BACKGROUND

“The step toward energy availability is a step toward a better future for all.” Such a sentiment is clearly stated in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals outlined in the September

2015 United Nations General Assembly, stating the goal of the United Nations: to pursue a world without need, want, hunger, poverty, and energy deficiency.

As such, in order to address modern demands for energy in an increasingly technology-based society, it is important to consider the long term viability of nuclear energy when used to deliver power. In the past, the discussion of sustainable energy infrastructure development has come up frequently and without fail. The introduction of new energy-technologies has called into question the practicality of old energy infrastructure, namely coal power plants. Newer, renewable, and sustainable alternatives including wind, solar, and nuclear energy have only recently been made available to governments worldwide, and only a small fraction of traditional coal energy has been replaced. In 2016, the average high-income nation relied on about 60% of coal energy to sustain its energy operations, dedicating only a small portion of research, funding, and investment into renewable sources due to their unreliable and expensive tendencies.

Most commonly, there are four major sustainable energy practices that dominate the energy industry in terms of the most political support and rapport: wind, solar, hydro, and nuclear power. These four primary methods of sustainable energy practices produce the best results when applied on a national industrial scale. However, the three practices of wind, solar, and hydropower do not generate energy on a level consistent with nuclear: in wind energy, for example, the amount of energy produced is directly correlated with the presence of wind in the

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environment, which can fluctuate depending on season, temperature, and time of day. In the case of solar energy, previous institutions have relied on Warks Solar Towers, which take and store solar energy and are cheap and easily transportable. However, these solar towers rely on access to the sun to run on 50-90% efficiency and can be damaged if placed in a desert region that is subject to sandstorms. In terms of hydropower, many land-locked countries are unable to generate hydropower since they do not have access to running water. As such, many consider nuclear energy to be the more modern and consistent method of obtaining energy without the hazardous carbon waste, although there are numerous issues that must be considered before properly developing nuclear infrastructure in a given area.

The first primary concern with nuclear technology is the safety factor. In the 2011 fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, an earthquake along the Pacific Rim caused tsunamis to sweep throughout the Japanese archipelago, resulting in meltdown status of the Fukushima power plant. For years, experts had commented on Fukushima’s close proximity to the sea and noted the potential for a nuclear disaster if there were to ever occur a rise in water levels. In spite of these warnings, Japanese officials continued with the construction of the Fukushima Nuclear

Power Plant. In order to avoid this level of catastrophe, the IAEA urges its member states to understand the possible dangers of nuclear technology and to take into consideration the need for proper location adjustments to future and current power plants.

The second concern is financial support. Member states must take into consideration the need for substantial financial aid for nuclear construction projects in order to avoid underfunding, which can lead to serious safety breaches. For countries such as Greece, over $650 million euros were loaned from the European Investment Bank for environmental concerns,

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allowing Greece to further develop its energy infrastructure and prevent shortages. In cases such as the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, thousands of square kilometers of area were devastated in a nuclear power plant failure that almost destroyed the entire Eurasian continent with dangerously high levels of radiation. The technical failure that occurred in Chernobyl was due to a lack of proper infrastructure equipment and an underfunding of the Chernobyl power plant, resulting in cracks that contained the power plant’s nuclear core. IAEA member states must take into consideration the need to find some source of financial aid in order to construct the necessary infrastructure to safely operate the power plant and prevent potential system failures. Power plants require trained professionals to operate the plant, and countries must acknowledge the additional costs of training nuclear specialists.

Other sources, such as biological gas depots that rely on fuel storages to deliver energy, are not considered as carbon efficient as their four counterparts due to the high amount of toxic waste that is produced from every fuel unit; Approximately 40% of the carbon emissions from the biological gas units are taken in by the greater atmosphere. These other methods are more commonly applied on a house-hold level and cannot be maintained at a national standard.

The primary goal of the IAEA is to re-examine the 2030 SDGs outlined in prior committees and to establish the logistics required to determine the long term sustainability of

Nuclear energy implemented worldwide on a safe, secure, efficient, and multi-partisan level.

UN INVOLVEMENT

The United Nations considers nuclear energy to be an important topic to debate, having created the IAEA to specifically address the nuances of nuclear energy. The UN strongly

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considers nuclear energy to be the key to sustainable development, as outlined in the 72nd

General Assembly’s “Report of the International Atomic Energy Agency” resolution, in which numerous IAEA solutions were proposed to the General Assembly board.

In addition, the IAEA has worked with governments worldwide on the topic of proper nuclear energy development, leading a number of IAEA publications that detail the logistics behind energy infrastructure for local governments. It publishes the IAEA Nuclear Energy

Series, which advises the nuclear power programmes for countries all around the globe. All countries are required or strongly recommended to confer with the IAEA’s nuclear energy series when determining the construction progress of their nuclear energy programs.

The IAEA hosts an annual General conference to discuss nuclear safety, security, and science and technology, and notes the increasing importance of transferring nuclear technology to developing countries, as noted by the IAEA’s previous Director General Yukiya Amano. In a public statement, Director General Yukiya Amano highlighted the IAEA’s outreach programs for lower income nations. Under Director General Amano, the IAEA has also started a nuclear verification program that checks and qualifies all member states’ nuclear infrastructure in order to ensure their progress. The Technical Cooperation Fund for 2018, established at the end of the

61st IAEA General Conference, outlines over 80 nations’ pledged financing of an international fund that administers financial aid to countries seeking to develop nuclear infrastructure.

