Story By: Mabel Adorkor Annang
Twenty-two countries, including Ghana, have pledged to triple nuclear power capacity by 2050 as part of efforts to achieve current climate change goals.
They declared a commitment to take national actions to ensure that nuclear power plants are operated responsibly in line with the highest standards of safety, sustainability, security, non-proliferation, and the management of fuel waste.
The declaration was made at the ongoing World Climate Action Summit (COP28) in Dubai.
Twenty-two countries recognise the key role of nuclear energy in achieving global net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and keeping the 1.5-degree goal within reach.
The nuclear power declaration enjoins the countries to work together to advance the goal of tripling nuclear energy capacity globally by 2050 and invites shareholders of international financial institutions to encourage the inclusion of nuclear energy in energy lending policies.
Endorsing countries include Ghana, United States, Canada, France, Hungary, Japan, Republic of Korea, Sweden, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change see nuclear as important part of the solution to climate change and energy insecurity.
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mr Rafael Mariano Grossi, said achieving sustainable economic development and averting the devastating consequences of unchecked climate change will require making use of all low-carbon energy sources, including nuclear power.
“We have a very important commitment to triple nuclear energy. But for this effort to succeed, this needs to be as that’s the challenge we are facing globally. This is why the IAEA is going to be there.”
The President of France, Mr. Emmanuel Macron, reiterated that a robust nuclear power has the potential to play a wider role in the quest towards net zero carbon emissions.
“This is obviously about economy and energy. This is about innovation, but this is as well about regulation and safety. And this is why the role of the IAEA is crucial in that matter.”
United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, Mr John Kerry, said, “we are unfortunately burning fossil fuel, in a way, that is unmitigatingly putting up emissions in the atmosphere. And it’s warming the planet. We know this. The science is clear, no debating about that.”
The Deputy Director of Nuclear and Alternative Energy at the Ministry of Energy, Dr. Robert Sogbadji, said the action to triple nuclear power by 2050 is the way to go as Ghana is making great strides to soon build her Nuclear Power Plant as a way of adding to the generation mix.
“Ghana is part of the countries that agreed with the national atomic energy agency, the world nuclear installation by half century. It is about building thirteen nuclear plants per year, to be able to achieve that feat.”
A nuclear energy summit will be held next year, where leaders from around the world will gather in Brussels in March 2024 to highlight the role of nuclear energy in addressing the global challenges to reduce the use of fossil fuels, enhance energy security, and boost economic development.
