Nuclear power has a vital role to play in helping to address the global climate emergency.
It already contributes one third of all low carbon electricity generated in the world. Nuclear power offers a steady, reliable supply of power and its use can help to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet the needs of the world’s growing population, not least in developing countries.
Nuclear power plants produce almost no greenhouse gas emissions or air pollutants during their operation. Emissions over their entire life cycle are very low. It provides a vital complement to renewables such as wind and solar power, which are intermittent sources of energy.
The great contribution that nuclear power has already made — for example, avoiding the production of the equivalent of 55 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the past 50 years — and the enormous potential of innovative technologies now in the pipeline deserve to
be better known.
That is why I decided to devote the first IAEA Scientific Forum since I became Director General of the IAEA to “Nuclear Power and the Clean Energy Transition”. Leading scientists and experts from around the world will meet over two days to examine how nuclear power’s science-based solutions can play a pivotal role in paving the way for a sustainable future.
This edition of the IAEA Bulletin will provide you with a closer look at the clean energy transition and how nuclear power fits in. You will learn how, during extreme events such as a pandemic or severe weather caused by climate change, nuclear power’s resilience can help to ensure continuous energy supplies.
