This was the big one — energy day at COP26, and the Gen A and YGN volunteers were on max effort. Oh, and did we mention the wedding?
[Yes, we’re aware this post is a bit late, but truth be told COP is incredibly exhausting and, as you’ll see, a hell of a lot went on over the next few days…]
Thursday was Energy Day at COP26, and perhaps the greatest amount of energy was being produced by the ‘blue army’ of volunteers from the Young Generation Network, Generation Atomic, Voices of Nuclear, Emergency Reactor and others as they darted throughout the cavernous airport departure hall that is the Scottish Event Campus.
It regularly astonishes this author when I reflect on the sheer diversity of our team. We’ve drawn in astonishingly dedicated and talented young people from all corners of the globe — the US, the UK, Canada, France, Venezuela, Finland, Brazil, Poland, and many more (even Kazakhstan — the amazing Dinara, who speaks five languages and is now studying at Berkley in the States).
As you’ll be able to see from the following photos, they managed to talk to a huge array of elected officials, civil servants and other movers and shakers, many of whom proved receptive to the message that #NetZeroNeedsNuclear.
It’s particularly encouraging to see so many officials from the global South embracing nuclear as the way forward; it’s to be hoped that enough funding and expertise is made available to support development in a way that enables these countries to leap-frog the use of fossil fuels.
Closer to home, even politicians from developed countries — which have become less and less receptive to nuclear energy — are starting to see the (electric) light. Palpable at this conference is a sense in the air that the pendulum is swinging and the penny is dropping (to unpardonably mix a metaphor) in favour of the evidence and the established scientific fact.
Nevertheless, it’s not like we’re getting it all our own way. A key exchange took place when Rafael Mariano Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Authority, was being interviewed. Members of the audience laughed when he stated — correctly — that no one has died as a result of radiation from the Fukushima accident (one death has been attributed to radiation, but this is disputed):
Grossi dealt with the incident perfectly — we should make more use of his line “the facts are the facts”. He has been a tireless advocate for nuclear power since his appointment in 2019 and is a great ambassador for the nuclear industry around the globe.
Other friends of nuclear were also spotted. Dr Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (and one of the world’s 100 most influential people, according to Time magazine).
“The world is going through difficult times in terms of energy volatility,” he told an event. “One of the unintended positive consequences of this market volatility is that some people have re-appreciated the value of nuclear power. This is something we all need to take note of.
“One of the facts in [the IEA’s Net Zero by 2050: A Roadmap for the Global Energy Sector] report is in my view very pertinent. In order to reach energy and climate goals nuclear generation needs to double compared to today,” he added.
“Nuclear power has an integral role to play if we are serious about the climate challenge… we have to increase the pace of new build of nuclear power plants by a factor of five,” was his prognosis.
But while all this intense ligging was going on between the great and the good and us lesser mortals, a small bunch of renegades were planning something completely different. It all started when Zion Lights of Emergency Reactor announced a very special event was to take place:
Yep, it was the announcement that nuclear is the perfect partner for renewables, and the bride, in her AOC-style dress, was given away by the Scientific Consensus. However, the ceremony was disrupted by Count Hermann von Coal, who tried to steal away renewables from nuclear…
And they both lived happily ever after — that is, until some anti-nuclear activists turned up and accused us of greenwashing (I wonder what they’ll think when they find out Greenpeace sell fossil gas in Germany…)
We did our best to try and engage in rational debate and conversation, but it soon became apparent that this wasn’t what they were interested in, and a five-minute talk is never going to persuade them (especially since one of them claimed “if the dinosaurs had had nuclear power, we’d still have to be looking after the waste” — which, as an actual palaeontologist, your correspondent was able to correct them). So the best solution was eventually to walk away.
In the end, we’ve had the bigger audience — especially considering Sophie was interviewed by Sky TV on how nuclear is the way forward (interview at 4hrs3mins and 4hrs 19mins):
The next day, Friday, would be even bigger — the Fridays4Future march, and youth day at COP26. Would Greta Thunberg suddenly announce her conversion to nuclear power? Would we be tarred and feathered by other protesters? Wait and see…
