In Short : By tripling nuclear energy production, the US aims to make a significant contribution to the collective efforts to combat climate change. The US government recognizes that a comprehensive approach is necessary to achieve the ambitious goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, and nuclear energy is seen as an essential component of that strategy.
In Detail : More than 20 nations including the United States called for a tripling of nuclear energy to drive down emissions on Saturday as world leaders assembled for the third day of the UN climate talks in Dubai.
Pope Francis, unable to attend the COP28 climate summit in person, called on world leaders on Saturday to find a breakthrough to tackle global rising temperatures, calling the destruction of the environment “an offence against God”.
In a speech read out by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin due to the pope’s ill health, he said: “I am with you because the destruction of the environment is an offence against God”.
“Brothers and sisters, it is essential that there be a breakthrough that is not a partial change of course, but rather a new way of making progress together.”
More than 110 countries join pledge to triple renewable energy
More than 110 countries have joined a pledge to triple the world’s renewable energy by 2030, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
Von der Leyen called on “all of us to include these targets in the final COP decision”.
Whether governments and companies will rally the huge investments needed to hit the goal is an open question. While deployment of renewables like solar and wind has been surging globally for years, rising costs, labour constraints and supply chain issues have forced project delays and cancellations in recent months, costing developers like Orsted and BP billions of dollars in write-downs.
Getting the deal into the final UN climate summit decision would also require consensus among the nearly 200 countries present. While China and India have signalled support for tripling global renewable energy by 2030, neither has confirmed it will back the overall pledge – which pairs the ramp-up in clean power with a reduction in fossil fuel use.
South Africa, Vietnam, Australia, Japan, Canada, Chile and Barbados are among the countries already on board, officials said.
More than 20 nations call for tripling of nuclear energy
More than 20 countries have called for the tripling of world nuclear energy capacity as part of efforts to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
A declaration endorsed by nations including the United States, Ghana, Japan and several European countries said nuclear energy plays a “key role” in reaching the goal of carbon neutrality.
The use of nuclear energy as a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels is controversial as environmental groups are concerned about safety and the disposal of nuclear waste.
“We are not making the argument to anybody that this is absolutely going to be a sweeping alternative to every other energy source,” US climate envoy John Kerry said. “But we know because the science and the reality of facts and evidence tell us that you can’t get to net zero 2050 without some nuclear,” he said.
The aim is to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050 from 2020 levels.
The other countries that signed up to the declaration include the UK, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Hungary, South Korea, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates.