Unlocking Capital for Clean Energy: From Commitment to Delivery Turning Partnerships into Power (HLPF 2026 Side Event)

So good afternoon, Excellency, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the side event jointly organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Bank Group. My name is Huang Wei, Director for Planning, Information, Knowledge Management at IAEA, and it's my great privilege to serve as Your moderator today. So, Excellencies, we stand at a critical juncture. While the newly released SDG 7 Energy Progress Report highlights remarkable progress in the clean energy transition, it also points out clearly, without urgent and scale-up action, the global community will fall short of achieving SDG objectives. So one of these challenges facing the international community is the issue of financial disparity. Annual investment in clean energy across nuclear, renewable, grid infrastructure, and efficiency remain far below what is required. In particular, international public financial flows to developing countries remain stagnant. Given the growing interest among both developed and developing economies in leveraging nuclear energy to address energy insecurity and meet the objective of both SDG 7 and the Paris Agreement, Tackling this persistent financing gap in energy nuclear sector, release its full potential in the transition, is now an urgent imperative. The landmark agreement signed between the IAEA and World Bank is a direct response to this challenge, further accelerating the global energy nuclear momentum established since COP28. However, our cooperation does not stop there. We are moving toward tangible, systematic action to turn this partnership into concrete action and unlocked necessary capital for clean energy projects, including nuclear. So today's event will spotlight actionable, scalable financial instruments and partnership, with a particular focus on the IEA-World Bank collaboration as a model for mobilizing capital at speed and scale. So having said this, it's my great honor to introduce our prominent panelists today. They are Mr. Liu Hua, the Deputy Director-General, Head of the Department Technical Cooperation at IAEA. He's an engineer and a scientist with more than 30 years' experience in nuclear science technology. Before he joined the agency, he was the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and Administrator of Nuclear— National Nuclear Safety Administration of China. And Mr. Dimitrios Papathanassios, Global Director for World Bank Group. With more than 25 years institutional experience, Mr. Papathanasiou has overseen strategic direction, knowledge partnership, and corporate reporting, and managed energy and infrastructure initiatives across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. His experience spanning energy policy development, a wide range of renewable and traditional power technologies, and the leadership of complex utility reforms, and public-private partnership. Mr. Jesus Enrique Garcio, 2nd Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations. As a career diplomat, Mr. Garcio has been working in the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs since 2002, serving in various capacities including Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of the United Nations and International Organization, Special Assistant of the Office, and the Secretary for Office. He also served as a senior diplomat in Philippine permanent mission and embassies in New York, Geneva, France, and Switzerland, respectively. Ms. Kasady Waters, the Vice President for Power at the Rockefeller Foundation. Mr. Waters joined the foundation in 2022 and is responsible for shaping the strategy of key program initiatives. including the Global Energy Alliance for People and the Planet and Mission 300. Last but not the least, Mr. Samuel Tomiwa, the Advisor to the Asian Development Bank's Energy Sector Group. With over 30 years of experience specializing in scaling clean energy investment, power sector reform, sustainable infrastructure across Asia and Pacific, Mr. Tomiwa has led transformative clean energy and sustainable infrastructure initiative while managing a significant portfolio, including roles as Country Director for Afghanistan, Director for Fragility and Engagement, and ADB Representative to North America. Without further ado, let me invite IEA DDG Liu Hua to give his opening and welcome remarks. DDG Liu Hua, the floor is yours.

