Atomic energy has a key role to play in tackling climate change

Atomic energy has a key role to play in tackling climate change and meeting the world's energy needs. This was announced on Tuesday by the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Mariano Grossi. Many environmentalists have long been skeptical about atomic energy. They point to the risk of catastrophic accidents and persistent problems in nuclear waste management. However, with concerns that the world is reducing greenhouse gas emissions too slowly, there is a new interest in nuclear energy, says Grossi. According to him, he noticed a special interest in younger people, which is related to the fact that they do not have the "cultural burden" that some older environmentalists associated with nuclear energy. Nuclear energy currently accounts for more than a quarter of non-fossil energy and produces very few greenhouse gas emissions, which countries have pledged to eliminate by the middle of the century, Grossi said at a UN climate summit in Glasgow. "It is clear that nuclear energy is and can be an even better, more effective tool to achieve these very, very ambitious goals that countries have set for 2030, 2050 or whatever," Grossi said. He identified the stability of supply compared to fluctuations in wind or solar energy production as one of the key advantages of nuclear energy. "When you think of the ideal energy mix, you need stability, you need a basic load and you need capacity that supplies energy to the economy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, without any interruption," said the IAEA chief.