Eight major international and national nuclear industry associations have urged the Group of Seven (G7) major democratic industrial economies to take steps to further develop nuclear energy capacity and technology, to help counter climate change. They also welcomed the opportunity to provide input to the G7 Climate, Energy, and Environment Ministers meeting, currently under way in Turin, Italy. (The G7 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US, while the European Union also attend all G7 meetings.)

In their statement, the industry associations pointed out that the G7 countries together accounted for more than 50% of current global nuclear capacity. Further, they were the bases for the development of the most promising new nuclear technologies. And these countries had the operational experience, regulatory capacity, financing capacity and fuel cycle capabilities to help those countries that were now adopting, or planning to adopt, nuclear power, to do so responsibly, securely and safely. Countries were adopting nuclear energy both to ensure their energy security and to meet their obligations to fight climate change.

“We are committed to ensuring safe and secure operation of nuclear facilities to provide always-on, affordable, clean low-carbon electricity and heat; to complement renewables in the pursuit of achieving net zero in electricity generation; to decarbonise hard-to-abate sectors, such as heavy industry, and to provide high-quality long-term jobs that drive economic growth,” highlighted the associations. “Nuclear energy’s role to support climate change mitigation was unanimously agreed in [global climate summit] COP28’s Global Stocktake, and 25 countries demonstrated greater ambition, setting a goal to triple nuclear capacity globally by 2050 in a Declaration during COP. Last month, at the Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels, more than 30 countries, including six of the G7, reemphasised that nuclear energy has a key role to play to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and ensure energy supply and industrial competitiveness.”

The associations identified six key areas for decisive action by the G7. First on the list was the need to create “optimum conditions”, by means of long-term, coherent and consistent policies, to facilitate the extension of the operational lives of existing, and the fleet deployment of new, nuclear reactors. Second, to give investors clarity on nuclear project funding and investment recovery mechanisms. Third, make it straightforward for nuclear projects to access international and national climate finance mechanisms. Fourth, make certain that nuclear energy was included in the investment portfolios of multinational financial institutions.  And fifth, to designate nuclear energy and the nuclear fuel cycle, unambiguously and clearly, as a sustainable investment.

The sixth area was the promotion of nuclear supply chain development on the scale necessary to meet the nuclear energy expansion targets, and to continue funding nuclear research. “Collaboration among the G7 nations and their partners is crucial for enhancing supply chain readiness, enabling efficient nuclear new build, ensuring quality, and achieving cost-effective equipment and services,” stated the associations.  

The eight industry associations were the World Nuclear Association, nucleareurope, the Associazione Italiana Nucleare, the Canadian Nuclear Association, the Groupement des Industriels Français de l’Energie Nucléaire, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, the (US) Nuclear Energy Institute, and the (UK) Nuclear Industry Association.