Thank you very much. Good afternoon and welcome. Thank you for joining us today at the UN Headquarters. We are here to discuss how we turn clean energy promise into real delivery. Let me start with thanks to our co-host, the World Bank Group. The agreement concluded by our DG Grossi and Ajay Banga World Bank Group President last year marked a turning point for development finance. It brings together what each of us does best. The IEA knows the technology and energy planning. The World Bank brings the financial leadership. Together, we are opening a new path to energy security, And shared prosperity. Ladies and gentlemen, the global energy picture is changing fast. More and more, people agree on one thing: if we want to meet rising demand and still reach net zero, we need a broad and resilient energy mix. That need is becoming more and more pressing by artificial intelligence, digitalization, and the rapid expansion of data centers. Nuclear power delivers affordable, reliable, sustainable, and emission-free clean energy to everyone. It gives a constant, clean, dependable source of power. It's steady. Lowest rates. It serves both energy security and development. This conversation around nuclear has truly changed, and we are glad to see it. The momentum from COP28, when DG Grossi led call to include nuclear energy in the global stocktake, has continued today. 31 member states have nuclear power in operation. Another 42 are preparing to generate their first nuclear electricity, most of them emerging and developing countries. IAEA projection to 2050 tells the same story. They have risen for 5 years straight in both the high and the lower scenario, and the 2nd Nuclear Energy Summit earlier this year confirmed it. Nuclear has a real part to play in solving global problems and helping their country grow. At the same time, new technology is arriving fast. Small modular reactors are a good example. They are flexible, they are scaled, they can do more then make electricity. And they open the door for more countries to pair nuclear with renewable and build efficient integrated grids. And the relationship between AI and nuclear energy is no longer incidental or optional. AI-driven data center and digital infrastructure are creating unprecedented demand for continuous, low-carbon, high-reliability power, a demand profile uniquely aligned with nuclear energy. At the same time, AI is already reshaping nuclear operation, engineering project, its delivery, and the regulatory process. As such, the IAEA organized the International Symposium on AI and Nuclear in December last year. which marked a first-of-its-kind high-level convergence of the global nuclear and AI communities. Ladies and gentlemen, investment in nuclear is still far below demand. Developing countries feel that gap most because long-term affordable capital is hardest for them to reach. To turn these projections into reality by 2050, We have to close that gap and move money towards nuclear sector. That means partnership between government and private investors so we can unlock the resources sitting on the sidelines. It means that new tools too— blended finance, risk guarantee, local currency solution, and creative bond structures. Here is good news. The financial world is starting to shift. The IAEA's 2025 agreement with the World Bank anchored that shift, and the framework with the Asia Development Bank, Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, and OPEC Fund and others built on it. Philanthropy, represented here today by the Rockefeller Foundation, is also engaging. These efforts bring investors in. They lower the risk for those who move first. They build confidence in nuclear as a credible, credible road to energy security and growth. All of this matters most for countries expanding or introducing nuclear power, especially the newcomer in emerging and developing economies. They face tight budget, high perceived risk, and less institutional capacity. They also have the most to gain. We are proud of the progress so far. But we are not stopping here. We are working closely with the multilateral development bank. Over the past few months, the IAEA, World Bank, and other banks have had the series of technical workshop. Senior experts on both sides have worked through the hard questions: investment, liability, safety, emergency preparedness. radioactive waste, environmental impact, and stakeholder involvement. Money alone does not build nuclear program. Strategy and planning matter just as much. DG Growth's Atom for Net Zero initiative helps countries to see how nuclear fits with its renewable, its green, and its budget. At the same time, IAEA milestone approach gives countries a clear step-by-step framework to build sound, sustainable infrastructure and run their nuclear program in a safe, secure, and sustainable way. The structure lowers risk and can facilitate financing. Excellencies, when we connected the solid technical analysis to development finance, Grounded in real needs, real costs, and national priorities, we turn commitment into delivery. We can build something coordinated and build to scale, and we can make sure no country is left behind on the way to a clean, secure, and prosperous future. I look forward to a good conversation today. I thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Deputy Gilead, for your opening remarks, which will give a comprehensive reflection about the indispensable role of nuclear energy in addressing global issues and also highlight the strong momentum behind nuclear energy and urgency of tangible action scale for unlocking the potential of nuclear. Thank you. Now let me turn— invite Mr. Papathanassios on behalf of the World Bank, the co-host of this event, to give his welcome remarks.

Thank you very much, Wei. Distinguished guests, colleagues, partners here, have a good afternoon. This event comes about one year after the World Bank and the International Atomic Energy Agency signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work on nuclear energy for the developing world. So it's a good time to take stock of where we are and what we have done so far and what do we see going forward. So first of all, the world of energy is clearly today at the central attention. Demand for electricity globally is growing very fast. It's growing especially fast in the developing world. Where the energy needs are also the greatest and energy is fundamental for economic growth, for jobs and for prosperity. We expect that up to 2035 demand for electricity is expected to more than double in the developing world and this is because of industrialization, people living more and more in the cities, the digital developments, artificial intelligence, and of course rising living standards. So we see tremendous need for investments on energy. But the reality unfortunately remains that a very small portion of the financing for clean energy and for energy in general is going to the developing world. So we have a lot of work to do, and from our perspective, what we have noticed is that it's not just a technology question. It is important that we take advantage of all technologies— renewable energy, hydropower, storage, grids, the network investments— and for some countries we feel that nuclear has a significant role. Nuclear energy, of course, has a tremendous potential. It's the more energy-dense energy technology that you can get and it has particular characteristics that are quite useful when you have advanced economies, when you want to industrialize, when digital investments are necessary, and in many countries the heat that is generated even after power is generated can be extremely valuable as well. So how can we get this done? The World Bank for many decades has not been investing in nuclear energy, but responding to requests from many member countries this morning to the calls during the climate meetings to do more on energy, on nuclear energy, we looked into the space and we tried to figure out what would be the best place for the World Bank and what the World Bank's role should be for nuclear energy. And what we have found out is that the economics of nuclear energy can be especially favorable in places where— and in countries where they already have some nuclear power, and we found that the economics of extending the lifetime operation of nuclear power plants are actually very favourable. And in fact, we are looking at probably financing the first project after a very long time from the World Bank Group in a country where this is the opportunity, extending the lifetime operation of an existing facility. Now, nuclear energy is very complex because, of course, a key area that matters is not only the very high technology that is involved in the investments, but the need to have safe operation. This is a fundamental precondition. So the 2 points that I would like to make today is that, first of all, if we want to work on nuclear, we have to work on preparing the right enabling conditions, and secondly, that we need to work in partnerships. So let me talk a little bit about the first point. So the question is not whether countries should do nuclear energy. The question is whether countries have the right conditions so that they can do nuclear energy in a safe manner, securely, and in a way that the economics work and they can advance their development goals. So for some countries, nuclear can be part of their long-term energy system, but the first investment that most of the countries, especially in the developing world, need to make is creating the enabling environment, and this is where the World Bank Group can play a decisive role. So we're helping already countries to assess whether the nuclear energy option fits within their broader energy and development strategy and strengthen the foundation that will enable responsible nuclear investments. That means that we need robust legal and regulatory frameworks, independent regulators for nuclear energy and for safe operation, preparing the right human capital and skills, prepare for emergencies and effective security and safety arrangements, how to manage long-term waste and how to sustain public confidence. So when these conditions are in place, and we understand that work and investment needs to go for these conditions to come in place, we will work on financial engagement, drawing on the full One World Bank Group toolkit. We can finance governments, we can help with bringing private capital through our IFC, and we can help with guaranteeing political risks with MIGA. And this is how we can crowd in additional private capital across the nuclear value chain. Let me say that for now, whenever we're engaging in actual projects, we are pleasantly surprised to see that there is a lot of interest for commercial banks to come in and finance nuclear energy. This is a good time to be looking at this option. Now, on the second point, in partnerships, what we recognize is that this is not something that can be done by one institution only, so that's why we signed the Memorandum of Understanding with the International Atomic Energy Agency. They've been incredibly helpful and very generous in sharing their knowledge and the technical expertise with our own teams. We're building up our internal capacity in the World Bank as well. and we feel that the IAEA is an armchair partner for nuclear safety, security, and safeguards. They really understand this— the energy— the nuclear energy space, and they have unmatched technical knowledge. Our role is to finance the implementation and help countries go through the milestones of moving towards nuclear energy deployment, and what we want to do as we go forward is help countries accelerating how they meet the milestones and how they move forward. More than that, we're working with other multilateral development banks, with export credit agencies, with donor countries and private capital to build a coordinated approach for environmental and social principles on project preparation and financing. We're also working very hard to establish a multi-donor trust fund for nuclear energy assistance to support country readiness and provide the foundations for responsible nuclear development. So this is the partnership model that we believe is needed, not just for nuclear energy but across the entire energy sector. So let me close with this. The World Bank Group is not pursuing nuclear energy just because we want to do nuclear energy. We are responding to actual demand from the countries through the same technology-neutral, development-focused approach that guides all of our energy work. By creating the right investment conditions, strengthening country readiness, and building strong partnerships, we can unlock the capital that countries need to advance energy security, support industrialization, and create jobs. And this is what moving from commitment to delivery looks like. We expect that hopefully we will approve our first nuclear investment for a long time within the next 12 months or so, and this will open up additional efforts and investments throughout the world. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Dimitri. You allow me to use your first name; it's easier for me. And thank you for your remarks, which give very good reflection about where we stand today and stocktake, and also they are making very important highlights on this. 2 points, this enabling condition or environment and also the broader partnership. I think this panel discussion is going to have an in-depth discussion on this, around these points. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, after these 2 tomb-setting remarks of IAEA and World Bank, let us start our panel discussion today. My first question would go to all panelists. From the SDG Progress Tracking Report and SDG Briefing Report to high-level speeches in the HIOPF 2020-2026, including the opening of the ministerial segment, the most heard message is there is a massive financing gap for clean energy, particularly in the developing countries. From your organization or country's perspective, how can we best leverage this new era of partnership between the technical agency like IAEA and a financial institution to de-risk investment and make complex long-term clean energy projects attractive to the capital markets? So let me still start from DDG Liu Hua and for your opinions on this question.

