1.1. INTRODUCTION
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. In response to this global threat, the international community reached the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (the Paris Agreement) setting clear objectives to keep a rise in global temperatures in this century well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further, to 1.5°C. Taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impact is also one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015.
Current national pledges reflected in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions vary considerably in terms of ambition and scope and collectively fall short of the Paris Agreement 2°C target, let alone the 1.5°C target. In order to support the achievement of the Paris Agreement and SDGs and reach net zero emissions by 2050, all nations are called to scale up their ambitions and adopt concrete and realistic implemenation plans compatible with these goals.
Around 70% of the world’s electricity currently comes from burning fossil fuels, according to the International Energy Agency.1 By 2050, around 80% of all electricity will need to be low carbon to meet the Paris Agreement goal. Significantly greater and faster deployment of low carbon energy technologies, along with the phase-out of emission intensive sources, requires that all options be considered.
As a large scale, reliable, dispatchable, concentrated and low carbon energy source, nuclear power has contributed significantly in the past decades not only to GHG reduction but also to broader economic and social dimensions of sustainable development. The 442 nuclear power reactors currently in operation in 30 countries generated 10% of the world’s electricity and one third of all low carbon electricity while avoiding approximately 2 Gt CO2 every year. It has great potential to play a significant role in achieving climate change mitigation goals and supporting social and economic development in the transition to a global low carbon economy.
Maintaining active involvement in responding to the UN’s climate change and sustainable development objectives is closely aligned with the statutory objective of the IAEA — “…to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world”. The dual challenges of climate change and sustainability reinforce the crucial role of “Atoms for Peace and Development”.
Recognizing the right of Member States to choose nuclear energy as part of their energy mix, the IAEA has a unique role in enhancing the understanding of nuclear energy’s contribution in addressing global issues. Two aspects of this role is providing its Member States with guidance and assistance for deploying nuclear technology and in formulating national energy strategies and policies.
In this context, the IAEA, in cooperation with the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA), organized the first International Conference on Climate Change and Role of
1INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY, Global Energy and CO2: Status Report 2019, OECD, Paris (2020), https://www.iea.org/reports/global-energy-co2-status-report-2019/emissions
Nuclear Power from 7 to 11 October 2019 to facilitate a comprehensive and inclusive discussion on the unique role of nuclear power in addressing climate change and sustainable development.
1.2. SUMMARY OF THE CONFERENCE
The conference explored the role of nuclear power in the mitigation of climate change and the achievement of SDGs, and identified major challenges and opportunities for the full utilization of nuclear energy, along with the options to address these challenges and make the most of the opportunities. In addition to the decision makers and officials from national governments and regulatory bodies, representatives of international organizations, industry and civil society participated in the conference, including those from non-governmental organizations and academic institutions. The IAEA welcomed and encouraged the participation of women, early career professionals and individuals from developing countries.
More than 500 participants, representing 79 countries and 18 international organizations, attended the conference. In addition to the heads and senior officials of the IAEA and OECD/NEA, a number of prominent and high level speakers from international organizations and IAEA Member States also attended the conference and delivered keynote speeches, including the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Director General of the World Nuclear Association (WNA), and senior government officials from Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Hungary, India, Mongolia, Morocco, the Russian Federation, United Kingdom and the United States of America. Heads of relevant international organizations such as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) of the OECD, sent messages to the event.
The thematic topics of the conference included:
Challenges and opportunities for existing nuclear power plants with respect to their contribution to the avoidance of GHG emissions;
Factors necessary to support high rates of deployment, including for advanced nuclear power technologies, consistent with achieving climate change goals, including those established in the Paris Agreement, and SDGs, namely SDG 7 (“Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”) and SDG 13 (“Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”);
The prospects for synergies between nuclear power and other low carbon energy sources.
The conference programme consisted of opening and closing sessions, high level plenary sessions, topical plenary sessions with invited keynote addresses, techical sessions with keynote addresses and panel discussions, side events, interactive e-poster/e-space and exhibitions. On the first day, in addition to the opening session, three high level plenary sessions were dedicated to the keynote addresses of the heads of international organizations and ministerial level officials from Member States. Subsequently, topical plenary sessions consisting of invited keynote addresses focusing on six topical themes were arranged, followed in each case by a technical session. Parallel sessions featured the presentations selected from submitted abstracts/papers. On Friday, one special plenary session on nuclear safety and security was arranged to highlight the importance of these topics. A special award session for winners of the visulization competition was also organized to recognize the value of the younger generation
in combating climate change. The summary of the conference president, consisting of findings and recommendations, was presented in the closing plenary session at the end of the conference.
The poster/interactive content sessions used IT applications to improve communication and interactions, which complemented the more traditional approach to posters Exhibitions and side events presenting global trends and innovative nuclear technologies to help meet climate mitigation goals were held throughout the conference.
The 18 technical sessions with 125 oral presentations were grouped into six parallel technical tracks:
Track 1: Advancing energy policies that achieve the climate change goals;
Track 2: The increasing contribution of nuclear power to the mitigation of climate change, including synergies with other low carbon power generation sources;
Track 3: Development and deployment of advanced nuclear power technologies to increase the use of low carbon energy;
Track 4: Shaping the future of the nuclear industry in regulated and deregulated energy markets to address climate change;
Track 5: Enhancing international cooperation and partnership in nuclear power deployment;
Track 6: Public and non-nuclear stakeholders’ perceptions of the role of nuclear power in climate change mitigation.
All presentations, posters and full papers, where submitted, are available in the on-line supplementary files on the publication’s web page at www.iaea.org/publications. Selected papers, based on presentations within the different tracks, are included in this publication.
1.3. OBJECTIVES AND STRUCTURE OF THE PROCEEDINGS
Designed to be an output of this inaugural conference on climate change and the role of nuclear power, these proceedings are expected to serve as a source of information for a wide audience, including decision makers, regulators, experts, scholars, the public and other stakeholders from Member States and international organizations involved in the nuclear energy, climate change, environment, eocnomics and social developmentareas.
This publication contains the summary of the conference president, the major findings, challenges and conclusions from the topical plenary sessions, technical sessions and a special plenary session on nuclear safety and security. In addition, the opening session, executive summary, keynote papers (where available), summaries of the technical sessions and panel sessions, the summary of the eight side events and the closing session are included.