MOSCOW // More investment in nuclear power is needed to fill the gap in renewable energy and offset emissions from fossil fuels, a summit in Moscow has heard.
Amid increasing fears about climate change, officials said only better investment in nuclear could help to resolve many of the problems the world faced.
“Solar and wind aren’t enough to guarantee energy supplies around the world,” Alexey Likhachev, general director of Russia’s Rosatom State Corporation, told AtomExpo.
“Today we face two problems, namely energy access or energy poverty, with more than 1.2 billion people in the world having difficulty in accessing electricity.
“The second problem is environmental as the figures we hear are not optimistic.”
Industry leaders and nuclear officials are among 6,500 delegates meeting to discuss the state of the sector and opportunities to address climate change.
The debate comes amid efforts to cut emissions and reliance on fossil fuels, as developing nations such as the UAE invest in nuclear, but developed states such as Germany scale back.
William Magwood, head of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s nuclear agency, said if the world was serious about climate change it would consider more nuclear power.
“Among the difficult problems we’re working on is what happens to nuclear energy in the longer term future,” Mr Magwood said.
“What nuclear power in the long-term future depends on is a few key issues, including whether we are serious about climate change.”
With a population expected to grow from 7.6 billion to almost 10 billion by 2050, the world will need to double its electricity generation to reach the average European level of use for every person in the world.
“Analysis shows that, without nuclear power, solving the issue of carbon-dioxide emissions reduction becomes extremely difficult,” Mr Magwood said.
By 2050 carbon emissions will need to be reduced by 80 per cent, which Mr Magwood said was almost inconceivable.
“There is analysis that tells us that there is a very important role for base-load power plants and we need to have 40 or 60 per cent base-load power,” he said. “The most renewables you can put on the grid is about 40 per cent before the grid becomes unstable.
“If that’s the case and base-load power plants are needed and if we are to take climate change seriously, then there’s no other way than to build nuclear power plants.”
The Energy Information Administration projected that about 500 new nuclear power plants would need to be built before 2050 to meet the requirements set out at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, or Cop 21, in Paris.
There are 449 commercial nuclear power reactors in operation. The UAE is preparing to add another four by 2020.
“Nuclear power continues to be a major player in the global energy portfolio,” said Hamad Alkaabi, UAE ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
“Ten new reactors were connected to the grid last year and 392 gigawatts is being generated by nuclear power globally which is a significant portion.”
“The Paris agreement calls to limit the increase in the global average temperature. To meet this goal, an increased role in the use of nuclear power is needed in the longer term.”
With 61 new reactors under construction around the world today, countries will need to act fast.
“Climate change and energy security are major priorities for UAE energy policy,” he said. “The UAE has set a target of increasing clean energy contribution to the total energy mix from 0.2 per cent in 2014 to more than 27 per cent by 2021.”
cmalek@thenational.ae
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
Company profile
Name: Thndr
Started: October 2020
Founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: pre-seed of $800,000
Funding stage: series A; $20 million
Investors: Tiger Global, Beco Capital, Prosus Ventures, Y Combinator, Global Ventures, Abdul Latif Jameel, Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Plus VC, Rabacap and MSA Capital
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
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The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The specs: Volvo XC40
Price: base / as tested: Dh185,000
Engine: 2.0-litre, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 250hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 350Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.4L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Company%20Profile
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The biog
Hobbies: Writing and running
Favourite sport: beach volleyball
Favourite holiday destinations: Turkey and Puerto Rico
'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 3 (Sterling 46', De Bruyne 65', Gundogan 70')
Aston Villa 0
Red card: Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Man of the Match: Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
The%20specs
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India squad for fourth and fifth Tests
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Shaw, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur, Vihari
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
