Congratulations on your appointment as President of this Conference To begin, I’d wish to discuss the most important threat facing our planet today – global climate change . The UK is, of course, COP26 President, and therefore the whole of the united kingdom Government is concentrated on the critical Glasgow summit later this year.
The latest IPCC report – showing the impact humans have had on our planet – may be a warning call , highlighting the necessity for drastic, dramatic action now, to guard the world for generations to return . Safe and secure atomic power are going to be a crucial component in our plans to succeed in net zero.
And so we must think differently and embrace innovation – coming together to champion the wide opportunities that each one nuclear technologies offer. that’s why, at the top of 2020, the united kingdom Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan began our aim to approve a minimum of another large-scale atomic power plant by 2024, additionally to the £385m we’ve committed to unlock the opportunities of advanced nuclear technologies.
Stepping faraway from global climate change , the united kingdom is additionally proud, Madam President, of the progress we made collectively to make sure that nuclear is one among the safest energy generation technologies. We commend the IAEA for its role in helping countries to develop their nuclear industries to the very best standards of safety and security.
The UK also continues to back the Agency’s efforts to strengthen and enhance the nuclear safeguards system. We call upon all states that haven’t yet done so to ratify and implement the great Safeguards Agreements and therefore the Additional Protocol. We strongly believe that these Safeguards agreements, along side the Non-Proliferation Treaty, have successfully deterred many countries from seeking nuclear weapons, providing the key framework and enabler for the peaceful uses of nuclear.
With that in mind, we’ve consistently demonstrated our commitment to the JCPoA, and are working for the complete restoration of the agreement. Our priority is to ascertain the US return to the deal, and Iran to return to compliance with its commitments. We urge Iran to return to negotiations as soon as possible for a swift conclusion of the deal and reverse the extremely dangerous trajectory of its nuclear programme, and to revive the access that the Agency requires to offer the international community assurances that Iran’s nuclear programme may be a peaceful one.
We commend the Director General for his tireless efforts to interact with Iran on the separate investigation on Iran’s declarations under its NPT Safeguards Agreement. We welcome the agreement between the Agency and Iran, which confirms that consultations with the new Iranian government will happen on outstanding issues. it’s important that Iran swiftly implements this agreement and meaningfully engages with the Agency.
Madam President, the united kingdom commends the Director General for his unwavering commitment to nuclear science and research, and that i am proud to pledge over 4 million euros to the Agency’s Technical Cooperation Fund.
The technologies we are uncovering today are key to solving the foremost pressing global development challenges of our time, and it’s our responsibility to deliver these to those that need them most.
We also share the Director General’s vision and commitment to improving gender diversity across the nuclear field. the exceptional contributions of girls to nuclear science and research can’t be understated. that’s why the united kingdom has pledged 500 thousand Euros to the Marie Sklodowska Curie Fellowship Programme. I urge all Member States to imitate and do more to inspire future generations of girls into the nuclear sector.
Madam President, because the UK looks towards hosting COP26 in Glasgow later this year, i might wish to personally thank the Agency for its dedication to climate actionFinally, i might wish to highlight the bid from the United Kingdom’s Supreme Audit Institution, the National Audit Office (NAO) for the role of the External Auditor for the IAEA.
The NAO may be a professional, experienced External Auditor – with over 60 years of experience across the United Nations – and can provide top quality assurance over the utilization of the Agency’s resources and advice to the Agency and Member States on how the Agency can deliver its important mandate more efficiently and effectively.
We believe the NAO’s experience and expertise makes them a robust candidate for this role and that we hope Member States will support their bid Madam President, let me emphasise that the united kingdom will still give the Secretariat, and therefore the Director General, our full and wholehearted support