A number of countries have promised to triple the capacity of nuclear energy by 2050

A number of countries have promised to triple the capacity of nuclear energy by 2050

Katerina Belousova

Countries recognize the key role of nuclear energy to achieve climate neutrality"

At the COP28 climate summit, the US will push for a tripling of the world's installed nuclear power capacity by 2050.

The initiative is likely to be supported by Great Britain, France, Sweden, Finland and South Korea, reports Bloomberg.

It is noted that such a program will be a turning point for the controversial technology. Although nuclear power produces no carbon emissions, it is often criticized for the generation of toxic waste, the cost of building the plants, and potential safety issues.

"In a few days, the nuclear industry will commit to tripling generating capacity from 2020 levels," said a Bloomberg source.

The article emphasized that the US declaration calls on the World Bank and other international financial institutions to include nuclear energy in their credit policy.

"Countries recognize the key role of nuclear energy in achieving global net zero greenhouse gas emissions/carbon neutrality by approximately mid-century," the draft declaration reads. "Nuclear power is already the second largest source of clean, dispatchable baseload electricity, which has benefits for energy security."

Bloomberg emphasized that this statement is the latest sign of a change in sentiment towards nuclear energy. Countries will also commit to new technologies such as small modular reactors.

According to US representatives, such technology may help reduce emissions in Africa, as well as add more flexible generating capacity. The country is already discussing nuclear cooperation agreements with Kenya and Ghana, as well as renewing the pact with South Africa.

It is noted that COP28 will be held in the United Arab Emirates, which is the only country on the Arabian Peninsula with a nuclear energy program. However, it is not known whether the UAE will join the initiative.

Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that a new United Nations report showed that carbon emissions by 2030 will be reduced by 2% from the level of 2019, although according to the Paris Agreement they should be reduced by 43%.

As EcoPolitic previously reported, the USA and Ukraine announced the pilot project "Clean fuel in Ukraine with SMR", which will launch the production of green hydrogen and ammonia using a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) and advanced electrolysis technologies in Ukraine.

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