to add to its uranium assets abroad to boost nuclear power generation as part of efforts to increase the use of cleaner-burning fuels and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. A Japanese uranium mining venture led by Kansai Electric Power Co. in May said it will buy stakes in two exploration areas in Australia in a bid to strengthen supplies of the ore.

``The greenhouse gas issue is a cloak over a broad range of issues affecting energy production that makes nuclear power attractive,'' Mark Simpson, head of research for Patersons Securities, said today at the conference. ``These issues include high oil costs and the need for energy diversification.''

Global uranium resources need to increase to cater for a ``renaissance'' in the nuclear industry, triggered by surging oil and coal costs and concern that greenhouse gas emissions are causing harmful climate change, Nishiyama said.

Proposed Plants

The world needs to build 32 new nuclear plants each year as part of measures to cut emissions in half by 2050, the Paris-based International Energy Agency has said. The International Atomic Energy Agency forecasts that 60 nuclear plants will be built in the next 15 years.

Australia, the world's second-largest uranium producer, is also the second-biggest provider of the fuel to Japan, contributing 27 percent of imports to the nation, trailing only Canada's 28 percent. Demand for uranium in Japan, which has 55 reactors, reached about 8,000 metric tons last year.

``Nuclear power generation will continue to account for its present level of 30 percent to 40 percent of Japan's total power generation beyond 2030,'' Nishiyama said.

Demand for uranium is poised to increase as new power stations start up, tapering off as the number of reactors that use recycled fuel grows, Nishimaya said.

``In the long term, the demand will decrease because fast- breeder reactor technology will be commercially introduced in Japan,'' Nishimaya said. That type of plant should be in use before 2050, he said.