With the release of the IPCC report today and the stark warning of a ‘code red for humanity’, the NI agrees that ‘catastrophe can be avoided if the world acts fast’. Recognising the great ambition for nuclear energy to play a significant role in our future energy mix and its potential to catalyse investment in industry in the regions, as laid out by Government in the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan and the Energy White Paper, the NI is today urging Government and industry to collaborate and ‘increase the pace’ of nuclear deployment to reach Net Zero.
We need to deliver on our ambitions for nuclear energy, through large scale, Small Modular (SMR) and Advanced Modular Reactor (AMR) deployment. It is widely accepted that all low carbon sources will be needed to tackle climate change successfully and the UK is ideally placed to lead the way.
Progression on financing, siting and building the capability of the UK to deliver new reactors at pace is crucial to enabling a vision of a Net Zero world with reliable, firm, clean energy.
The NI’s nuclear professionals from across the UK have been instrumental in the design, construction, operation and decommissioning of nuclear power plants and the associated fuel cycles for over 60 years. Our YGN[1] understand the importance of their role in securing their future and are reaching out to policymakers through their Net Zero Needs Nuclear campaign[2]. Together, our members and the wider nuclear community are answering the call to step up and deploy nuclear technology to achieve Net Zero by 2050 and limit warming caused by greenhouse gases to 1.5 oC whilst helping to build the UK into an industrial and scientific superpower.
[1] Young Generation Network
[2] https://www.netzeroneedsnuclear.com/