Last month, banks from U.S. to Asia signed a joint declaration to increase support for nuclear power construction. Signatories included Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Ares Management, Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Brookfield, Citi, Credit Agricole CIB, Goldman Sachs, Guggenheim Securities, Morgan Stanley, Rothschild & Co., Segra Capital Management and Societe Generale. The banks' pledge comes a year after twenty-two countries and 120 companies signed a joint statement at the COP28 conference in Dubai to triple global nuclear capacity by 2050 as part of the drive to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Until recently, nuclear power has mostly not been recognized as a ‘green’ technology. Nuclear power has enjoyed limited social acceptance and lukewarm government commitment and the financial industry has offered only expensive backing for what was viewed as a high-risk investment. In some cases, the cost of financing was one of the largest outlays for new nuclear, an untenable position for an industry that was striving to breathe new life in to aging plants, find support for new gigawatt plants, and lay the foundation for advanced and small modular reactors (SMRs).
Source: Reuters