Thank you very much. I think a significant financing gap persisted in clean energy investment, like our colleagues from World Bank to explain. The IAEA latest projection indicate that global nuclear power capacity could more than double by 2050 in a high-case scenario, requiring annual investment of US dollar $130 to $160 billion, far above its annual investment over the past 5 years, every year around $60 billion. So public budget alone cannot meet this social scale of investment. Government support Will still remain critical for early-stage project preparation, regulatory infrastructure, and risk allocation. But large-scale development of nuclear power will depend on attracting private capital. Nuclear projects require substantial upfront capital and long investment horizon, and their bankability depends on reducing construction, policy, and regulatory risk while establishing predictable revenue frameworks. Collaboration between IEA and the financial institutions can help strengthen early-stage planning, regulatory capacity building, safety and safeguard system, and by developing financing structure that align risk-return profile across different investors' group. By combining the IAEA technical expertise with the financial capabilities of multilateral development bank and private finance institutions, country can reduce uncertainty Improve project governance and design financing model that make complex long-term clean energy project attractive to the capital market. Thank you very much.

Thank you, Didi Jiliu Hua, for sharing your thoughts from the agency's perspective regarding how to finance these high-intensive upfront cost of nuclear project. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. So let me turn to Dimitri, and because you just made a very good opening remark, maybe add additional points regarding this question.

So look, there's no doubt that we require massive amounts of capital, and capital for nuclear energy, especially in the developing world at the moment, is very scarce. But having said that, and from what we have seen from talking to financial institutions around the world, What they see also is that nuclear energy is a great opportunity to deploy big amounts of capital. And at the end of the day, what bankers like to do is lend money. They want to lend money in projects that are going to make a difference, and they like also to be able to lend long-term money. And nuclear energy has these characteristics. It's very capital-intensive, but once it's up and running, it's running there for many, many decades. And nuclear energy is what has been powering most of the big cities in— here in the United States. I mean, New York for decades and decades has been run by essentially one power plant which is not very far from here, and this is the whole of New York. So these are good investments and they're attractive for bankers, but what they want to be sure about is that risks are managed properly.

Yes.

