Mr Engkvist said it is important for national, business and civil society leaders to know about the industry’s unique collaboration under WANO, a non-profit nuclear safety organisation, and how the group’s members are committed to maximising nuclear safety and performance.
“All operators of nuclear power plants share knowledge and support each other,” he said. “What is truly unique about our industry is that WANO brings competitors together, with a shared goal and willingness to make the worldwide industry safer and more reliable.”
Mr Engkvist said: “In this way, the industry will continue to grow in many nations, provide reliable, low-carbon energy to their communities, and help nations meet their net zero targets. I have no doubt that the nuclear industry will be a vital player for climate change for many the decades to come.”
Panellists discussed nuclear’s crucial contribution to a net zero world at an International Atomic Energy Agency side event entitled: Nuclear Innovation for a Net Zero World.
The agency’s director-general, Rafael Grossi, had earlier said nuclear will play a key role balancing climate concerns and the world's energy needs. He said nuclear power now accounts for more than a quarter of the energy generated from non-fossil sources and produces very few of the greenhouse gas emissions that countries have pledged to eliminate by mid-century.
Mr Grossi said he has noted particular interest among younger people who do not have the “cultural burden” that some older environmentalists have associated with nuclear power.
“Young generations want a clear, a clean world, but they don’t want a ... pastoral world without, you know, the access to technology,” he told The Associated Press.
One of the panellists at the side event was Ghana’s energy minister Matthew Opoku Prempeh, who said the African country is determined to achieve universal access to electrification by 2025.
Press reports in Ghana said recently that five nuclear reactor vendors have responded to a request for interest issued by Ghana to collaborate with the country in its planned nuclear power programme.
The reports quoted a government official as saying that Ghana is aiming to build and operate commercial nuclear power plants in an effort to ensure affordable energy for industrial development and to help it meet its obligations under the Paris Agreement.
