Findings, Conclusions and Recommendations

Nuclear power provides a significant share (around 15%) of the world electricity supply today and will remain an important energy source for decades, irrespective of individual country decisions to phase out nuclear programmes or to increase the role of nuclear energy in their national policies. The fleet of nuclear units in operation at present is reliable and globally has very good safety and economic performance. Most plants built in the 1980s and 1990s are expected to have lifetimes exceeding 50 years. Simultaneously, new, advanced nuclear reactors and fuel cycles – most of which are based on fast neutron reactors operated in closed fuel cycles – are being developed with the objective of enhancing the safety, economics, sustainability, and proliferation resistance and physical protection of future nuclear systems. 