There are not many topics in Australian public debate more polarising than nuclear power, but a new report could update the conversation to at least contain more recent facts.

Sense about Science, a UK-based independent campaigning charity that challenges the misrepresentation of science and evidence, has launched a public guide to nuclear energy.

Making Sense of Nuclear outlines what we now know about nuclear energy, how that knowledge has changed in recent years and the impact it has had on this contentious debate.

In recent years some prominent environmentalists have become advocates for nuclear power. Film directors, parliamentarians, journalists and environmental campaigners: people who once were opposed to nuclear power have changed their minds.

Making Sense of Nuclear is an exploration of what has changed, and changed minds. The guide does not explicitly promote nuclear as the route to a low-carbon energy system, but instead sets out the latest information so that all parties can take an informed view.

“We all – researchers, environmental groups, science bodies – have to press for an honest and up-to-date picture of how reactors and safety systems compare and their changing costs and benefits,” Sense about Science said in a statement.

“We need that – whether we’re open-minded opponents, reluctant accepters or strong advocates of using nuclear power.

Making Sense of Nuclear was compiled with the help of a group of scientific organisations including the Institute of Physics, the University of Manchester Dalton Nuclear Institute, Energy For Humanity and the National Nuclear Laboratory.

“We want as many people as possible, on all sides, to be involved in this debate,” the publishers urge.