Ashot Sargsyan, a lead engineer in the quality assurance department at Armenian Nuclear Power Plant, participated in the World Nuclear University Summer Institute of 2016, in Ottawa, Canada, as a World Association of Nuclear Operators’ scholarship winner.

World Nuclear Association Director General Agneta Rising and Chairman Kirill Komarov have written to the London-headquartered organisation's members to describe their vision for the future of the nuclear industry following the coronavirus pandemic.

"Dear Member, We write to you in what can only be described as uniquely challenging times, to thank you for the crucial work you do to keep nuclear power online and in development around the world. We praise your efforts and the dedication of your people and we will continue to provide you with any support we may offer."

Nuclear power has responded to the call to action in the public health crisis that each and every one of us is facing, writes World Nuclear Association Director General Agneta Rising.

"At this time more than ever we need to be able to rely on electricity supply. The huge efforts of medical staff worldwide depend on the ventilators, the monitors and all the other electrical equipment that is proving so vital to giving people the chance to recover from this disease."

The main challenges facing the nuclear industry are not in the production and delivery of electricity, but in securing the policy support required for it to expand its contribution of sustainable and low-carbon energy. This was the message of Philippe Costes, senior advisor at World Nuclear Assocation, to delegates at the Nuclear Power Plants Expo & Summit in Istanbul this week. "Nuclear energy has a vital role to play in a global sustainable energy mix, which must first of all meet the world's growing need for electricity. Over the next 30 years, the global population will rise towards nine billion, the global economy will continue to grow and technological developments will create greater demand for electricity. There is an underlying need for dispatchable electricity. We live in a world that requires a 24/7 supply of electricity and nuclear is uniquely placed to provide this."

Nuclear power's role in the clean-energy solution must be agreed universally this year, writes Agneta Rising, director general of World Nuclear Association.

"The IPCC Global Warming of 1.5°C report of 2018 made clear not only the need to take urgent action to combat climate change, but also the need for nuclear energy to make a much greater contribution to electricity supplies. In 2019 a broad range of expert bodies recognized how nuclear energy is vital to ensure that electricity supplies needed for modern life are available to all, while respecting the environment and tackling climate change ..."

Global nuclear generating capacity stood at 392.4 GWe net at the end of 2019, down slightly on 2018, according to data from World Nuclear Association. Six power reactors were added to the grid last year and construction of three large reactor projects started, while nine units were permanently shut down.

The pursuit of a solution to climate change via the route of fossil gas is a needless and harmful detour, writes Agneta Rising, director general of World Nuclear Association.

Nuclear energy is a mature and proven low-carbon source of electricity, with a 60-year track record of providing reliable and safe operation. Further innovation and technological development will enable even wider applications aimed at deep decarbonisation of economies around the world and supporting sustainable development. This was the message of King Lee, director of the Harmony Programme at World Nuclear Association, to delegates at the UN side event for Sustainable Development Goal 9, held today at COP25 in Madrid.

Uzbekistan's Ministry of Justice has published details of a presidential decree that approves a human resources strategy for the Central Asian country's nuclear power programme. According to a ministry statement, dated 18 October, the strategy includes establishing cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the World Nuclear University at World Nuclear Association, as well as educational institutions managed by Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom.

Nuclear energy in Asia is meeting the growing demand for electricity, whilst helping to tackle air pollution and climate change, according to a new report by World Nuclear Association. The World Nuclear Performance Report 2019 Asia Edition shows that last year nuclear generation in the region increased by 12% and avoided the emission of over 500 million tonnes of CO2 that would have otherwise been produced by coal-fired plants.

As the first-ever International Atomic Energy Agency conference on climate change and the role of nuclear energy draws to a close, Agneta Rising, Director-General of the World Nuclear Association, highlights the importance of this event in an interview with WNN.

Global efforts to tackle climate change are futile as long as opposition to nuclear power persists, delegates heard at the opening session of the International Atomic Energy Agency's International Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Nuclear Power. It is the Vienna-based agency's first conference on this topic.