The IAEA has kicked of a first-of-its-kind collaboration with the G20, with the Agency set to contribute to the work of the world's largest economic grouping on the key role that nuclear energy can play in achieving energy security and climate change goals.
The Agency began this participation with the G20 (Group of Twenty) under the Presidency of Brazil as an invited organization in the Energy Transitions Working Group (ETWG), which takes place under the G20 Sherpa Track. An Agency report presented to the working group last week in its first in-person meeting in Brasilia, laid out how policy shifts and better access to financing mechanisms are essential for nuclear power deployment to scale up to the level needed for the world to reach net zero by 2050.
This is the first time the IAEA has presented to the G20 on issues related to nuclear power, following on from successful prior engagements on the value of nuclear techniques for fighting plastic pollution.
Nuclear Energy for Net Zero: Accelerating Investment in the Clean Energy Transitions provides an overview of nuclear power in the clean energy mix, underscoring the need to speed up nuclear investments to meet net zero goals, especially in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs).
The IAEA will be making a series of contributions to the working group throughout 2024, providing information on nuclear energy's key role in the net zero transition.
Nuclear energy already plays a key role in most of the countries of the G20, which is the main forum for international economic cooperation, representing 85% of global economic output, more than 75% of global trade and two-thirds of the world's population. Fourteen G20 countries operate nuclear power plants, two are considering adding the technology to their energy mix, and six joined the pledge to triple nuclear capacity by 2050 made at COP28 in Dubai.
"The global clean energy transition requires nuclear energy - that is absolutely clear. In the past months the world has embraced that fact in several milestones, including by nuclear's inclusion in the first Global Stocktake at COP28; in the pledge by more than 20 countries to triple nuclear capacity, and also in our landmark Nuclear Energy Summit last month," IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said. "Through the leadership of the Brazilian Presidency of the G20, the IAEA is helping to further build on this momentum within the G20 Energy Transitions Working Group".
The ETWG discusses the use of clean and sustainable energy sources and the pathways to a fair, accessible and inclusive energy transition. Under the Brazilian Presidency, the working group will prioritize three main themes: how to accelerate financing of energy transitions, especially in emerging markets and developing economies; the social dimension of the energy transition; and perspectives of sustainable fuel innovation.
The document presented by the IAEA in Brasilia calls for a combination of a supportive policy environment and improved access to finance to scale up investments in nuclear energy, particularly in developing economies. Investments in nuclear power will need to more than double from current levels to more than $100 billion annually if the world is to reach net zero, the document notes, in line with estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
"The outlook presented by the IAEA tells a very important story around the scientific consensus on the role of nuclear energy to reach net zero, highlighting the acknowledgement of the role of nuclear in climate agreements and the recognition by the IPCC and climate experts that nuclear is needed to achieve net zero. It is fundamental to bring this to the ETWG discussions," said Thiago Barral, Secretary of Planning and Energy Transition of the Ministry of Mines of Brazil.
The IAEA's technical work with the G20 will culminate in October when it releases another report, Climate Change and Nuclear Power 2024: Financing Nuclear Energy in Low Carbon Transitions. The new report will examine the dynamics of nuclear project financing for low carbon transitions and will be released in the run-up to the G20 Presidential Summit and COP29, and on the sidelines of the G20 Energy Transitions Ministerial Meeting and the Clean Energy Ministerial and Mission Innovation meetings.
For the next working group meeting at the end of May, the IAEA will release a toolkit produced for the G20 on sustainable energy planning, building on decades of the IAEA's expertise in enhancing national and regional capacities for energy system analysis and planning, including capacity building in developing economies and the transfer of energy planning tools and methodologies.
"Energy is absolutely fundamental to society. Countries need to plan carefully so that their people have access to reliable, affordable and sustainable sources. The IAEA assists developing and developed countries in this endeavor, and that includes working with the experts within the G20," Mr Grossi said.
