U.S. carbon dioxide emissions had fallen by 14% between 2005 and 2017

To reduce net emissions of carbon to zero, the world would have to eradicate the equivalent of 53.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide a year

Renewable energy must join forces with nuclear to secure a low-carbon future

“I’m worried about the decline of nuclear in the energy mix if governments don’t change their policies,” Birol said referring to new capacity and lifespan extensions.

"Developed countries have witnessed sluggish growth of nuclear power - except for six units in Finland, France, the US and the UK, no other nuclear power plant had been built in North America and the EU area for about 30 years. Over the same period however about 100 units were built in developing and emerging economies."

Global efforts to tackle climate change are futile as long as opposition to nuclear power persists, delegates heard at the opening session of the International Atomic Energy Agency's International Conference on Climate Change and the Role of Nuclear Power. It is the Vienna-based agency's first conference on this topic.

"Greater magnitudes of uncertainty lead to volatility," he said, "and for a capital-intensive sector like ours, this means less investment and more risk to security of supply. This is especially true in power markets that are open to competition: their market design must be adaptive, and long-term contracts used for all types of generation."

These three levers, each with their own potential to disrupt the market and offer new growth opportunities to the companies that leverage them, are often discussed in the energy industry: Digital technology, climate change, and dealing with risk

Nuclear reactors are the unsung heroes as we set out to respond to the climate change challenge. The need for nuclear energy has never been greater - there simply is no other energy source which can deliver deep decarbonisation within the necessary timeframes.

The UN estimates that achieving the SDGs could generate some $12 trillion of value across the global economy, and create 380 million new jobs by 2030. But realizing this objective will take annual investments, across all sectors, of $5-7 trillion: currently, investment levels are falling far below that level.