Fiala argued that success in achieving the broader climate goals is fundamentally dependent on nuclear energy. Credit: Freepik.
Dubai, Dec 2 (CTK) – Climate change is one of the biggest global challenges of the present times, and a part of the solution to these problems could be the revival of nuclear energy, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala told the COP28 climate conference in Dubai this weekend.
He said at the start of his short speech that the associated risks of climate change affect everyone, but some regions are facing more dangers than others. He mentioned, for example, the water shortages he witnessed during a trip to Africa last month.
The Czech Republic is also ready to provide up to $4 million (about CZK 90 million) by 2027 for the Green Climate Fund, which will help developing countries face climate change and adapt to its impacts, Fiala said.
The Czech prime minister assured the summit participants that the Czech Republic supports the goals of the Paris climate agreement and the EU’s climate goals, including the goal of building a carbon-neutral economy by 2050.
He also defended the use of nuclear energy. He said he would like to stress that success in achieving the broader climate goals is fundamentally dependent on nuclear energy, which he described as both reliable and clean. One of the ways is to develop a new generation of modular reactors, he added.
Fiala said before his departure to Dubai that the Czech Republic would support a declaration for tripling the world’s nuclear capacity by 2050. The initiative is backed by 21 countries, including France, the US and Britain.
A global nuclear renaissance could be an effective solution to the world’s problems, Fiala concluded in his speech.
World leaders attending COP28 are discussing how to prevent the catastrophic consequences of global warming and keep the rise in the Earth’s temperatures within acceptable levels, which experts say has so far failed. On the first day of the talks on Thursday, politicians agreed to launch a new aid fund for poorer countries most vulnerable to climate change.
Speakers at the conference this weekend included US Vice President Kamala Harris, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and supreme representatives from Greece, Portugal, Pakistan and the Vatican. On Friday, there were speeches from British King Charles III, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
