“There is no room for complacency and it is my job to use diplomacy to support the IAEA’s member states and to fulfil its mandate – that’s arguably even more important at times of tension and competition”
tial technical body ultimately serves their interests. There is no room for complacency and it is my job to use diplomacy to support the IAEA’s member states and to fulfil its mandate – that’s arguably even more important at times of ten- sion and competition. I have used my role as an impartial, honest broker in many ways, for instance, in speak- ing with both the leaders of Ukraine and the Russian Federation about the safety of nuclear power plants and in brokering multiple cease-fires so repairs to critical powerlines could be made. I have travelled often to Tehran to discuss ways to find progress, and I supported past international talks, making clear what the IAEA knows about Iran’s nuclear programme and where questions remain. In Syria, I met the new leadership at the highest levels to agree a process to resolve and close the outstanding safeguard issues to do with Syria’s past nuclear activities – an important step to bringing Syria back into the fold of the international community. What progress has the IAEA made, and what tasks and challenges remain? The IAEA – that means the agency and its more than 180 member states – have made much progress. First, nuclear energy is back on the table and there is now a global consensus that we need it, together with renewables, to meet
power was still widespread and many countries were shrinking rather than growing nuclear power programmes. Since last year, the World Bank has lifted its block on getting involved with nuclear energy and other development banks are following. And we have made enormous progress through IAEA ini- tiatives such as Rays of Hope, building cancer centres and delivering CT scan- ners and mammography machines and training people. Through Atoms4Food we are developing crops that can with- stand heat and drought. All these are nuclear applications or techniques, and they help address some of the biggest challenges of developing countries. We have made progress in safe- guards too, where our inspectors are verifying more and more material and facilities. The safeguards regime has been strengthened through the Addi- tional Protocol and the updating of the Small Quantities Protocol. But there are challenges. One that concerns me greatly is that in several countries there is a growing perception that perhaps having nuclear weapons could be good for national security. Nothing is further from the truth. This is where G7 leaders at Évian could send a clear message: Nuclear non- proliferation is in everyone’s interest, as are nuclear safety and security. That is always important – especially now that nuclear energy capacity build- ing is back and we are in a world where international norms are thinning.
// RAFAEL MARIANO GROSSI
Rafael Mariano Grossi became director-general of the Interna- tional Atomic Energy Agency in 2019. In 2013, he was appointed Argentina’s ambassador to Aus- tria and representative to the IAEA and other Vienna-based international organisations. In 2019, he was president des- ignate of the 2020 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and from 2014 to 2016 he served as pres- ident of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. He was chief of cabinet at the Organization for the Pro- hibition of Chemical Weapons from 2002 to 2007.
X-TWITTER @RafaelMGrossi / @iaeaorg iaea.org
energy security and environmental goals. Just a few months ago France’s President Emmanuel Macron hosted the second Nuclear Energy Summit in Paris, where the direction in favour of nuclear was clear, even from the Euro- pean Union. That is very different from just a few years ago when an ideolog- ically driven negative view of nuclear
99 globalgovernancemedia.org
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online