The United States and 21 other countries pledged on Saturday at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050, stating that reviving nuclear power was crucial for reducing carbon emissions in the coming decades.
Supporters of nuclear energy, which accounts for 18 percent of electricity in the United States, argue that it is a clean, safe and dependable complement to wind and solar energy. However, a major obstacle is funding.
Last month, a developer of small nuclear reactors in Idaho announced the cancellation of a project that was expected to be part of a new wave of power plants. The cost of building the reactors had escalated to $9.3 billion from $5.3 billion due to rising interest rates and inflation.
Among the 22 countries that signed the declaration to triple capacity from 2020 levels were Britain, Canada, France, Ghana, South Korea, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates.
Tripling nuclear energy capacity by 2050, which would also help Europe reduce its dependence on Russian oil and gas, would necessitate substantial investment. In advanced economies, where nearly 70 percent of global nuclear capacity is located, investments have stagnated as construction costs have surged, projects have exceeded budgets, and faced delays. Additionally, another challenge to expanding nuclear capacity is the slower pace of building plants compared to many other forms of power.
Addressing the issue of financing, John Kerry, President Biden’s climate envoy, stated that there were “trillions of dollars” available for investment in nuclear. He clarified that they are not asserting that nuclear energy will completely replace every other energy source, but emphasized that science has demonstrated that achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 is impossible without some nuclear energy.
Nuclear power does not emit carbon, and an International Energy Agency report from last year emphasized that nuclear power is crucial for reducing carbon emissions in accordance with the 2015 Paris Agreement goals.
French President Emmanuel Macron asserted that nuclear energy, including small modular reactors, was an essential solution in efforts to address climate change. France, the largest producer of nuclear power in Europe, receives about 70 percent of its electricity from nuclear stations.
Mr. Macron and other leaders, including Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, called on the World Bank and international financial institutions to assist in financing nuclear projects. Mr. Kristersson stated that governments must play a role in sharing the financial risks to enhance conditions and provide additional incentives for investments in nuclear energy.
While world leaders on Saturday hailed nuclear power as the most effective alternative to fossil fuels, some climate activists opposed this view.
Researcher David Tong from Oil Change International argued that the pledging to triple nuclear energy capacity was disconnected from the reality of nuclear energy, highlighting its excessive cost and slow implementation. He described it as a self-serving political pledge that does not accurately reflect the likely role of nuclear energy in the energy transition. He further emphasized that there is very little growth in nuclear energy, certainly nothing close to tripling.
He rejected the assertion that there was no path to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, a goal set in the Paris Agreement to avoid the worst effects of global warming, without nuclear. Masayoshi Iyoda, an activist from Japan with 350.org, an international climate action campaign, cited the nuclear disaster at Fukushima in 2011 and stated that nuclear power was a dangerous distraction from decarbonization goals. He highlighted that it is simply too costly, too risky, too undemocratic, and too time-consuming, and emphasized that renewable energy and energy efficiency are already viable and faster solutions to the climate crisis.
Of the 31 reactors that have commenced construction since 2017, all but four were designed by Russia or China, with China set to become the leading nuclear power producer by 2030, according to the International Energy Agency. This year, Germany closed its last three nuclear plants.
Nuclear capacity experienced growth in the 1980s, notably in Europe and North America, but declined sharply in subsequent years following the accidents at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979 and Chernobyl in 1986. However, new technology and stricter regulations have been implemented since then.
According to a Pew Research Center study published in August, while Americans have conflicting views on nuclear power, an increasing number favor its expansion compared to a few years ago.
