Why nuclear won't save the climate
Side event of the Nuclear Energy Summit
Thursday, 21 March 2024, 9:00 - 12:30
Erehal (Hall of Honour), King Baudouin Stadium, Marathonlaan 135, 1020 Brussels
Join us for critical scrutiny of the IAEA call to triple nuclear energy!
Nuclear energy made a big splash at the COP28 climate meeting in Dubai: 22 countries called for a tripling of nuclear energy production by 2050. Now, on 21 March 2024, the IAEA and the Belgian Prime Minister are inviting world leaders to Brussels for the “first ever” nuclear energy summit, in order to make good on this promise. The invitation-only summit will culminate in a new declaration and a conference featuring high-level, like-minded speakers.
Our side event “Why nuclear won’t save the climate” is set up to balance out the official programme. It is inconceivable to launch a multi-billion dollar nuclear commitment, without asking fundamental questions about practicality, credibility, costs and alternatives, and without independent experts and civil society representatives in the room. Our conference gathers politicians, recognized experts, academics and civil society representatives to subject the IAEA initiative to critical scrutiny. The speakers will take us on a deep dive into the reality of the nuclear industry and its perspectives on a net-zero emissions world.
Programme
- 9:00 - 9:30: Registration
- 9:30 - 9:40: Welcome
- 9:40 - 10:10: Keynote I: Energy Minister Belgium, Tinne Van der Straeten
- 10:10 - 10:40: Keynote II: Mycle Schneider, Project coordinator of the World Nuclear Industry Status Report, Paris (France)
- 10:40 - 11:00: Break
- 11:00 - 12:30: Panel: Role of nuclear in climate and energy policy
- The claim to triple nuclear by 2050: IPCC scenarios vs forecast development of nuclear, Anke Herold, Executive Director Oeko-Institut, Freiburg (Germany)
- Budget overruns and delays: Hinkley Point C and NuScale, Joannes Laveyne, University Gent, (Belgium)
- The high price tag of the lifetime extension of Doel 4 and Tihange 3, Alex Polfliet, Board member of Bond Beter Leefmilieu, Senior Advisor AYA, (Belgium)
- International trade in the nuclear sector: focus on Rosatom, Jan van de Putte, Greenpeace Belgium
- Q&A with all speakers
The conference will take place in English.
The conference is organized by the Flemish environmental umbrella organization Bond Beter Leefmilieu, in cooperation with our Belgian partners Canopea and Greenpeace Belgium, and supported by the overarching European Environmental Bureau (EEB) and Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe.
We are looking forward to meeting you in Brussels on 21 March 2024 at the King Baudouin Stadium. The venue is within walking distance from Brussels Expo, where the official summit takes place.
ATTENTION: There is only one access point to the Erehal (hall of honour) of the King Baudouin Stadium, namely at Marathonlaan 135, within walking distance from Metro station Houba Brugman. Please check the map! Free parking for cars and bicycles available in front of entry to the Erehal.
