Nuclear Associations Sign Climate Declaration

Climate Change, Anthropocene, & Associated Issues

Date posted: 05/07/15

WNN reports that more than three dozen societies for nuclear professionals around the world have signed the Nuclear for Climate declaration, calling for nuclear energy to be recognized for its contribution towards combating climate change. On 4 May, during the International Congress on Advances on Nuclear Power Plants in Nice, France, representatives of 39 nuclear societies and technical organizations signed a joint declaration stating their belief that nuclear energy is a key part of the solution in the fight against climate change. The declaration is a major component of the Nuclear for Climate global initiative, launched last year to raise awareness among decision-makers and the general public of the undeniable climate change benefits of nuclear energy. The initiative was initially launched through the French Nuclear Society, the European Nuclear Society and the American Nuclear Society. By signing the declaration, the 39 associations say they recognize that nuclear energy is one of a handful of options available at scale which can help to reduce energy related greenhouse gas emissions. The signatories say they believe that each country needs access to the widest possible portfolio of low-carbon technologies available, including nuclear energy, in order to reduce CO2 emissions and meet other energy goals. They also call for the new protocols being developed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to recognize nuclear energy as a low-carbon energy option, and to include it in its climate funding mechanisms, as is the case for all other low-carbon energy sources. Among the signatories to the declaration are the Korean Nuclear Society, the Chinese Nuclear Society, the Australian Nuclear Association, the Indian Nuclear Society, the Canadian Nuclear Society, the Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa and the UK Nuclear Institute.