As the climate crisis deepens, the need to transition away from fossil fuels becomes urgent. (Representative)
Glasgow:
For more than two decades, promoters and conductors of nuclear energy have felt isolated at UN climate change conventions.
At the ongoing COP26 summit in Glasgow, however, they were welcomed with open arms, the UN’s top nuclear regulator told AFP.
The ghosts of Chernobyl and Fukushima put aside the enduring problem of nuclear waste as well as the energy generated by splitting atoms, even though that energy is virtually carbon-free.
But as the climate crisis deepens and there is an urgent need to move away from fossil fuels, the outlook may change.
“Nuclear power is part of the solution to global warming, there’s no way around it,” Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in an interview.
It is already a quarter of the “clean” – that is, carbon-free – energy around the world, and Grossi said this COP is the first where “there was a seat at the table”.
“The winds are changing.”
Even a 50/50 chance of capping global warming at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels – the threshold for dangerous tipping points that could trigger runaway warming – should see global greenhouse emissions nearly halve within a decade Say, scientist.
But things are still moving in the wrong direction: A report on Thursday said emissions are reaching record levels in 2021.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that they could reach new heights by 2023.
It’s helping to focus on the atom.
“At COP in Paris in 2015, nuclear was not welcomed,” said Callum Thomas, head of a recruitment firm for the nuclear industry, who was seen wearing a T-shirt saying “Let’s talk nuclear” at COP26.
“There was a belief that this was not needed. Now many countries are looking at feasibility, especially with the rise in gas prices.”
‘Never Stop’
Ever since he took over the IAEA nearly two years ago, the Argentine diplomat Grossi has been a tireless advocate for the industry.
At his first COP in Madrid he went “despite the general impression that nuclear would not be welcome”.
In contrast in Glasgow, where nearly 200 countries are still trying to put meat on the bone of the 2015 Paris Agreement, he said “nuclear is not only welcome, but is generating great interest”.
Grossi argues that the technology could not only ease the transition from fossil fuels, but also power research on the technologies needed to adapt to climate impacts, from finding drought-resistant crops to eradicating mosquitoes.
He acknowledges that there are serious risks involved.
In the aftermath of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the melting of three reactors at Japan’s Fukushima power plant deepened confidence in nuclear.
Industry has yet to find a way to dispose of nuclear waste, which has remained highly radioactive for thousands of years.
But Grossi said these issues are not disqualifying, arguing that statistically the technology has fewer negative consequences than many other forms of energy.
It can also be a complement to renewable energy.
“Nuclear power goes on all year round, it never stops,” he said.
Yet, with the long construction times, many argue that it is too late to build enough nuclear capacity to effectively engage in the fight against global warming.
But Grossi said he thinks part of the answer lies in keeping existing reactors running.
100 year old reactor?
He said many power plants designed to last 40 years are now licensed for 60 years under strict national safety standards monitored by the IAEA.
“What could be more efficient than a facility you build that gives you energy for almost 100 years?” he said.
He acknowledged that long-lived plants can be “a little incendiary.”
“But it may still be possible.”
In its projections to limit the rise in global temperatures and at the same time meet the growing global demand for energy, the IEA takes all non-carbon sources on board.
The UN’s climate science advisory panel, the IPCC, has also placed nuclear in its models, even saying that its deployment “may be limited by societal priorities.”
In fact, attitudes toward nuclear power vary sharply across nations.
While New Zealand and Germany are protesting, India is in discussions with French energy giant EDF to build the largest nuclear power plant in the world.
Meanwhile, Canada and the United States are both developing so-called “small modular reactors”, although only Russia has commissioned a floating reactor using this technology.
Grossi said that price is also not the barrier it used to be.
“Countries see a very interesting option in smaller units, not in the range of billions but hundreds of millions,” he said. “When it comes to energy projects, it’s pretty economical.”
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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