“It’s a whole different dynamic today,” said Dr. Bilbao y Leon.

The New York Times has put a spotlight on nuclear power at COP 29 and interviewed Dr Sama Bilbao y Leon, Director General of World Nuclear Association, about the status of the nuclear energy industry.

The article explains that "growing world energy demand and other factors have shifted the calculus," and COP29 feels different for the nuclear energy industry. The context against which the negotiations and discussions around climate finance, climate action and the clean energy transition are taking place now not only include nuclear energy, but countries and industry are actively looking for nuclear energy partnerships to provide equitable and affordable energy to all.

The momentum behind nuclear energy has been building. In the last 12 months we have seen: 

- The recognition of nuclear energy – for the first time in a major COP decision  – among the solutions needed to keep the 1.5-degree goal within reach, as part of last year’s Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement.

- The historic Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy signed at the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai.

- In March 2024, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Government of Belgium co-chaired the first Nuclear Energy Summit, in which countries highlighted the role of nuclear energy in reducing the use of fossil fuels, enhancing energy security, and boosting economic development.

- In September 2024, at New York Climate Week, 14 of the world’s largest banks and financial institutions from five countries signaled their support for tripling global nuclear capacity.

- And most recently, during COP29, six countries – El Salvador, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Nigeria and Turkey – joined the Net Zero Nuclear pledge to triple nuclear capacity by 2050. These nations are now part of a coalition of 31 countries committed to expanding nuclear energy. 

You can read the full article from The New York Times here.