At the start of the plenary session on the first day of the IAEA’s 68th General Conference, Mr Sang Wook Ham of the Republic of Korea was elected by acclamation as President of the Conference.
In his opening statement, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi welcomed two new countries to the IAEA, the Cook Islands and the Federation of Somalia. Their membership applications were approved by the conference.
Mr Grossi addressed the conference and laid out the IAEA’s future direction. He said in his statement: “Our priorities include reinforcing and preventing the erosion of a non-proliferation regime that has underpinned international peace and security for more than half a century; the ever-more-present existential threat of climate change, and the ongoing injustice of poverty, disease and hunger.”
Mr Grossi has reiterated his commitment to helping countries expand or introduce nuclear power programmes safely, securely and with the relevant safeguards in place. For the fourth consecutive year, the IAEA has revised up its projections for nuclear electrical generating capacity by 2050. World nuclear capacity is now projected to increase by 2.5 times the current capacity by 2050, in the high case scenario.
Thirty-eight countries participated in the debate during the plenary session. The statements of the delegations who participated in the general debate during the plenary session can be found here
The following side events took place on Monday:
A NUTEC Plastics Outlook and the Antarctic Mission event gave conference delegates a chance to see the preliminary results from this year's mission to Antarctica to monitor for microplastics in this pristine environment. They also discussed the initiative's future directions. Participants were introduced to a new NUTEC Plastics Portal that tracks progress, facilitates consultation and improves coordination and access to periodic progress reports for countries.
Established in 2020 to fight plastic pollution with nuclear technologies, the NUTEC Plastics initiative builds on the IAEA's efforts to tackle plastic pollution with innovative recycling techniques using radiation technology and by marine monitoring using isotopic tracing techniques.
At the event Multi-disciplinary Approaches to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance in Food and Agricultural Systems towards Global One Health on Monday participants heard about innovative solutions to address this challenge. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is described by the World Health Organization as a top global public health threat, and happens when viruses, fungi, bacteria and parasites become resistant to the drugs used to treat them. The IAEA and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization have a Joint Centre, based in Austria near Vienna, where research and capacity building is ongoing to address drug resistance through nuclear and related technologies.
The IAEA’s work in AMR through its Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC) initiative, is also helping countries counter potential pandemics.
The IAEA’s Learning to Protect Patients: IAEA E-learning Courses event provided information about e-learning courses c covering a range of specializations including radiotherapy, oncology and dentistry. More than 36 000 people have registered with the IAEA’s e-learning programme, designed to support healthcare professionals strengthen radiation protection at their medical facilities. New e-learning courses and their translations are continually being developed. All are available via the Radiation Protection of Patients website.
Member States’ side events:
Enhancing nuclear safety and security was the focus of three side events at the General Conference on Monday. France explored the need for robust emergency response mechanisms in its Enhancing Safety and Security: Emergency Environmental Monitoring with Gamma and Spectro Probes event. The United States of America organized policy discussions based around a strategic response to a radiological or nuclear emergency scenario at its National Coordination of an International Emergency Response: A Scenario.
The Role of the International Community in Mitigating Risk from the Legacy Sites in Central Asia was discussed at a side event on Monday. Kyrgyzstan gave examples of how it is addressing the issue of uranium legacy sites, highlighting progress and achievements in ongoing practical safety work. It also highlighted the role of the international community in developing coordinated joint actions to address the issue of uranium legacy sites and mitigate potential risks.
EURATOM held a side event Addressing International challenges to Nuclear Safety Stemming from Armed Conflicts, with a focus on recent events in Ukraine.
The United States of America’s national nuclear laboratories - the Argonne, Idaho and Oak Ridge National Laboratories – highlighted The Science Behind SMRs and Other Advanced Reactor Technologies
There is increasing interest in capturing the heat generated by nuclear power plants and bringing it to the global clean energy market, rather than letting it go to waste. A United Kingdom event The Power of Nuclear Cogeneration: Maximizing the Potential for Greater International Collaboration, brought together international experts to discuss how to harness the full potential of nuclear power.
In another event related to advanced reactors, Germany looked at the implications of this technology for waste management, in an event called Alternative Reactor Concepts and their Implications for Nuclear Waste Management: Insights from an Analysis of Seven “Gen IV” Concepts.
At China’s Open for Future: CNNC R&D Facilities event, the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) presented its research and development facilities including reactors for different applications, facilities for testing, qualification and simulation. The event also presented the latest on the country’s developments in fusion energy, as well as its underground repository lab for high level radioactive waste.
In Argentina, a RA-10 Multipurpose Research Reactor is under construction at the Ezeiza Atomic Centre of the National Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA). The RA-10 Multipurpose Research Reactor side event gave the chance to learn about the impact of research reactors for research, development, education and training and how this new project will contribute.
