COP29 and Nuclear Energy Summit 2024

Led by the Director General, the Agency boosted the role of nuclear technology at the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Baku. This followed the first ever Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels, where over 30 high-level government officials expressed support for the role of nuclear power in enabling clean energy transitions and increasing energy security.

The global momentum behind nuclear power established at the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2023 continued to build at the inaugural Nuclear Energy Summit, held in Brussels in March 2024 and co-organized by the Agency and the Government of Belgium. Heads of State and Government from more than 20 countries and other high-level officials emphasized the importance of using nuclear power to achieve energy security, meet climate goals and drive sustainable development. Increased financing, workforce development and more proactive support to nuclear newcomer countries were identified as being key to long term success.

The Agency’s engagement at COP29 helped to maintain the visibility of the indispensable role of nuclear energy and technologies in addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation. The Agency organized or participated in more than 40 nuclear-related events in the Atoms4Climate pavilion and partner pavilions, including one High-Level Party Event organized jointly by the Agency and the COP29 presidency during the World Leaders Climate Action Summit. Several memoranda of understanding and Practical Arrangements were signed by the Agency’s Director General with heads of the World Meteorological Organization, the International Renewable Energy Agency, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and LinkedIn to build and strengthen synergies and partnerships. By the end of COP29, an additional six countries had endorsed the declaration calling for the tripling of nuclear capacity by 2050, bringing the total number of endorsing countries to 31.