Some 39 countries have now backed a declaration to triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050, with six new signatories joining in the past year, the World Nuclear Association has said.
Belgium, Brazil, China, Italy, South Africa and Togo are the latest countries to announce their backing for the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy by 2050, at an event held during COP31.
The countries that have endorsed the declaration collectively account for around two-thirds of global GDP and energy consumption, and include eight of the world’s ten largest economies, the association said.
Ahead of COP31, it published its World Nuclear Outlook Report, which suggested that global nuclear capacity could reach 1,467 GWe by 2050 if government targets are met. Some 88 GWe of new nuclear capacity is currently under construction around the world – the highest level in 40 years.
‘Statement of intent’
“When 22 countries launched this Declaration at COP28, it was a statement of intent,” commented Dr Sama Bilbao y León, director general of the World Nuclear Association. “Three years on, 39 countries stand behind it, and the conversation has moved from whether we triple nuclear capacity to how fast we can deliver it.
“That depends on decisions made in the next few years: making the most of the existing fleet, completing projects under way, committing to the next ones, unlocking investment, and investing in people and supply chains.”
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‘Welcome ambition’
Bilbao y León added that the COP31 presidency’s call to raise electrification to 35% of final energy demand by 2035 – the so-called ‘35×35 pledge’ – is a “welcome ambition”, but fails to recognise the growing role that nuclear can play in the world’s energy footprint.
“Reactors already under construction will add around 88 gigawatts by then, including four reactors here in Türkiye, and more will come from reactors due to start construction over the next few years,” she said. “Clean energy should be treated on equal terms.”
The 39 countries that have endorsed the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy by 2050 include Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, El Salvador, Finland, France, Ghana, Hungary, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Korea, Kosovo, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Togo, Türkiye, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Read more here.
