2023 Is the Year the UN Climate Summit Went Nuclear | The Messenger
2023 Is the Year the UN Climate Summit Went Nuclear
By Stephen Perkins
The United Nations climate summit, known as COP28, recently concluded in Dubai and will go down in history as the conference where the world finally embraced a renaissance of clean nuclear power.
The UN’s annual international climate change conference brings world leaders, industry visionaries and environmental activists together to discuss ways to address our climate change goals. After years of actively shunning nuclear energy from discussions, this year’s organizers specifically brought in nuclear programming from organizations like Net Zero Nuclear.
Also noteworthy, more than 20 countries — including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Sweden — signed a declaration intending to triple nuclear power capacity by 2050.
It was undeniable that this year was the year for nuclear. Even outside of nuclear-specific programs, attendees and elected officials mentioned the technology as an effective way forward. Nuclear activists from all over the world shared their case for a nuclear renaissance. Representatives from the host country, the UAE, touted its massive investment in building new reactors.
The tide seems to be changing in the environmental movement. While some prominent environmental groups are still doubling down on their anti-nuclear advocacy, they are increasingly being left in the dark as more pragmatic activists and experts agree on the role nuclear must play in a carbon-conscious world where all climate solutions are on the table. Wind and solar continue to be embraced, but even the most ardent fans of turbines and solar panels are coming to terms with the fact they alone cannot provide the baseload power the world needs.
As COP28 attendees return to their home countries, the work continues to ensure that nuclear energy truly is utilized as a climate solution and becomes a cornerstone of the world’s clean energy future. Fortunately, public opinion is clear in the United States: Already, more than half of Americans are in favor of nuclear energy — a number that has steadily grown in recent years.
Gone are the days of succumbing to fear of nuclear energy. Americans — including many young people — are more supportive of nuclear energy and its ability to bring prosperity, meet our greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and conserve nature in the process. Even Miss America 2023 Grace Stanke — a nuclear engineering student — spoke about the opportunity nuclear provides, and how vital it is we capitalize on it sooner rather than later.
As much as nuclear was embraced as a durable solution, it’s not without challenges. Namely, if we are to accomplish the climate targets agreed to by 2050, the international community must not only invest significantly in new nuclear projects, but governments must also get out of the way and allow those projects to be built. Here in the U.S., for example, it can take up to 10 years for a new nuclear plant to come online. We must slash that considerably. Letting red tape stand in the way of a clean energy future would be moral malfeasance, in my view.
The events at COP28 were extremely encouraging, but they marked only the beginning of a rebirth of nuclear. Until now, there have been 27 such UN climate summits, and they have come and gone without any substantial action toward meeting our climate goals. This year, we have an opportunity to change this, including by using nuclear energy to its full advantage. If we want to address climate change, we must support nuclear development in real-time, supporting and exceeding the agreements reached at COP28.
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