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."

Shutting down the Fessenheim nuclear power plant will lead to additional emissions and the loss of thousands of jobs, writes Valérie Faudon, general delegate of the French Nuclear Energy Society.

Regulators must explore the possibility of harmonising international requirements for advanced and small modular reactor design evaluation and licensing, says Rumina Velshi, CNSC president and CEO.

Australia has three electricity futures - coal, nuclear or chaos. It's time to bring Australia into the 21st century by aggressively embracing the nuclear one, writes Terry McCrann, business columnist with The Australian newspaper.

The prime minister's thought bubble that a future could be crafted out of some hybrid mix of gas generation and so-called renewables is an embarrassingly inefficient and unworkable dead-end. The idea that we could go all renewables - with assorted batteries from the Tesla version in South Australia to the Turnbull one in the Snowy included - is a fantasy; it would be the embracing of the third future: chaos.

Developing countries are unable to enjoy the benefits of nuclear power owing to a lack of involvement from development finance institutions, but small modular reactors may provide the key, write Elina Teplinsky and Sid Fowler of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

Over the next decade, the world faces two significant interrelated challenges. First, developing countries must increase electric generation to provide their citizens with access to affordable, reliable energy. Second, all nations face the urgent need to rapidly and dramatically reduce carbon emissions.

As the United Arab Emirates' Permanent Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency and the UAE Special Representative for International Nuclear Cooperation, I am proud to have been given the opportunity to engage with responsible nations around the world for the promotion of peaceful nuclear energy, writes Hamad Alkaabi.

Sweden has been a great nation for many decades thanks, not to military might nor financial muscle, but to its energy policy. A leader in sustainable development, the country undeniably proved that it is possible to cut emissions dramatically and increase living standards. And it proved this long before climate change became the political issue it is today, write Agneta Rising and John Lindberg, respectively, director general and writer & analyst at World Nuclear Association.

A spike in New Jersey's carbon pollution following the closure of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in 2018 has exacerbated the challenge of addressing climate change, Carol M Browner wrote in an OpEd published on 3 January by NJ Spotlight. To achieve our climate goals, we must preserve existing nuclear plants, she said.

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 ..."

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.

Climate scientist James E Hansen and others have written to the Financial Times, making the case for the inclusion of nuclear power in the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy. The text of the letter, published yesterday, and the list of signatories to it, follows.

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.