{"id":40214,"date":"2024-03-22T12:57:42","date_gmt":"2024-03-22T07:27:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=40214"},"modified":"2025-10-11T13:07:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T07:37:38","slug":"nuclear-energy-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/nuclear-energy-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"The push for nuclear energy as climate solution"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/h2>\n<p>\u25cf Why in News?<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf What is Nuclear Energy Summit?<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf The case for nuclear energy<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf What explains the poor uptake of nuclear energy?<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf COP and nuclear Energy<\/p>\n<p>\u25cf What is India\u2019s position on nuclear energy?<\/p>\n<h2>Why in News?<\/h2>\n<p>Brussels held a unique Nuclear Energy Summit, considered the biggest international gathering on nuclear energy.<\/p>\n<p>Representatives from 30 countries, including some heads of state, attended. This meeting is part of recent efforts to promote nuclear energy as a solution to climate change and energy security.<\/p>\n<h2>What is Nuclear Energy Summit?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>About<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>This Summit is an initiative in collaboration with the IAEA\u2019s \u2018Atoms4Netzero\u2019 programme.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Atoms4NetZero is an <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/international-atomic-energy-agency-iaea\/\" target=\"_blank\">IAEA<\/a> initiative that supports efforts by Member States to harness the power of <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/nuclear-energy\/\" target=\"_blank\">nuclear energy<\/a> in the transition to net zero.<\/li>\n<li>Launched during COP27, this initiative provides decision makers with data-driven energy scenario modelling.\n<ul>\n<li>It is part of the multilateral approach to decarbonisation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Outcome<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The meeting was not meant to produce any decisions or finalise any agreement.<\/li>\n<li>It aimed to boost support for nuclear energy, which many countries are unsure about, especially after the Fukushima accident in 2011.<\/li>\n<li>Concerns grew further due to the crisis at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in Ukraine amid armed conflict.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>The case for nuclear energy<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Possible substitute for fossil fuels<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>It is a clean source of energy with a minimal carbon footprint. There is negligible release of emissions during the electricity generation process.<\/li>\n<li>Even when the entire life cycle is considered, greenhouse gas emissions are only in the <strong>range of 5 to 6 grams per kilowatt hour<\/strong>, according to IAEA.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Entire life cycle includes activities like reactor construction, uranium mining and enrichment, waste disposal and storage, and other processes.\n<ul>\n<li>This is more than 100 times lower than coal-fired electricity, and about half the average of solar and wind generation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Perennial availability<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The other great advantage of nuclear is its perennial availability, unlike wind or solar which are season or time-dependent.<\/li>\n<li>It is thus suitable for baseload electricity generation that solar or wind projects are unable to do unless breakthroughs in battery storage technologies come along.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Endorsed by many international institutions\/reports<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Nuclear energy features prominently in most of the decarbonisation pathways suggested by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and others.<\/li>\n<li>IAEA says nuclear energy is already contributing very significantly to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.<\/li>\n<li>Nuclear power generation results in <strong>avoiding emissions of more than 1 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent every year<\/strong>, according to IAEA.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What explains the poor uptake of nuclear energy?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Current status<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Only 31 countries in the world use nuclear energy for generating electricity. And barely seven more are working towards joining this club.<\/li>\n<li>As per IAEA, the number of operational nuclear reactors has actually come down in the last 20 years, from 437 in 2003 to 411 now.<\/li>\n<li>The total installed electricity generation capacity has shown only a marginal increase during this period, from about 360 GW in 2003 to 371 GW now.<\/li>\n<li>Nuclear energy accounts for less than 10 per cent of global commercial electricity generation, and its share has been declining for almost three decades now.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reasons<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Safety concerns<\/strong> are one of the main reasons for the poor uptake of nuclear energy in recent years, particularly after the Fukushima accident.<\/li>\n<li>Nuclear power also happens to be the <strong>costliest electricity<\/strong> right now.<\/li>\n<li>Nuclear reactors require high investments and technology base, take years to build, and have to operate under a variety of regulations and constraints.\n<ul>\n<li>This makes them unattractive for countries wanting to quickly ramp up their electricity generation in an affordable manner.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The kind of <strong>technology breakthroughs<\/strong> that have driven down the costs of solar and wind in the last decade, have not happened in the nuclear sector.\n<ul>\n<li>The much-discussed technology of small modular reactors is far from being mature.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Also, <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/mdb\/\" target=\"_blank\">Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs)<\/a> and private investors have not made any significant contribution to the nuclear industry.<\/p>\n<h2>COP and nuclear Energy<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Tripling declaration at COP28 in Dubai<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>In 2023, representatives from 22 countries committed themselves to working together to achieve a tripling of global nuclear energy installed capacity by 2050 from 2020 levels.\n<ul>\n<li>Interestingly, India skipped the tripling declaration at COP28 in Dubai.<\/li>\n<li>It was not the only nuclear power-producing country to do so, several others also did not sign up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Nuclear energy formed part of outcome declaration<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/cop28-final-outcome\/\" target=\"_blank\">final outcome from Dubai (COP 28)<\/a> formally acknowledged nuclear energy as one of the zero, or low-emission technologies, that needed to be accelerated to achieve rapid and deep decarbonisation.<\/li>\n<li>This was the first time that nuclear energy was mentioned in any COP outcome.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is India\u2019s position on nuclear energy?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>India, which currently has <strong>23 operational nuclear reactors<\/strong>, does acknowledge the role of nuclear energy in its decarbonisation plan.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Installed capacity<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The currently operational reactors have a combined installed electricity generating capacity of 7,480 MW (about 7.5 GW).<\/li>\n<li>At least ten more reactors are under construction, and the capacity is supposed to triple to 22,480 MW by 2031-32.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0<strong>Share of nuclear energy in total electricity generation<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The share of nuclear energy in <strong>total electricity generation capacity is just about 3.1 per cent, among the lowest in countries<\/strong> that do use nuclear energy.<\/li>\n<li>Only Brazil and Iran have a lower share of nuclear energy in their electricity generation mix.<\/li>\n<li>Even after expansion, this share is not expected to go beyond 5 per cent.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nuclear energy is a clean source of energy with a minimal carbon 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