Furthermore, the IAEA stresses in its past resolutions the need to maintain open levels of communication with every member state, as well as the proper representation of its member states’ cultures and ethnic backgrounds. The current Director General of the IAEA, Rafael

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Grossi, signifies the first Latin American delegate to direct the agency, and represents the

IAEA’s multi-stakeholder, multinational efforts to spearhead an international energy campaign.

BLOC POSITIONS

Western Bloc

The Western Bloc includes nations in the European Union, North America, and parts of

Central Europe. Historically, the Western Bloc has stood in favor of nuclear energy and has funded numerous nuclear programs in developing countries, including the European Union’s

$650 million investment into Greece’s energy infrastructure. Some countries, including,

Germany have also adopted a green energy policy of reducing overall carbon emissions through the adoption of nuclear, hydropower, solar power, and windpower farms by the year 2050.

Germany’s policy of Energiewende has seen some successes as well as some failures: due to a lack of sufficient funding for Energiewende, the country failed to successfully divert its carbon emissions energy sources and has seen drastic increases in the price of energy, but was able to convert approximately 60% of its stores to green energy.

Latin American Bloc

The Latin American Bloc includes nations in Central America and South America. Many of these countries are the recipients of financial aid from the European Union and the international community, who have been trying to implement nuclear technology in the region for years. This move would allow citizens to gain access to modern amenities, such as electric appliances, running water, and lighting appliances, especially for people living in rural areas.

However, the Latin American Bloc requires a substantial influx of trained professionals who can

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properly operate nuclear technology without risking nuclear meltdown. Thus, countries in the

Latin American Bloc must take into consideration the need for nuclear energy training and long-term sustainability of the countries’ nuclear programmes.

African Bloc

The African Bloc consists of countries in continental Africa, including North Africa,

Subsaharan Africa, and Southern Africa (not to be confused with South Africa, the country). The only country in Africa to have adopted nuclear power is South Africa, while many other countries in the region do not have the required citizen support, political stability, and military stability to finance large-scale nuclear energy programmes. As such, member states of the

African Bloc must address political instability in their resolutions to the IAEA while at the same time maintaining the proper nuclear energy development standards outlined by the IAEA.

Eastern Bloc

The Eastern Bloc consists of countries in Eurasia, South East Asia, and Central Asia. The

Eastern bloc is a major supporter of nuclear energy and is currently developing a large number of nuclear power plants to meet recent energy demands. Countries in the Eastern Bloc are recommended to work together with countries from the Western Bloc in order to address the issue of energy deficiency in rural or unstable countries. In terms of national policy, countries in the Eastern Bloc should have almost the same country agendas as their counterparts in the

Western Bloc.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER

1. Why is there an ongoing energy crisis?

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2. What should we consider when implementing energy programs in developing nations?

3. How do increased energy prices affect the global economy?

4. What are methods of nuclear containment in the event of a disaster?

5. What is the efficiency of nuclear technology?

6. How does nuclear energy compare to other forms of energy?

7. Where are nuclear power plants most vulnerable?

8. Is there a way to avoid an energy crisis in the future? How?

9. What disaster relief strategies should the IAEA implement to prevent a future nuclear

meltdown?

10. Should the IAEA fund emergency equipment for its member nations in the event of a

nuclear disaster?

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WORKS CITED

1. “Energy Modelling Tools,” IAEA, Energy Assets IAEA, published 2018.

https://www.iaea.org/topics/energy-planning/energy-modelling-tools

2. Kerstine Appunn, et. al. “Germany’s Energy Consumption and Power Mix in Charts,”

Germany Energy Factsheet, published June 26, 2019.

https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/germanys-energy-consumption-and-power-

mix-charts

3. “Germany Energy Analysis” U.S Energy Information Administration, EIA Analysis,

published August 2016.

4. https://www.eia.gov/beta/international/analysis.php?iso=DEU

5. Chiu, Dominic. “The East Is Green: China’s Global Leadership in Renewable Energy”

CSIS Report, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Issue 13.

https://www.csis.org/east-green-chinas-global-leadership-renewable-energy

6. “Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” United

Nations, Sustainable Development Goals Framework, published in 2015.

7. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/post2015/transformingourworld

8. “Paris Agreement, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” United Nations,

Sustainable Development Goals Framework, published in 2015.

9. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/frameworks/parisagreement

10. “Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy” United Nations Development Programme,

UNDP 2030 SDGs, published 2016.

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https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-7-affor

dable-and-clean-energy.html

11. “Analysis: How Far would Germany’s 2038 coal phase out breach Paris’ climate Goals?”

Carbon Brief Org., published January 29, 2019.

https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-how-far-would-germanys-2038-coal-phaseout-brea

ch-paris-climate-goals

12. “Nuclear Energy Could Hold Key to Sustainable Development Gains, Delegates Tell

General Assembly,” United Nations 72nd session, published November 10, 2017.

https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/ga11972.doc.htm

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