Harnessing Nuclear Technology in the Service of Humankind — Together

The end of November marks an important milestone for the IAEA, whose motto is ‘Atoms for Peace and Development’. The IAEA Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Science, Technology and Applications and the Technical Cooperation Programme will be held in Vienna from 26–28 November. Finland is extremely honoured to co-chair the conference together with Ghana. In my capacity as Minister of Climate and the Environment of Finland and co-chair of the upcoming conference, I want to highlight why this meeting is of instrumental importance. In my assessment, I build on the three main thematic areas of the conference: climate change, health and food safety and security.

Climate change is an existential threat to humankind and the environment. We must do our utmost to curb carbon dioxide emissions and the time for action is now — not later. Nuclear energy is a key energy policy tool in transforming our societies into low carbon economies. In Finland, our electricity sector is already nearly carbon dioxide-free, thanks to the long term policy of developing nuclear energy and renewable energy in tandem. This would not have been possible without the strong commitment of policymakers, industry, the regulatory authority and other stakeholders in nuclear safety. Public awareness and acceptance are the key enablers for nuclear. We must keep people informed of nuclear technology and pay close attention to nuclear safety, from the design and construction of nuclear power plants to their safe operation and decommissioning. This also includes the management of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste.

The second focus of the conference is health. Millions of people around the world lack access to radiotherapy. The humanitarian cost of this is unacceptable. The IAEA’s Rays of Hope initiative aims to combat cancer by bringing cancer care within reach of those in need. Nuclear technology can help us to rise to the challenges of zoonotic diseases which, as the recent COVID-19 pandemic has shown, can have devastating impacts. In this context, I would like to underscore the importance of the IAEA’s Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (ZODIAC) initiative.

Nuclear technology plays a pivotal role in enhancing food safety and security, which is the third substantive theme of the conference. Hunger remains a grave concern for millions of people all over the world and the IAEA’s Atoms4Food initiative strives to remedy the situation, for example by improving crops with nuclear technology. I have noted with pleasure that, in Vienna, the Group of Friends of Food Security is working actively. Together, we must put an end to hunger.

Nuclear is a proven technology and more versatile than it might first appear. In addition to the uses described above, nuclear techniques can be employed for a vast array of tasks, ranging from the detection of microplastics in the oceans to the preservation of cultural heritage. I would like to stress that a feature common to all these endeavors is nuclear science. It is the basis of everything in the nuclear field and can only be maintained by contributing to training, education and research. I want to pay tribute to the work conducted in the IAEA Seibersdorf laboratories just outside Vienna. The great work of improving people’s lives is being done there every day — visit the site and you will be amazed.

People with nuclear expertise are the nuclear community’s biggest asset. It is therefore necessary to ensure that we have enough trained workforce and experts in the future. This should not be taken for granted and we must pay particular attention to attracting young people to the nuclear sector. We must also pay attention to the proportion of women in the sector. We should do our best to bring more women into this important field, starting from the early stages of education. Nuclear should become a truly inclusive community of professionals.

We, the decision makers of the IAEA’s Member States, have a lot of work ahead of us. We are simultaneously facing several daunting challenges that have a major impact on the everyday lives of our citizens, who need solutions. We must heed this call and seize the opportunity that nuclear technology provides. In fact, it can offer us tools beyond our imagination. We also need industry, financial institutions and other key stakeholders to embark on this journey with us. Let us walk this common path together and take the first step in Vienna in November.