And that means that they really want to feel that the operation can be done safely, that the plants are constructed up to standards, and that is where I think our work with the International Atomic Energy Agency and their expertise in going through the process of making sure that the institutions and the oversight of operating nuclear energy is in place. They— a lot of the bankers are concerned about liabilities, what happens if there's an accident, and the real answer is we must not have an accident. In the past, whenever nuclear energy power plants malfunctioned, that really has set back the industry. So the approach is the right one, that we should not have an accident. A lot of learning has taken place so far. I think we know and we understand a lot of what needs to be in place. And the more people feel confident that the mechanisms are in place, both institutionally and technologically, to make sure that operations are safely done, the easier it will be for capital to flow in the sector.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Dimitri, for sharing your thoughts. I think you mentioned one important thing, that is a good acknowledgement of the nuclear as a good asset for long-term investment. From the bank perspective, but you also mentioned that some issues which need to be addressed properly and timely by the different stakeholders to make sure nuclear can be run in a safe and secure and sustainable manner. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Let me turn to Ms. Waller and from your perspective, how you see about this question?

Thank you, Wei, and thank you to the distinguished panel for having me here today. Let me start by saying that at the Rockefeller Foundation, we believe that energy is the single most important driver of development. And we know, as my colleagues shared, that energy, the need for power, will continue to grow, with 80% of projected demand expected to come from low- and middle-income countries. Between now and 2030. We also believe that energy is most impactful when it's paired with economic growth planning and industrial planning. And so that's where we see an enormous opportunity for nuclear. And our own analysis, looking across a range of countries, found that nuclear, including SMRs, can actually cut total system costs when you think about how much you have to overbuild with, with when you're moving towards a clean energy mix. And so with this in mind, you know, I wanna come back to the question about financing. When we talk about $130 to $160 billion investment needed in nuclear, we have to think about what philanthropy can actually add meaningfully. As a philanthropy, the Rockefeller Foundation disburses about $300 million annually.

Wow.

Nothing compared to my colleagues at the Asian Development Bank or the World Bank. And so our dollars are really about being catalytic. How can we de-risk the investment stack to crowd in more private capital? Can we take a first-loss position that will bring others in? Can we deploy grant funding to help a country move forward on its preparedness journey or build its pipeline so that you have a really solid pipeline to look at? And so for philanthropy, it's much more about how do we use small dollars to have bigger impact, especially when we're looking at the costs associated with nuclear energy.

Thank you. Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts from this philanthropic point of view, because you mentioned that this is also a very important topic. sometimes missing in the discussion when we talk about the cost of the technologies. You mentioned about the system cost, which is also the additional attribute nuclear energy can contribute to this overall energy system. So this is a very important aspect we need to address, to mention. And also you talk about how the philanthropy can help using small money to actually leverage other resources to collectively support the nuclear project. I thank you for sharing your thoughts. So let me turn to Mr. Tomiwa, the MDB, for sharing your thoughts.

Thank you, Wei. First off, thank you very much from the Asian Development Bank for having us at this event. I think in my 26 years working in MDB, this is the first time where I've seen upfront strong collaboration between IEA, the World Bank, and ADB, and philanthropy coming in together to do this. This is a big job, and it's going to require all of us to work together in the same direction. And it's really nice to see that the MOUs that we've signed and the first work that we're doing together has been very collaborative. We have here the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Philippines, and I think the example of what's going on in the Philippines with the Philippine request for assistance, and our collaboration together has been a very good start for our region. I agree with everything that's been said, and I want to second that, but I just also wanted to highlight maybe one or two additional things. I think when we talk about nuclear, we need to talk about the context in which nuclear is going to happen. You know, I think when we're talking about— it's not by itself. I think there are a few things that we continue to need to do to strengthen the countries as we look at nuclear. Number one, I think, is the system itself, the power systems itself in each country. When you're putting in nuclear, you need a stable grid, you need a strong grid. So I think the investments that need to be made there continue to be made, and we need to still continue to strengthen the grid. The second thing that we need to do, and we've been talking about, is the policies and regulations, and that's very important because, you know, that's one of the big risks in the system. If you don't have strong policies, if you don't have strong regulations, the financial institutions are not going to provide the financing required. I think the third part of that that is important is the technology— the capacity— capability of the utilities in the countries. I think in a lot of the developing part of Asia and the Pacific, the utilities are not financially viable, so the off-taker risk becomes a problem for financing. As you can see, these are just 3, perhaps, of maybe 6 or 7 issues we can bring out that continue to need work, and the groundwork for nuclear needs to be continued, and so we will continue to do that. And now that we're partnering together, I hope that this will bring us together in this work together, whether it's utility reform, whether it's strengthening the capacity of utilities, strengthening the grid, investments in the grid so it's ready for nuclear. I think that continues to be something we're going to focus on. So I think going forward, as we make investments, yes, the first investments we need to make as organizations is investments in knowledge. Investments in policies and regulations so that they're ready for that. In the meantime, I think when we talk about ASMR, it's still going to take a few years for ASMR technology to come online. I think there are 3 or 4 that are working right now. And as these become online, and they will come online and become financially viable 3, 5, 7 years from now, which is great, because then we have time to do all this capacity building, all this knowledge work that's done. And then the financing and building comes out in maybe the next, you know, 7, 8, 9 years. But it's a long time. We know that nuclear takes a long time, takes a lot of effort, and I'm glad to see that we're all really collaborating closely to do this.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Samuel, for sharing your thoughts. I think you touched upon 3 very important aspects. One is robust power grid, and also strong regulatory system and policy, and also capability of utility, which is also emphasized by agencies through this milestone approach. So, thank you for sharing your thoughts. Let me— since you mentioned about the Philippines, let me turn to our only one country representative here, Mr. Gracio. Please share your perspective on this from the country's standpoint.

