At the United Nations Climate Conference (COP28) in Dubai, more than twenty countries, including the UAE, the United States, and France, issued a joint statement today (Saturday) calling for a threefold increase in global nuclear energy sources by 2050 compared to 2020. This initiative aims to reduce reliance on coal and gas.
American Climate Envoy John Kerry, speaking alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo in Dubai, emphasized the importance of nuclear energy in achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and maintaining the possibility of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Notably, the list of signatories to the statement does not include China and Russia, the two leading nations in the nuclear power plant construction sector, according to the French Press Agency.
Other signatories include Bulgaria, Canada, Finland, Ghana, Hungary, Japan, South Korea, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine, Czechia, and the United Kingdom.
Kerry stressed at a COP28 event, “We recognize from science, facts, and evidence that we cannot achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 without nuclear energy.” The signatories also called on contributors to international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, to include nuclear energy in their financing.
Supporters of nuclear energy, which is considered ideal and almost entirely free of greenhouse gas emissions, see it as an unparalleled means to produce clean and abundant electricity. Proponents view nuclear energy as a key to providing clean electricity.
However, some environmental advocates point out the risks of accidents, long-term waste issues, and even the high costs associated with nuclear energy.
