Nuclear renewal rooted in new political climate

In an interview with AFP, NEA director-general Luis Echavarri explained how changes in the political climate have cast nuclear energy in a new light, putting a number of countries on the path to vast new investment programmes.

"The important element is the change in the mind of policymakers," Echavarri says.

"More policymakers are telling their populations that energy security is a big concern, that we have to be careful, and that protection of the environment is another concern," says Echavarri.

The tripling of oil prices since 2002, instability in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine gas dispute at the beginning of the year have made securing reliable future sources of energy a matter of national priority.

The main resource required for nuclear power is uranium, more than half of which is produced in relatively stable OECD countries, all developed industrialised democracies, according to NEA data.

The NEA is the nuclear research arm of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, a multilateral economic coordination agency based in Paris.