As Member States of the International Atomic Energy Agency gather in Vienna this week for the annual General Conference, they should consider making universal the appointment of a National Focal Point on denials of shipment of radioactive materials to boost security of supply of medical isotopes, write Natanael Bruno and Serge Gorlin, co-chairs of the Transport Facilitation Working Group.

The use of artificial intelligence solutions could help achieve a step-change in nuclear safety, write Julianne Antrobus and Derreck Van Gelderen of PA Consulting.

Milestones achieved within a recent two-week period demonstrate what nuclear technology is all about, what it is doing and can do for humanity, Agneta Rising, World Nuclear Association director general, said ahead of the Association's Strategic eForum 2020.

Civil nuclear has historically had a certain image of the type of people most likely to be employed in the sector, in terms of job function, gender and age. That image is rightly changing, writes Zoe Stollard, partner at national law firm Clarke Willmott.

In order to secure the economic and security benefits of a true 'all-of-the-above' energy agenda, the United States must be at the forefront of nuclear innovation, writes Dan Brouillette. The following is the text of the US secretary of energy's 21 August blog for the Department of Energy.

Mohamed Al Hammadi, CEO of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation, describes the significance of the recent start-up of the first nuclear power unit in the Arab world.

Replication is the key to reducing the cost of nuclear new-build projects and attracting investment in firm, low-carbon power and heat, Julia Pyke, director of Sizewell C financing & economic regulation at EDF Energy, said last week. The following is an abridged version of her presentation to participants in an OECD-Nuclear Energy Agency webinar on the Paris-based agency’s newly published Policy Brief, Unlocking financing for nuclear energy infrastructure in the COVID-19 economic recovery.

In these challenging and increasingly nationalistic times, it is important that leading international organisations seek to overcome institutional barriers and work together to deliver change, Agneta Rising, World Nuclear Association director general, said today. Rising was speaking during an OECD-Nuclear Energy Agency webinar on its newly published Policy Brief, Creating high-value jobs in the post-COVID-19 recovery with nuclear power projects. Publication of the report coincided with World Nuclear Association’s latest technical position paper, Employment in the nuclear and wind electricity generating sectors.

As the UK government dithers on how to approach its Net Zero emissions by 2050 target, Hugo Lidbetter, a partner in energy and natural resources at law firm Fieldfisher, considers the role of nuclear in achieving the country's low-carbon future.

"The Moorside and Wylfa Newydd projects, each of which received hundreds of millions of pounds of private sector development costs, were respectively abandoned and put on hold due to lack of government support. Aside from recognising the role nuclear has to play in a Net Zero energy mix, the most obvious gap is a decision on a new build funding model."

Scott Foster, director of the Sustainable Energy Division of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, describes how energy is the "golden thread" that connects the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, and that nuclear power has a role to play in the energy mix of the future. The following is the text of the presentation Foster gave during the webinar the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency held today to discuss its newly published Policy Brief, Nuclear power and the cost-effective decarbonisation of electricity systems.

Sama Bilbao y Leon of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency describes how resilience - the capacity to withstand and bounce back from major disruptions - takes many forms at nuclear power plants. The following is an abridged version of the presentation she gave during the webinar the Paris-based organisation held today to discuss its newly published Policy Brief, Building low-carbon resilient electricity infrastructures with nuclear energy in the post-COVID-19 era.

Using the regulated asset base model has the potential for cost-overrun that can be somewhat addressed through the 'alliance' model, that is, a model based on one unified agreement under which all parties share the benefits and risks, write Vincent Zabielski and Elina Teplinsky, respectively, special counsel and partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.