It wasn’t that long ago that nuclear energy was a pariah, politically and environmentally.

But with climate change and and energy crisis headlining our political campaigns and agendas, nuclear energy just might be back on the table… And not only here in the U.S., either.

France’s GDF Suez (GSZ:Paris), newly-formed energy group, and Spain’s Iberdrola (IBE:Madrid) just announced that they will join forces to build nuclear plants in the United Kingdom… As have German companies RWE (RWE:Hamburg) and E.ON (EOA:Hamburg).

But friendly European countries teaming up to build nuclear power plants isn’t the only card in play. Nuclear energy is on the table in Russia, China, and Iran.

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Over the past several months, the investment world has turned its ever-roving eye on the Middle East and North Africa.

Since July, four new exchange traded funds have hit the market focusing on these regions. They are the WisdomTree Middle East Dividend Fund (GULF:Nasdaq), the Market Vectors Gulf States Index ETF (MES:NYSE), PowerShares MENA Frontier Countries Portfolio (PMNA:Nasdaq), and the SPDRs S&P Emerging Middle East & Africa ETF (GAF:AMEX).

But the one thing lacking in these ETFs is investments in Iran.

Of course, the U.S. has decreed it will not make investments in Iran, who it considers a state-sponsor of terrorism. That’s nothing to fool around with.

While much of the Western world stands firm by not investing in Iran, other nations, like China and Russia aren’t quite as righteous. Russia has repeatedly stood against strong sanctions in response to Iran’s nuclear program… as has China, but for different reasons. Iran and Russia have a history that goes back to before the Cold War. But China…

Iran is the world’s fourth largest oil exporter, and China, in early December 2007, signed a $2 billion deal with the country to secure oil supplies.

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High energy prices make companies both rich and greedy… In Western Europe, that boils down to acquisitions.

Last week, Electricite de France (EDF:Paris), who has been courting British Energy (BGY:London), announced it would not up its bid for the owner of most of the U.K.’s nuclear power plants. It was ready to announce an all-cash offer of $23.4 billion on Friday, but apparently, that offer is too low for the institutional investors holding large stakes in British Energy.

EDF isn’t going to let all that money sit around for long, though. With $54 bilion to spend on investments over the next two years, it’s already eyeing up other companies and developments.

Today, EDF increased its stake in Constellation Energy Group (CEG:NYSE) to 9.9%, up from 4.7%. And on Sunday, the company signed agreements to “invest in and operate two new-generation reactors in [China's] southern province of Guangdong.”

In fact, EDF is considering a number of countries and international developments for expansion. From South Africa to Qatar, EDF is looking for ways to secure both energy supplies and customers.

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The word nuclear stirs up all kinds of fears nowadays… Everything from Chernobyl to Iran comes to mind, and the fallout is – in my opinion – mostly political.

So what does it say when nine countries in central and southeast Europe take up the atom?

We’ve heard that China wants to build 30 new nuclear reactors over the next 15 years, and now news has hit the public that Russia will spend $40 billion to boost its nuclear power sector over the next seven years…

But have you heard that Turkey, long-pressed by an energy shortage, has plans to build three nuclear plants? By September 24, it will close the call for bids to build the first nuclear plant in the country.

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