Leaders tout nuclear power as climate tool at Brussels summit

More than 30 countries including European nations, the United States, Brazil and China took part on Thursday in the first-ever summit held by the United Nations' atomic energy agency to promote nuclear as a "clean and reliable source of energy".

The summit follows on from last year's COP28 UN climate negotiations, at which 22 world leaders backed a call to triple the world's nuclear energy capacity by 2050. John Podesta, Senior Advisor said "We see nuclear energy as vital to tackling the climate crisis and building a clean, resilient and reliable energy economy both in the United States and around the world.

It's why the United States co-led a bold pledge with more than 20 countries at Cop 28 to triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050." Nuclear currently accounts for just under 10 percent of global electricity generation, with 438 plants operating across 31 countries. More than 500 plants are at various stages of planning and development, with 61 under construction according to World Nuclear Association data.