Thank you very much, Wei. DDG Liu and dear distinguished panelists and dear colleagues, good afternoon. Allow me at the outset just to say that the Philippines is very proud to be a participant at this timely and important side event. It's great to see this multisectoral partnership here at the panel really on such a key issue as nuclear energy. And just to briefly maybe share some perspectives and answer the question addressed to us, To bridge the clean energy financing gap that is so prevalent in developing countries, the Philippines thinks that this synergy between technical agencies such as the IAEA and MDBs and financial institutions such as the World Bank Group and ADB and also philanthropy— Rockefeller Foundation with us— really provides this foundation of being a catalyst for strengthening market confidence. So we think that we can leverage such partnerships by using the IAEA's expertise on safety and infrastructural frameworks to validate project viability in developing countries, thereby providing the financial institutions with the technical certainty they require to deploy more capital. When international financial institutions are able to obtain these guarantees that a country is meeting the highest technical and global standards on nuclear safety and development, I think it can help lower the perceived sovereign and technological risks. And this endorsement then could effectively reduce the cost of capital, making complex long-term energy projects more attractive to private investment and private markets. And I think this combination reduces the technical, regulatory, and governance uncertainties that can often discourage more long-term investments and capital from going into developing countries, and I would say also helps create this enabling environment. As projects become more predictable, more investment-ready, the cost of capital hopefully will continue to decline, allowing public and private investors to work more closely together and participate in the energy development with more confidence.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr. Gracio, for sharing your thoughts. I think you touched upon this very important point, that is a synergy between the financial sector and also technical sector, which can really help to build the confidence for more investors to the project. So this is the issue our agency is always very proud of, and to work with MDB and others. try to build the confidence and reduce the cost of the nuclear finance. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Ladies and gentlemen, we still have some time to have a second round of questions, so let me start from Ms. Woollers. Given the current landscape and the financial gaps, how does Rockefeller see the role of philanthropy? Are there any areas we are philanthropy is uniquely suited to address key challenges?

Thank you for the question. And, you know, we commend the work of our colleagues working on countries with more advanced nuclear systems, maybe already plants in existence looking to scale nuclear. But our view is that energy technology should be deployed around the world regardless of a country's income level. And so our focus is very much on how do we help countries move up that ladder to be ready to receive investment from a World Bank or an Asian Development Bank or financial partners. And we know that nuclear takes years to prepare for. If we can look at the example of Taiwan having gone from being one of the world's poorest countries to generating over 52% of electricity from nuclear by 1985. So we know that there are examples of moving very quickly to incorporate nuclear into an energy mix. And so, just this year, we're very proud to have launched, together with Temasek Trust, the Global Coalition on Nuclear Philanthropy, with the idea of advancing a nuclear deployment in order to reach global development goals. And our focus for that coalition is on 4 strategic areas where we think philanthropy can have a particular impact. One is on building the case. How do we help support getting the data out there around the opportunity for nuclear, build durable public support, help convince communities and key stakeholders that nuclear is a strong option? And then second, growing the field, building the capacity that my colleagues talked about in-country to be able to create the safeguards, the regulatory structure, the technical expertise needed I know that I am very much not a nuclear expert, but that that expertise is quite essential to this field moving forward. And so we see a role for ourselves in philanthropy in expanding that global talent and those institutions, working closely, of course, with the IAEA. And then thirdly, making it bankable. As I mentioned, the role of philanthropy to de-risk financing structures, use our dollars to attract more public and private capital. And finally, strengthening governance. So, building upon initiatives to strengthen safety, improve the governance frameworks. We're already in discussion with several countries who are on this pathway around how we can support strengthened governance. So, those are the ways that we have identified, but we're also early in our own learning journey here. And so, we really welcome conversations like these that help us understand where philanthropy can have a unique role.

Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts. As an agency, we're also very pleased to have a chance to work with philanthropy like Rockefeller Foundation to support the members' needs and to make sure nuclear can be financed, and when the condition is met, Obviously, there are many opportunities for us to explore, but we hope in the near term we will find some more tangible or concrete examples to work together. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Let me turn to Mr. Garcia. The Department of Energy of the Philippines recently introduced a landmark policy foundation for the country's first commercial operating nuclear power plant and granting it priority dispatch, long-term contracting options, and automatic status as energy project of national significance. So how will this aggressive de-risking mechanism combined with innovative financing model help the Philippines successfully attract private developers and clear steep upfront financial barriers of

Thank you very much, Wei, for the question.

Well, clearing up the steep initial financial barriers of our first commercially operated nuclear power plant, the Pioneer NPP, will require regulatory and commercial predictability. So our Department of Energy designed some policy Regulatory efficiency. Granting the Pioneer NPP automatic status as an energy project of national significance significantly streamlines permitting and minimizes bureaucratic delays, which are major drivers of often cost overruns in nuclear development. So combining these aggressive de-risking mechanisms with innovative financing models, the Philippine government demonstrates really strong institutional support for the project, and this comprehensive risk allocation helps transform a capital-intensive, first-of-a-kind project into a more secure and bankable asset for global developers and private capital. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Mr. Gracio mentioned about this A few points. Revenue guarantee, it is also very important for any investors, so it's fully understandable that a country should have a very clear policy to support this opportunity to make sure the confidence of the investor can be maintained. And also, the regulatory efficiency you touched upon is also very valuable because we talk about this On Taiwan budget for nuclear project, one of the issues actually is the licensing process, especially in the North America and the European region. So this issue actually has been also touched upon, heavily discussed among the agency member states, try to see how we can further improve that process, the NICE, the Nuclear harmonization initiative, standardization initiative is actually targeting this issue. So thank you for sharing with our thought. So let me turn to Samuel from the regional NDB perspective. How can ADB link IAEA technical expertise with their own regional financing mechanism, ensuring a Thank you.

