Nuclear Power Use May More Than Triple by 2060, Says IAEA Chief
The leader of the UN nuclear agency stated on Friday that he anticipates the utilization of nuclear energy could increase more than threefold by 2060.
Rafael Grossi stated in the IAEA's yearly report to the UN General Assembly that this will be propelled by electrification, AI-supported data centres, and "the demand from tech companies for dependable, carbon-free energy."
An increasing number of nations view nuclear energy as essential for enhancing their energy security, he stated, emphasizing that it is comparable to solar energy and "more secure than any alternative."
"In 2025, over 400 functioning reactors across more than 30 nations generated 10 percent of the world's electricity and a fourth of its low-carbon electricity," stated the IAEA director-general.
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"Over 60 new reactors are being built, and forecasts for future nuclear capacity have significantly increased." Alongside the increasing adoption of nuclear energy for non-aggressive aims, Grossi discussed the nuclear efforts in Iran and North Korea, the "unprecedented nuclear safety threats" stemming from the war in Ukraine, and concerning accounts that unnamed nations are considering the pursuit of nuclear weapons.
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Regarding Iran, whose nuclear facilities were targeted by the US last year prior to the US and Israel initiating a conflict on February 28, Grossi informed UN member states that the essential technical preparations for a diplomatic accord have been completed.
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"I urge the involved parties to intensify their efforts to reach a diplomatic resolution that encompasses the essential verification role of the IAEA, as no agreement can be viable without it," he stated. IAEA inspectors need to be allowed back into Iran quickly. "That necessitates going back to negotiations." In North Korea, under leader Kim Jong Un's expanding nuclear program devoid of IAEA supervision, Grossi cautioned that it "serves as a clear warning of the repercussions when boundaries are breached," in contravention of UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting nuclear weapons development.