The International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, has advised Nigeria and other African countries hoping to add nuclear energy into their energy mix to garner enough political will and public support to hit their targets.
The agency's Deputy Director and Head of the Department of Nuclear Energy, Mikhail Chudakov gave the advise at the ongoing 2022 Atom Expo in Sochi, Russia.
Theme of the Expo is "Nuclear Spring". At the opening ceremony, Chudakov called for more investment in nuclear energy to achieve the zero emission target by 2050.
Speaking to African journalists on the chances of Africa to achieve sufficient nuclear energy to help solve energy problems, Chudakov said, "oh why not. Most African countries, like Nigeria and the rest that have shown interest in nuclear energy, only need to garner enough political will and public support. They need to create enough awareness of the benefits of clean energy and how it can help their situations. Russia did that and today the results are clear".
He made case for countries across the world to make additional investments in nuclear energy to help achieve zero emissions by 2050.
About 196 Parties agreed to an international treaty on climate change, in 2015 at COP 21 in Paris, to join forces to achieve zero emissions by 2050.
The 2015 agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016.
Currently, the Earth is already about 1.1C warmer than it was in the late 1800s and emissions continue to rise to reduce global warming to 1.5C, emissions need to be reduced by 45 percent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.
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Chudakov feels that to achieve the target, there must be a concerted effort to establish nuclear energy units globally.
He said: "Now, an unprecedented number of about seventy countries have expressed interest in pursuing nuclear power development as part of their energy mix. This signals there could be a significant jump in nuclear power installed capacity by 2050, and this trend will require the construction of twenty nuclear plant units every year.
In 2017, Nigeria and Russia signed agreements on the construction and operation of a nuclear power plant and a nuclear research centre, including a multi-purpose research reactor in the country.
By October 2021, the Vice-President of JSC RUSATOM, the Russian Federation, Mr. Anton Moskvin, and his team met the federal government officials in Abuja in connection with a mutual framework for partnership on the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
ATOMEXPO International Forum is the main event of the global nuclear industry. It is the largest exhibition and business platform for discussing the current state of the nuclear industry and setting future trends, it has been held annually since 2009.