I think, as I mentioned earlier, the collaboration, I think, is the most important part for us. But I think I say this, and maybe this may be an unpopular thing for us to say, but I think we as institutions have a lot to learn also. All of us here, we're talking about doing this. We've never done it, really. So I think we have a lot to learn from each other. There are things that have been tried, perhaps in the developed world, like making standardization of regulations, standardization of safety. Those are so important in bringing down the cost of financing. But we've never tried doing them in the developing world. A delay in the licensing of 2, 3 years can kill financing for a project. So I think there's a lot for us to learn. I think we shouldn't be too proud to say that we have to do that, so that's our attitude. We have a lot of capacity building to do ourselves, and we want to share it with those of us at the table. It's very nice to see also that the developing countries that we're working with are themselves learning and themselves taking their the things that need to be done very, very seriously, and the steps that were just outlined here is very good to that. So I think that that's our view. We look forward to doing that. I also wanted to say to Cassidy, she said that the Rockefeller Foundation's $300 million is nothing compared to the World Bank and anything, but it's $300 million of grant money, which is a lot of grant money, which is what is really lacking in this space. So just to give you guys a shout out, we'd like some of that. Thank you.

Thank you very much, Samuel, for sharing your thoughts and reiterating the importance of this efficient regulatory system and framework. Also, you mentioned about this Rockefeller Foundation fund. Of course, a lot of developing countries are actually looking for some grant to start up their project. I think that is also very important, an indispensable part for all the financing package for countries to mobilize for their nuclear project. So let me turn to Dimitri. A persistent bottleneck in clean energy deployment, particularly for capital-intensive technology like nuclear, as SMR, in developing countries, is the high cost of capital. Given the World Bank's extensive toolkit— you mentioned already in your opening remark you have have quite a good toolkit. What specific innovative financial instruments, such as blending finance, guarantee, or local currency solution, do you see as the most effective for de-risking this investment and the crowding in private commercial capital?

Thank you very much, Wei. Clearly, for very capital-intensive energy technologies, the cost of capital is that matters. And I think what is additionally complex for nuclear energy is that there are uncertainties and risks which are perceived to be very high before the project is up and running. Now, once the project is operating and is generating, nuclear energy is almost 24/7. It has availability that goes well above 90%. It is steady. It is reliable. So the risks are significantly lower once you start operating. So what we see a key role for the World Bank, for our colleagues in the Asian Development Bank, is that we have to find ways to put up the capital and get projects to start operating. And once then they're operating, we believe that it is possible to actually refinance everything at a lower capital cost. Again, this is nothing new or nothing particular to nuclear technology. We deploy this kind of approaches, for instance, on hydropower, which in many ways is very similar because it takes a long time to build large hydropower, but once it's up and running, then the marginal cost is very low. And it's very secure and safe, and especially if you have the right environment where energy is dispatched, then the risks are significantly lower. So this is one of the approaches that we're taking, and we're looking in deploying this approach, bring operations, bring projects up and running, and once they're up and running, we refinance and we can deploy our capital. which can take more of the longer-term and the upfront risks on different projects. And this is one of the ways that we're thinking about it.

Thank you very much, Dimitri, for sharing this very unique approach, use of a water bank. Indeed, that is— refinancing is also one of the important tools used for the nuclear sector. So recently, there is a project in the UAE which actually successfully used this approach to reduce the cost of their financing. So thank you for sharing this, your insight on this point. So let me turn to Didi Ji Liu Hua. The IEA milestone approach has long been the gold standard for guiding countries through the 19 infrastructure issues required to safely deploy the nuclear energy. So as newcomer countries, face the capital-intensive upfront costs. How is the Agency evolving its analytical support and milestone framework to help governments build the bankability and financial strategy required by an international financial institution like the World Bank?

Thank you, Wei. Actually, before I answer your question, I would like to just give a few words. What's the Milestone Approach of IAEA. Actually, Milestone Approach covers 19 topics to cover the whole phase of the nuclear project from decision-making— before decision-making and after decision-making and putting to construction operation. So under this Milestone Approach, we have a phase, 3 phases. The first phase is the before decision-making by the government, and we help the member states to establish infrastructure, nuclear law, and help them to make some strategy plan. And second phase is the after decision-making by, you know, the politician, state leaders, how to select the site, how to use, establish and use their international safety regulations, how to prepare finance, everything. And the third phase is after construction and after operation, how to maintain the long-term environmental issues, safety operation, and avoid any radiological release to the environment, any accident or incident prevention, and also the this, all these issues. So the 19 topics cover the whole process and also the 19 topic is a step by step to teach, to help member states, especially newcomers to, from the very beginner to be neutral nuclear countries. We have a good example like UAE currently, you know, the few days ago, you know, the Bangladesh.

Yes.

