IAEA-led project looks at climate change mitigation

Thursday, 27 September 2018

The IAEA said the objective of the CRP is to provide support in national evaluations of the potential role of nuclear power in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, as part of the preparation of country strategies under the Paris Agreement, reached in 2015 by the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

"It's about examining how nuclear power, together with other sources of low-carbon energy, can contribute to each Member State's unique energy and development objectives for decades to come," said Hal Turton, an energy economist at the IAEA.

The CRP builds on earlier initiatives, including a 2006-2009 project supporting Member States with greenhouse gas mitigation strategies and energy options for reaching the Kyoto Protocol targets for 2008-2012.

As part of the CRP, the IAEA supports the exchange of information and experience by hosting regular research coordination meetings. The second of three meetings took place in Vienna in June, marking the halfway stage of the CRP. The project will culminate with a third and final meeting in late 2019, where participating countries will present their detailed findings on the potential role of nuclear energy in national climate change mitigation over the coming decades.

"Both the specific results and the foundation provided by this CRP are expected to contribute to the ongoing formulation and regular review of nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement," the IAEA said.

The IAEA encourages and assists research on and development and practical use of atomic energy and its applications for peaceful purposes throughout the world. It brings together research institutions from its developing and developed Member States to collaborate on research projects of common interest, so-called Coordinated Research Projects.

Research, technical and doctoral contracts and research agreements are awarded to institutes in Member States for their completion of research work under these CRPs. Each established CRP consists of a network of ten to 15 research institutes that work in coordination for three to five years to acquire and disseminate new knowledge. CRP results are available, free of charge, to scientists, engineers and other users from all Member States.