The IAEA and Brazilian Association for the Development of Nuclear Activities (ABDAN) have agreed to step up their cooperation on activities related to nuclear power, including raising awareness about this clean, reliable and sustainable energy source ahead of this year’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP26).
The IAEA and ABDAN, a non-profit entity that brings together global companies involved in nuclear activities in Brazil, signed Practical Arrangements last month covering a variety of activities. They include sharing information, experiences and good practices as well as the provision of expertise and capacity building in energy planning, the long-term operation of nuclear power plants, and the development and deployment of new reactors including small and medium sized or modular reactors (SMRs) and their applications.
“Around the world, the devastating signs of a warming planet are becoming clearer by the day. The question is, what can we do about it?” Mikhail Chudakov, who is IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Energy, said in opening remarks at ABDAN’s Nuclear Trade & Technology Exchange conference on 27 July. “Climate change and the need to develop sustainably are demanding that we take a hard look at the way we organize our societies, in particular the generation of electricity and energy. Nuclear energy can help to solve these problems.”
IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi visited ABDAN during his official travel last month to Brazil, which has ambitions to quintuple nuclear generating capacity to 10 gigawatts by 2050. Brazil currently gets about 2% of its electricity from two reactors at the Angra Nuclear Power Plant.
"We are very pleased to have signed this important agreement with the IAEA," ABDAN President Celso Cunha said. "ABDAN looks forward to working closely with the IAEA on a variety of topics in support of Brazil's nuclear power programme and its ambitions to expand the programme to ensure a brighter and more sustainable future."
International cooperation can assist countries in developing and deploying nuclear power to meet climate and development needs. Under the agreement, the IAEA and ABDAN will work on strengthening Brazil’s nuclear workforce, support the long-term operation of the country’s existing nuclear plant and hold trainings on SMR technology, including for non-electric applications. IAEA energy planning tools and models will be used to help Brazil build the most suitable energy infrastructure to meet its future needs.
The agreement “also includes efforts to raise awareness and understanding of the critical role nuclear power plays in the transition to clean energy systems,” said Chudakov, whose department is coordinating IAEA efforts to make the Agency’s presence felt at COP26 in Glasgow in November and leading three side events in connection with the Pre-COP26 meeting hosted by Italy.