An article by Sheriffah Noor Khamseah Al-Idid Syed Ahmad Idid, an innovation and nuclear advocate, for The Edge on Nov 3, 2023:

A gathering of key international and national nuclear authorities and specialists in Singapore on Oct 19 and 20 was notable for its focus on the role of nuclear energy in mitigating climate change.

Asia Pacific Nuclear Energy 2023 (APNE 2023) jointly organised by Singapore’s Centre for Strategic Resources and Energy and Stratcoms Event dwelt on innovations in nuclear technology, including small modular reactors (SMRs) and nuclear applications in the marine environment, international collaboration, financing models for nuclear power, and legal and regulatory frameworks.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has reported that energy accounts for three quarters of greenhouse gas emissions globally. Thus, the energy sector holds the key to decarbonising the global economy, supporting its transition to a green economy.

Shifting from fossil fuels to low-carbon energy systems is at the heart of a green economy and energy transition. As a pathway to reach net zero emissions goals, nuclear power is part of strategic global solutions that are increasingly relevant today.

A landmark decision was made by the European Parliament on July 6, 2022 to include nuclear energy and natural gas in the European Union's (EU) Taxonomy on Sustainable Finance. This decision recognises the role of nuclear energy in sustainable investment to achieve net zero goals. Following the EU’s action, a number of countries and businesses have also added nuclear energy into their taxonomy.

Consensus only came after a series of reports supporting the viability of nuclear energy, including one by the EU Joint Research Centre, which concluded that the technology was sustainable, doing no more harm than any other technology currently included in the taxonomy, including solar and wind.

A pivotal point was raised by Dr Nobuo Tanaka, executive director emeritus of the IEA and chair of the Steering Committee of the Innovation for Cool Earth Forum. He said that the IEA, which was created by the oil shock in 1974, had set the stage for the next phase of energy use when it published Net Zero by 2050 — A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector, which triggered the first IEA shock to the oil producers. IEA executive director Fatih Birol had said that all energy groups must stop all new oil and gas exploration projects from this year if net zero goals were to be achieved by 2050.

Tanaka noted that the Russia-Ukraine conflict and disruptions in global energy supply have made governments rethink their energy security strategies targeting diverse and domestic supplies. He outlined that governments in over 70 countries have committed to achieving net zero emissions, covering three-quarters of global emissions and economic activities. He said that bringing CO2 emissions to peak in this decade and starting a long-term decline is essential to keep the door open to limiting climate change to 1.5°C. Thus, the policy landscape is changing, opening up opportunities for nuclear energy to make a comeback.

Tanaka shared that during the ICEF 2022 nuclear session, four conditions for nuclear power were highlighted: SMRs with passive safety, radioactive waste disposal, proliferation resistance, and social political sustainability.

Charles Oppenheimer, the founder of the Oppenheimer Project and grandson to J Robert Oppenheimer (JRO), called the Father of the Atomic Bomb, shared that JRO was opposed to the use of technology for destruction. He was concerned with the escalation of nuclear weapons and feared that this would lead to the destruction of humankind. 

Charles said that the Acheson-Lilienthal Report, which was made public in March 1946 with its drive for the international control of nuclear energy, and largely inspired by Robert Oppenheimer, the wartime director of the Los Alamos atomic bomb laboratory, was aimed to avoid a nuclear arms race, promoting the sharing of knowledge of nuclear energy and inspection to ensure its development was for peaceful purposes only.

JRO had strongly advocated for the urgent need to make future wars impossible and promoted cooperation as key to ensure the long-term survival of humanity.

Like his grandfather, Charles believes that science is a force for good and in view of the impacts of climate change, he aspires to see a Global Manhattan Project, not creating bombs but more nuclear reactors built to fulfil rising energy demand as well as to achieve net zero goals.

Charles opined that Asia has the potential to assume a leadership role supported by the region’s efficient nuclear supply chains and the need to decarbonise densely-populated areas.

Chia Meng Hwee, the deputy director of the Energy Market Authority of Singapore, said that as climate change is an existential threat for all, especially for a small island state like Singapore, the government has taken a decisive move to achieve net zero emissions. To do so, Singapore will shift to low-carbon sources, including natural gas, solar, regional power grids and low carbon alternatives. Chia highlighted that Singapore is studying all options including nuclear energy as advanced nuclear technologies continue to mature around the world and SMRs are gaining prominence. The Energy 2050 Committee Report in 2022 postulated that nuclear energy could potentially supply 10% of Singapore’s energy needs by 2050.

My presentation at the event focused on the following points.

Since financing is key to decarbonisation, it is important to introduce innovation in financing nuclear power as a strategic means to launch new financing models, as well as to increase the quantum of funds available for this purpose.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has reported that as of Oct 11, 2023, 411 nuclear power reactors were operating in 31 countries with a net capacity of 392.39GWe.

At the COP27 in Egypt in 2022, the IEA’s Fatih Birol had remarked that nuclear power capacity needs to be doubled by 2050 if net zero goals are to be achieved. At the International Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Nuclear Power in 2023, it was outlined that to achieve this, three crucial things need to be done. They are to continue the construction of large nuclear power plants, life extension of the existing nuclear power plants as this is a very cheap source of energy, and to embrace and support innovation including SMR technologies. Thus, this has put nuclear back on many nations’ economic, social and environmental agendas and investment portfolios.

Examples of innovation in financing for the construction of new nuclear power plants include the Finnish Olkiluoto-3 nuclear power plant, recent innovation in financing introduced for the extension of the lifetime of currently operating plants, as well as international strategies aimed at seeking support from multilateral banks to finance nuclear power. The International Steering Committee for Nuclear Energy is working towards the establishment of an International Bank for Nuclear Infrastructure.

Sheriffah Noor Khamseah Al-Idid Syed Ahmad Idid
Innovation and nuclear advocate
Alumna, Imperial College, University of London, UK
Member of Women in Nuclear Global
Nov 3, 2023