A mismatch between the world's climate ambitions and the availability of critical minerals could mean a slower and more expensive energy transition, according to a new report from the International Energy Agency. The Paris-based organisation describes its special report, The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions, as the most comprehensive global study to date on the importance of minerals such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements in a secure and rapid transformation of the global energy sector.

Nuclear provides a perfect solution for the generation of large quantities of low-carbon and affordable hydrogen, the European nuclear trade body Foratom said today in a position paper. This, it said, will be key as Europe aims to transform all parts of its economy, including transport and industry. The position paper makes a number of policy recommendations aimed at recognising the contribution nuclear energy can make in decarbonising such areas.

Herman Halushchenko, vice president of development at Ukrainian nuclear power plant operator Energoatom, has been appointed the country's new energy minister, following approval yesterday by the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament. Halushchenko received support from 305 lawmakers in the 450-seat chamber. The ministry had been under a caretaker minister since the collapse of the previous government in March 2020.

Most of the nuclear plants in the PJM Interconnection wholesale electricity market - covering 13 US states and the District of Columbia - will not produce enough revenue to remain economically viable in the coming years, an independent economic evaluation has concluded.

Nuclear energy is "a key pillar" of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), World Nuclear Association Director General Sama Bilbao y León said today during the launch of Rosatom's Atoms for Humanity initiative. However, she said the benefits to society of nuclear science and technology beyond that of electricity generation need to be more widely appreciated.

The US State Department has announced it is launching the Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology (FIRST) programme, which will provide "capacity-building support to partner countries". As an initial investment, the department has committed USD5.3 million to support FIRST projects.

Climate change is "essentially an energy challenge" because more than 80% of CO2 emissions come from the energy sector, but governments must not make the mistake of thinking that energy is a bad thing, Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency said yesterday at the Foreign Policy Virtual Climate Summit. Instead, policymakers should be looking for ways to incentivise investment in clean energy technologies and not exclude any of them.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has unanimously voted to extend the zero emission certificates for the Hope Creek and Salem nuclear power plants for an additional three years.

"The return of someone who denies facts, denies truth, denies evidence, denies science" will not be able to reverse the USA's commitment to addressing climate change, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry said today at the Foreign Policy Virtual Climate Summit. Kerry was interviewed by Foreign Policy Editor-in-Chief Ravi Agrawal, who said many leaders around the world were concerned that the return to office of Donald Trump - or 'Trumpism' - could mean Washington would once again pull out of the Paris Agreement.

The Canadian Nuclear Association, Europe's Foratom, the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, the USA's Nuclear Energy Institute, the UK's Nuclear Industry Association and World Nuclear Association have issued a joint statement ahead of the Leaders Summit on Climate that starts today. At the invitation of US President Joe Biden, world leaders will convene for the two-day event to galvanise efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Chairman of the US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Committee Joe Manchin has urged President Joe Biden to support the continued operation of the USA's civil nuclear fleet and prevent further plant closures. In a 20 April letter to the President, Manchin said that preventing the closure of existing nuclear plants is critical to achieving emission reductions and grid reliability.

The USA has pledged to cut its CO2 emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels by the end of this decade. US President Joe Biden announced the target at the Leaders Summit on Climate that he is hosting today and tomorrow to encourage increased ambition in combatting climate change. The event coincides with Earth Day, the annual event first held on 22 April 1970.