Operated the first nuclear power in their country with our support. The milestone approach already embeds actually the foundation of bankability through the— our issue number 4. Number 4 is the finance and funding, and IAEA is working to strengthen this dimension through update guidance, analytic and capacity building. IAEA cooperates with the member states to establish an integrated working plan to provide member states detailed guidance on how government can prepare the finance, institutional, and regulatory conditions needed for successful nuclear energy program implementation and later project development. The milestone guidance helped to build a foundational understanding in member states, creating the base for informed decision-making related to the cost estimated, financing strategy, risk allocation, and engagement with both private sectors and the financiers and international financial institutions. Several other milestone approaches, you know, is also institution infrastructure issues are also related consideration and the requirement of the international financial institutions. The World Bank and other regional development banks rely on environmental and the social safeguards, transparency, governments governance criteria. The IAEA established infrastructure issues related to environmental protection, nuclear safety, radiation safety, regulatory framework, and stakeholder engagement. These issues help member states establish the compliance basis needed for the international financial institutions to assess nuclear energy project in line with their policies. So that's, you know, it's a kind of step by step to help countries from newcomer to the nuclear countries. Beyond the milestone of guidance itself, the agency is continuously involved in analytical support to help governments develop critical credible financing strategy and strengthen the bankability of nuclear energy project. And also, IAEA provided human resources capacity building and peer review based on our integrated working plan. And also, we can help multilateral development institutions to more more understanding what's the current progress and what's the finance capabilities and their safety issues of the member states. So IAEA is ready to support member states and also cooperate with our partners of Multilateral Development Bank and the Philadelphia Foundations together to support our member states to reach their prosperous and development. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you very much, DG Liu, for sharing the key aspect of the milestone approach and emphasize the agency's various service to meet the member state demand, including the how to finance, how to fund the project, and also other infrastructure-related aspects. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. So, ladies and gentlemen, we actually conclude 2 rounds of discussion, and we now have some time remaining for questions and answers. I see a light already on one. So now I open the floor for the audience. Please raise your hands and recognize— be recognized and also identify yourself before you raise the question to the panelists. Please.

My name is Jonathan Granoff. I'm the President of the Global Security Institute, and I first want to commend the IAEA for its clear, unambiguous principle that civilian facilities, nuclear facilities should never be subject to attack. And that is embodied in Protocol 1 of the Geneva Convention prohibiting attacking civilian facilities of this nature. But the 2 most powerful countries in the world today, with 96% of the world's nuclear arsenals and substantial nuclear energy plants, have not ratified that protocol. And there's great evidence that they haven't— both of them have attacked nuclear facilities recently.

Are you—

as nuclear energy spreads and nuclear facilities are spread, the danger of these facilities being attacked in conflict, in domestic conflicts, terrorist conflicts, interstate conflicts, will increase. Will you be using— well, somehow I used to practice law and I discovered that finance often has tremendous Will you be using this drive for financing and increasing nuclear facilities to also push those countries that have not ratified the protocol prohibiting attacking nuclear facilities to join the Geneva Convention?

Thank you very much for the question. Any panelists wish to address this one? I'm not sure this topic directly linked to this concept, but I understand you build up this linkage between the finance motivation and also encouragement— encouraging the 2 countries for—

Financial responsible stewardship of protecting nuclear facilities and prohibiting them from being attacked, which to its To its credit, the IAEA publicly strongly takes that position, and I'm suggesting that if you're going to be using finance to develop, you also have a responsibility to promote that position that you've publicly taken to the benefit of all of us. But if you neglect it, then the position is hollow.

Yes, please.

Thank you very much for your Sharp questions. You know, this meeting, of course, we focus on finance, but ensure the safety, security is also of the core function of IAEA. You can see, you know, the one that, you know, the war, you know, the— you know, in the Jabloro, IAEA have inspectors on site. To ensure, you know, the safe and the security of the nuclear power plant and also other nuclear facilities in this, you know, the conflict region. And also you can see, you know, the IAEA inspectors in some other countries for the safeguard, for the safety peer review assessment. And also IAEA established international safety standards, security standards to ensure, you know, the nuclear safety should put into the priority of the member states and also the priority of the whole world. These are our agencies, you know, the responsibility to send our inspectors, our team in the front, but also, you know, the nuclear law. You know, the IAEA has 181 member states. They sign, you know, the Non-Proliferation Protocol. They sign agreement, convention, you know, on nuclear safety. And all these international institutions, conventions also, you know, support and limit the member states to attack the nuclear facilities. That's, you know, it's an international common effort to ensure, you know, the safety. But from the safety design, from the siting, from design of the infrastructure and the containment, you know, we already consider, you know, like, you know, the aircraft attack to the nuclear reactors. Well, no accident, no radioactive release. That's already in the design. And also, we have a severe accident design. and planning, emergency planning, from engineering, from operational, to provide, you know, the quick response to any incidents or accident. So currently, you know, in the world, you know, we know it's not stable, it's conflict, but currently in the world, nuclear safety is ensured with the common efforts of the member states and also by the IAEA. I think I'm very confident that, you know, the nuclear safety can be ensured with our common efforts. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Liu, for responding to this question. Please allow me to also add some few points regarding your question. I think this protocol is not directly within the agency mandate, but the agency has done a lot to make sure we We address this issue through our member states' collective efforts. So through our General Conference resolution, we're actually calling for this not attack the nuclear civilian nuclear facility. And also agency, what happened in the Zaporizhzhia, you see agency even sent our staff stay there to make sure this position, to observe the situation there and also ensure that facility will not be attacked. directly. So you see, agency actually has taken a lot of action to address this issue, even this is not directly within the agency mandate, but just information for you. So any questions? Yeah, please, please identify yourself.

