As part of the conference, a high-level party event took place on November 13 under the theme of “Financing Low Carbon Technology, Including Nuclear Energy,” featuring a panel discussion dealing with how to finance the large-scale development of low-carbon power sources. The event was co-sponsored by Azerbaijan—the COP29 chair country—and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
On the same day, six additional countries signed the joint ministerial-level declaration ambitiously pledging to triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050, from the 2020 level. That brings the number of countries signing the declaration to 31.
Clean energies must be used and efficiency improved before the ultimate goal of the Paris Agreement can be achieved: namely, holding down the average global temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Financing those efforts is a pressing issue.
The following officials participated in the panel discussion at the November 13 event:
- Azerbaijan’s Energy Minister Parviz Shahbazov
- IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi
- Executive Director Fatih Birol of the International Energy Agency (IEA)
- Director General Sama Bilbao y León of the World Nuclear Association (WNA)
- Executives of the Ghana Ministry of Energy, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
During the discussions, IAEA DG’s Grossi stated, “Finance institutions must adapt and keep pace with what the market calls for―and there’s a clear demand for nuclear.” He went on to say, “The tools are there: government support, green loans, public-private partnerships, and international co-financing,” pointing out that commitment is now needed. “Nuclear energy is critical to keeping the 1.5°C goal within reach, and it’s time we collectively unlock its full potential.”
According to a recent report by the IAEA entitled “Climate Change and Nuclear Power 2024,” an investment level amounting to USD150 billion (about JPY23.4 trillion) will be required annually for nuclear capacity to be tripled by 2050.
The panel members also discussed financing options for the explosive expansion of use of low-carbon technologies that will be necessary in both industrially advanced and emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs).
Together with the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG), the panel discussed the roles of governments, the private sector, and multilateral development banks (MDBs) toward the support of funding and attracting investments, and recognized the importance of cooperation between the public and private sectors.
At the conclusion of the panel session, Azerbaijan’s Energy Minister Shahbazov signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with IAEA DG’s Grossi on cooperation in the area of energy planning.
The minister then spoke about his country’s aspirations in transitioning to clean energy, saying that cooperation under the IAEA’s Atoms4NetZero initiative, focused on analysis of potential of nuclear energy, including small modular reactors (SMRs), would give “new momentum” to Azerbaijan’s energy sector. He added that the country would make progress in introducing nuclear energy and diversifying energy systems through joint R&D projects with the IAEA.
As an oil and gas producing country, Azerbaijan has had little connection to nuclear energy. Serving as the COP chair country this time, it forthrightly talked about the value of nuclear energy and gave impetus at COP29 to its promotion. That was welcomed with some surprise by the attending participants as well.
A new era was marked at COP28 last year when nuclear energy’s importance was explicitly stated in an official COP document for the first time. Much of that is creditable to the leadership of the chair nation that year: the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with its Barakah nuclear power plants (NPPs).
Attending the COP29 proceedings, UETAKE Akihito, senior managing director of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF), talked about the powerful tailwind—the positive air—that filled the COP site, saying “We were concerned that the atmosphere at COP29 might actually be cold toward nuclear power, given that Azerbaijan, a non-nuclear nation and an oil and gas producer, was the chair country.”
He continued, “However, the conclusion of the MOU between Azerbaijan and the IAEA at the end of the panel session, and the country’s forceful, positive attitude toward nuclear energy, were unexpected. Frankly, the COP discussions of nuclear power this time—a taboo topic until a few years ago―both surprised and delighted me, its having been forthrightly included in the official COP program.”
