What сan nuclear technology offer to address climate change

Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions through low-carbon electricity, offering methods to monitor the impact of emissions on oceans and soils, and helping countries adapt to increasingly erratic weather – these are some of the areas in which nuclear technology can offer proven solutions to address some of today’s most pressing climate-related challenge.

Over two days, presenters from over 20 countries showed that nuclear technology must be part of the solution to climate change, and public awareness of this contribution should be raised. This article summarizes some of the highlights of the discussions.

In the first session looking at the role of nuclear power in mitigating CO2 emissions, speakers discussed the importance of this low-carbon energy source from the perspective of countries already using it and those considering it as part of their energy mix.

Measuring the impact of climate change was the main focus of Session 2. Oksana Tarasova from the World Meteorological Organization and James Orr from the Laboratory of Sciences of Climate and Environment in France provided an overview on how isotopic techniques can help monitor the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and acidification of oceans.

“This knowledge is important to provide better evidence for sound policymaking, but many countries are not able to apply it,” said Tarasova, calling for increased training in these methods.

In the third session, presenters addressed the impact of climate change on health and food security and the role of nuclear techniques. Emmanuel Chikwari, Chief Research Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanization and Irrigation Development in Zimbabwe, highlighted that persistent drought is already impacting agriculture in his country and that nuclear and isotopic techniques are helping to determine water and fertilizer needs to preserve precious water resources.

Flanked by two farmers directly affected by changes in climate, Dodik Ridho Nurrochmat from Bogor Agricultural University in Indonesia spoke about how nuclear technology has helped improve sustainable livestock production in Indonesia in the areas of livestock reproduction, breeding, artificial insemination, and disease control programs.

The panel concluded that, in two of today’s most pressing climate-related challenges, namely energy and food security, nuclear technology can play an essential role. The importance of continuing to raise public awareness of this contribution, as well as of the role of the IAEA to assist the Member States in accessing the peaceful applications of nuclear energy, particularly through capacity building, was highlighted.

Original source: IAEA
Published on 21 September 2018