"The global nuclear industry today is becoming a factory of new technologies. These are IT-technology, supercomputers and new materials. These are nuclear medicine and new types of power generation, including wind energy. We not only see the modern agenda and participate in it, we form this agenda. And new technologies are what makes people's lives better, more comfortable and safer," Likhachov said.

“I’m sure that Greta is a kind and very sincere girl. But adults must do everything not to bring teenagers and children into some extreme situations.”

The new projections to 2030 see generating capacity declining by some 8% in the low case and increasing by 25% in the high estimate. By 2050, it’s seen falling by 6% in the low scenario and rising by 80% in the high case. Compared with last year, the new estimates to 2050 are down by 33 GW(e) in the high case and up by 15 GW(e) in the low case.

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.

Speaking at the beginning of the UN’s Climate Action Summit on Monday, the 16-year-old acclaimed climate activist Greta Thunberg, was unsparing in her criticism of world leaders, telling them that they are still “not mature enough to tell it like it is”.

The UN has said its goal for the summit is to bring forward what organizers have called "concrete plans and strategies" to bring about carbon neutrality by 2050.