Leonardo Mendes Cabral, director of privatisations at Brazil's National Bank for Economic and Social Development, says he expects a financing arrangement to finish unit 3 of the Angra nuclear power plant will be ready by the end of next year. BNDES is one of the biggest providers of financing for infrastructure projects in Brazil, and also played a role in financing nuclear energy in the past.

Greening the financial system involves looking beyond reference scenarios and towards tools that measure exposure to climate risk, Morgan Després, deputy head of the Financial Stability Department at Banque de France, said yesterday during World Nuclear Association's Strategic eForum on Sustainable Finance. Després, who leads the secretariat of the Network for Greening the Financial System, said a bank's traditional mandate will change as it re-evaluates the boundaries of monetary policy. To help with this process, a 'colour continuum' from light green to dark brown is needed to understand better the value - and risk - of investments in the clean energy transition.

Greening our economies is not just smart for the planet; most likely it is also the surest and cheapest route back to a prosperous global economy. This is the conclusion of a working paper the International Monetary Fund will publish tomorrow, one of its co-authors said today during World Nuclear Association's Strategic eForum on Sustainable Finance. The virtual conference examined the measures needed to ensure nuclear energy can make its fullest contribution to the twin goals of decarbonisation and economic recovery from the pandemic.

The ability of nuclear energy to stabilise electricity systems and secure the grid is all the more essential in an increasingly unpredictable weather world, write Bryan Hanson, executive vice president and chief generation officer at Exelon, Bohdan Zronek, chief nuclear officer at ČEZ Group, and Sama Bilbao y Léon, director general of World Nuclear Association.

Nuclear energy can be a critical component of a decarbonised energy system for those member states that choose to consider it as part of their sustainable development and climate change strategy, the UN Economic Commission for Europe says in a new report. The report shows how the utilisation of local or regional uranium resources can provide a platform for sustainable development.

Government policies should recognise the potential of nuclear energy if the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals are to be achieved, World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León told the Asian Business Leadership Forum. Speaking at ABLF's Sixth Conclave, which was held on 9 March, Bilbao y León set out her vision of how nations can maximise the use of nuclear power to help achieve the SDGs.

The slow-down in the development of nuclear energy globally, as a result of the Fukushima Daiichi accident, poses dire consequences for our fight against climate change, global human health and the resilience of global electricity systems, writes Sama Bilbao y León, director general of World Nuclear Association.

As policymakers grapple with the twin challenges of climate change and a post-COVID economic recovery, the benefits of nuclear power are clearer than ever, but the industry still has some way to go in addressing perceptions of its alleged drawbacks with cost, safety and radioactive waste. This was the overriding message of the three panellists in a webinar held last week by Utilities Middle East in partnership with Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

"It would not be a stretch to describe 2020 as an unforgettable year, with the on-going coronavirus pandemic having caused tremendous suffering and economic hardship across the world, and turning everyone's life upside down," writes World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León. "But this year has shown us that we can come together as a global community to fight a common adversary." Bilbao y León took over the reins of the London-headquartered organisation in October.

The nuclear plant licensing system should be rationalised to promote the extensive deployment at competitive cost of new reactors, according to a report issued this month by the Cooperation in Reactor Design Evaluation and Licensing Working Group of World Nuclear Association.

The European Commission aims to be a model for promoting sustainable development, building on its demonstrated success in being a low-carbon region among developed countries, but the EU Taxonomy could damage that ambition, writes Philippe Costes, senior adviser at World Nuclear Association.

The case for nuclear as a proven source of clean, reliable and sustainable electricity supply should be clear to all, but the business case for nuclear is also becoming better understood, World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León told delegates at the New Nuclear Capital 2020 virtual conference yesterday. The following is an abridged version of her presentation.