New IAEA Chief Sees Nuclear Energy As Important Part Of Climate Change Solution

MADRID (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th December, 2019) The new director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, told Sputnik in an interview during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) that nuclear energy plays an important role in tackling climate change, allowing to reduce harmful emissions into the Earth's atmosphere.

Grossi is attending the COP25 in Madrid on Wednesday to highlight the role that nuclear power can play in transition to clean energy. The trip to Spain is Grossi's first visit since taking office. The COP25 conference runs in the Spanish capital from December 2-13.

"It was very important for us to come here because nuclear energy is part of the climate change solution. It's not a theoretical or abstract idea that could happen. It is happening now, because due to the fact that we have many countries including nuclear energy in their energy mixes. We avoid tons of very bad emissions out there in the atmosphere. And this is due to nuclear," Grossi said.

Nuclear is part of a solution and not part of the problem, he added.

"We are working very constructively; it's very heartening to see how welcoming the UN in general, the countries are on what we are doing, how we can help them because the situation is very serious honestly. So we are here to bring this message and strengthen the lines of cooperation we do have with a number of agencies and institutions we do have and to make them even stronger," IAEA chief said.

During the conference, Grossi is also holding bilateral meetings with high-level officials, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Patricia Espinosa, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), among others.