On the contrary in Glasgow, where nearly 200 countries are still trying to put flesh on the bone of the 2015 Paris Agreement, he said 'nuclear is not only welcome, but is generating a lot of interest'. Now many countries are looking at the feasibility, especially with the rise in gas prices.'įrom the time he took the IAEA's helm nearly two years ago, Grossi, an Argentine diplomat, has been a tireless advocate for the industry.Īt his first COP in Madrid he 'went in spite of the general assumption that nuclear would not be welcome'. 'At the 2015 COP in Paris, nuclear wasn't welcome,' said Callum Thomas, head of a recruitment firm for the nuclear industry, who was spotted at COP26 sporting a T-shirt saying 'Let's Talk Nuclear'. That is helping refocus attention on nuclear. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned they could hit new heights by 2023. To have even a 50/50 chance of capping global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels - the threshold for dangerous tipping points that could trigger runaway warming - global greenhouse emissions must be slashed by almost half within a decade, scientists say.īut things are still moving in the wrong direction: a report on Thursday said emissions in 2021 are approaching record levels. It already accounts for a quarter of 'clean' - that is, carbon-free - energy worldwide, and Grossi said this COP is the first where it has 'had a seat at the table'.

'Nuclear energy is part of the solution to global warming, there's no way around it,' said Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in an interview. But as the climate crisis deepens and the need to transition away from fossil fuels becomes urgent, attitudes may be shifting.

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