The only way to solve problems like this IMO is to price in the externalities. Tax fossil fuels for the damage they do, in order to reveal their true cost. Then they will never look like the most affordable option, because they're not.
True. The same is true for nuclear energy. I never heard of a nuclear power plant that did not receive substantial subsidies throughout lifetime. Not to forget the nuclear fuel and the efforts required to create it and later to store it.
A carbon tax, you say? 9 out of 10 economists agree, and dozens of voters. Dozens!
[That read as snark, didn't it? Sorry. I absolutely, completely, 100% agree with everything you say.]