To achieve sustainable economic development and avert the devastating consequences of unchecked climate change requires making use of all low-carbon energy sources, including nuclear power.
This is the message that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi will bring to the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28).
Director General Grossi will announce the IAEA Statement on Nuclear Power supported by dozens of countries, in a flagship event that will highlight the role of nuclear power as part of the energy mix. The event will take place on Friday, 1 December at 15:00 (11:00 GMT), in the Shared Presentations Stage 3, Thematic Arena 3, Opportunity Petal, Blue Zone. The event is open to the media and will be livestreamed.
Director General Grossi will also join French President Emmanuel Macron and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo to announce the first-ever nuclear energy summit to be held in Brussels next year. The event will take place at the Rove Hotel in the Blue Zone on Saturday, 2 December at 09:30 (05:30 GMT). The event is open to the media and will be livestreamed.
The IAEA will once again host an Atoms4Climate pavilion in the Blue Zone at COP. Throughout the two-week event, from 30 November to 12 December, a delegation of IAEA experts, led by Director General Grossi, will showcase nuclear power, science and technology solutions for climate change mitigation, adaptation and monitoring.
The IAEA will host and participate in more than 50 events focusing on four thematic areas: energy, food, the ocean and water.
See the IAEA @COP28 page for the complete list of IAEA and partner events.
The Atoms4Climate pavilion’s first event, Promoting Ocean Health with the Research Vessel AlMostakshif, will be on Thursday, 30 November at 16:00 (12:00 GMT) and will focus on preserving the health of the ocean, highlighting how the new IAEA-KISR Ocean Health project will contribute to this global effort through innovative research and capacity building among IAEA Member States.
An opening ceremony with Director General Grossi will take place on Friday, 1 December at 17:40 (13:40 GMT).
Countries facing the effects of climate change, rising energy costs and supply concerns are turning to nuclear power, which provides 10 per cent of the world’s total electricity and one quarter of its low carbon supply. Nuclear techniques, such as isotope hydrology and plant mutation breeding, can also help countries adapt to the impact of climate change on food, agriculture and water management.
IAEA media team contacts
IAEA experts in climate change mitigation, adaptation and monitoring will be available for interviews at COP28.
For interview requests and other media-related questions, please contact Fredrik Dahl, IAEA Spokesperson, at Fredrik.Dahl@iaea.org and copy press@iaea.org or call 0043 699 165 21 275.
The IAEA video team will be present at COP28. B-roll footage of the Director General, the IAEA pavilion or specific events is available, upon request. Please contact Katy Laffan, Multimedia Producer, at K.Laffan@iaea.org and copy press@iaea.org or call 0043 699 165 22 446.
Registration
Most IAEA events will be accessible via livestream without registration.
To attend events in person, you must register for COP28. For media accreditation and all other details concerning the attendance of COP28, please contact the UNFCCC media relations office. The IAEA cannot assist with accreditation to COP28.
Media kit
The IAEA COP28 media kit provides information on the four key areas highlighted at the #Atoms4Climate pavilion — energy, food, the ocean and water — along with recent reports and further background information.
The media kit also contains B-roll video footage on nuclear power and applications to tackle climate change, videos on the IAEA and climate change and high-resolution images in the IAEA Flickr account. The IAEA will take photographs at COP28 and post them on Flickr.
This material is free to use under the copyright provisions of the IAEA Terms of Use. If you have further questions, please contact us.
The IAEA’s explainer articles, podcasts and other resources on climate change are available on the IAEA website.
Follow the IAEA and #Atoms4Climate on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter (X) and Weibo for updates throughout COP28.