A group of nuclear power activists are hoping to make waves at the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow this November.
As any environmental campaigner will tell you, the clock is ticking in the fight against global heating — and the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), which takes place in the Scottish city of Glasgow from 1st-12th November this year, will be vital in convincing governments to make meaningful reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. Luckily, a plucky band of young pro-nuclear activists are planning to head to COP26 and fly the flag for atomic power in a big way.
Arun Khuttan is part of the UK Nuclear Institute’s (the country’s professional body for the industry) Young Generation Network (YGN) and is co-ordinating an international response in concert with the YGN’s European counterpart of young atomic power advocates at COP26. Generation Atomic caught up with him to ask him what they’re planning.
“We put a team together when we realised the enormity of the task in front of us,” he said. “All of us are young professionals working in the nuclear industry who are super-passionate about boosting and raising awareness that #NetZeroNeedsNuclear. We’ve been working for the past 4–5 months, putting together ideas for what we can do at COP26.
International involvement
“We’ve got a really strong international team,” Arun continued. “We’ve got Matthew Mairinger from the North American Young Generation Network and the Canadian Nuclear Association, which is another big NGO. We’ve got Alice Cuhna da Silva from Brazil — she’s on the International Youth Nuclear Congress and member of various ‘women in nuclear’ branches in Latin America. The rest of us are from the UK — from Wales, a couple from Glasgow, and all over.”https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2F41DVj5E9o4c%3Ffeature%3Doembed&display_name=YouTube&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D41DVj5E9o4c&image=https%3A%2F%2Fi.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F41DVj5E9o4c%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtubeThe UK YGN team put together this awesome launch video.
The campaigners will take a four-pillar approach to boost nuclear power’s profile at COP26: a position paper, a new website, a social media initiative and a petition on Change.org. “The backbone to the whole thing is this position paper we’ve put together,” Arun said. “Nuclear For Climate was formed in 2015 for the Paris [COP21] talks, and includes the European Nuclear Society [ENS] and other major international nuclear societies. They had a position paper in 2015 and another in 2018. We’ve updated that and had it approved by the steering committee. It’s still a nuclear for climate position paper, but we’ve put the net zero brand on it as that’s the hot position for the moment. ‘Net Zero Needs Nuclear’ is the tagline for it and for our whole campaign.”
The team is mainly targeting the UN-controlled ‘blue zone’ at the conference, which is where the many international policymakers, government officials and legislators will be concentrated. “You have to be an accredited organisation or individual to have access to that area,” said Arun. “We’re hoping to secure this after the application process over the summer.” Meanwhile, the UK government controls the ‘green zone’, which will be the area where companies install public-facing booths, and where most of the world’s media will concentrate. “[UK trade body] the Nuclear Industry Association are putting together a big proposal for the green zone — a joint proposal from all parts of the industry, and we’ve said we’ll support that however we can as the YGN,” Arun added.
Given that 2,500 NGOs are registered as ‘official observers’ for COP26, the team has its work cut out if it wants to attract attention. But there are many plans for this too, Arun said. “It’s been tough [so far], but it feels really rewarding. I’m really hoping we can get enough traction. I think the awareness part is going to be the biggest bit,” he added. “We’ve loads of engagement plans over the next 4–5 months. If we can get some sponsorship, STEM and outreach is a massive part of our activities — we’re thinking of holding a school speaking competition, pro nuclear marches, all sorts of things.”
Long-term goals
There are also long-term goals to boost nuclear’s profile. “We’re in touch with YGNs in many countries and we’re trying to encourage them to get in touch with their local [government] representatives — that gives us a route into local communities that want nuclear,” Arun continued. “If we can get developing nations to push the UN into a more pro nuclear stance, I think we as young scientists, engineers and communicators can help them do that and help get the voices who want that heard at the highest levels. We have unlikely allies in agricultural groups and indigenous peoples groups, as nuclear uses less land. There are so many avenues we can pursue.”
Of course, the shadow of Covid-19 is still looming over the COP26 conference, although UK government officials are confident the conference will take place physically rather than virtually. In any case, Arun’s team are receiving regular official updates and have a ‘plan B’ ready in case meeting people in person doesn’t happen. “Most of our ‘plan A’ is virtual anyway,” he added.
Whatever happens, there’s still a way to go before the YGN team takes the high road to Glasgow, though Arun is confident they’ll succeed. “It’s been tough, but it feels really rewarding,” he said.
Get involved!
You can help the campaign build momentum ahead of the COP26 conference, too — to take part, simply take a photo or video of yourself explaining why you believe nuclear plays a vital part in achieving Net Zero, sign the petition and share with the hashtag #NetZeroNeedsNuclear. Keep up to date with the YGN’s plans for COP26 by joining their mailing list.
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