Good afternoon, my name is Gail Davis, and I am an an ECOSOC CSO with many organizations, as well as an NGO that's partnered with the UN called the Creators 2030. Based on what Jonathan has said here, I want to look at clean energy from a different point of view. When we talk about financing for clean energy, my concern is I teach AI globally, actually to some of the member states and their citizens. But what I'm increasingly concerned about are the data centers.

Okay.

That are being put into whether it's a wealthy neighborhood, a not so wealthy neighborhood, or rural areas from Africa to Asia, everywhere. Okay. We talk clean energy modernization, but we have to find a way to keep, number one, the cultural landscape of the country, and I'm talking about the rural areas that provide our food. Number two, we're looking at the fact of water consumption. Data centers take up a huge amount of water, okay? Number 3, just here in New York, we've got amoeba parasites right now that are flesh-eating here all the way to Kerala in India. We've got a parasite that's taking over our produce, and we have another parasite that's in our waterways, and then we have contaminated water coming from the Guggenheim Museum to everywhere, and that's just the cooling centers. Now, that brings us to the data centers, okay? Ensuring that our water is clean, that reaches the human body into someone's home, into our offices, even here to the UN, because we're close to the Guggenheim. So what are we going to do about that?

Mm-hmm.

How are we going to fund also the safeguards around the clean energy? Because if we don't fund those safeguards and we keep saying AI, AI, AI, and they're taking jobs, then we come back again into that.

We're trying to be government.

My biggest concern is how do we fund that? What are your thoughts about that? And how do you think we should move forward on that? Because that is a big concern with clean energy, water consumption of data centers, jobs, and so forth. Thank you very much.

Thank you very much for your question. I think your question addressed mainly on the data center, but you are addressing— you also ask some clarification on the nuclear in terms of water consumption or something else, because I try to understand your question, then I can direct to the panelists to respond.

Okay. So—

Please, because in the interest of time, please Precise your question.

So my precise question is, what do we do about contamination of water that is coming from data centers and cooling towers and things like that for clean energy? Okay. And then number 2, if we look at the nuclear side, that can also cause contaminated water as well. That can also cause other issues as well. So I guess it's a 2-part question. I hope that made it clear. Thank you.

Thank you very much. I think If you're talking about nuclear, so I think so, probably the panelists can respond. But if we talk about AI, AI is not within this topic. We have some kind of synergy between AI data center and nuclear, but not— we are not really on the AI part. Maybe someone can respond. Yes, please.

Sure.

Thank you very much for your question. I think, you know, before I joined the IAEA, I was the Vice Minister of Environmental Protection and the National Nuclear Safety Administration in China. So I'm responsible both for safety and also environmental issues. Through our regulation, China regulation is fully adopting IAEA standards. So we say, you know, that IAEA Nuclear safety standards guide the member states to make extensive environmental impact assessment. Through the environmental impact assessment, we know the gaps. We know what's the engineering request. So the utility should provide environmental action based on their assessment and make all the engineering to prevent any release of the radioactivities to the environment. And also international standards give the very specific data criteria. What's the amount of the heat, the radioactivity, the contaminated water can be diluted and then released to the environment? to the environment. These are very, very, you know, strict international standards. So be sure that member states should fully align these international standards and the environment can be protected. And also government inspection, international peer review also support to enhance their capabilities.

Thank you. Thank you very much, Mr. Liu. And in a nutshell, I think the nuclear sector, comparing to other industry sectors, is the most regulated sector. Just give you some reflection on this. Ladies and gentlemen, because of the time, we cannot continue our conversation. We have just listened to the excellent panelists for sharing with us profound observation and insight on addressing the financing gap, and their contribution was so comprehensive and in-depth, a full summary of this dialogue is a challenge for me. But I need to highlight some key messages from this discussion, that is the urgent collective action to address this bottleneck financing gap. It required urgent and coordinated scale-up action across all stakeholders, including the government, international organizations, MDB, and also private sector, including nonprofit. And the role of nuclear energy is gaining recognition in the indispensable role in energy security and universal access and greater stability and for more share of renewable and also decarbonization of other sectors. So emerging technologies such as SMR, significant potential, offer significant potential to accelerate clean energy transition. So nuclear energy's valuable contribution to SDG 7 and other SDGs should be and could be explicitly reflected in the future SDG 7 tracking report and SDG policy brief. So nuclear energy is bankable provided countries, whether expanding or embarking, establish the necessary enabling conditions and the sound infrastructure that you just highlighted. The IEA milestone approach is essential here as it builds institutional confidence and project de-risking required for investment. And innovative financing instruments— so financial capital-intensive nuclear projects require strategic blend of innovative instruments such as blended finance, credit guarantee, and local currency solution to mitigate the risk and attract the private investment. To secure this funding, international cooperation among the different stakeholders is imperative. So this leads to my last point, the strategic partnership. To ensure that innovative financing instruments are accessible and scalable, governments must articulate credible data-driven investment pathways to meet rigorous due diligence requirements of international financial institutions. The IEA Energy Planning Financial Assessment Tools provide quantitative foundation necessary to demonstrate both technical viability and long-term financial sustainability. By aligning national energy strategy with IFI priorities and leveraging international analytical expertise, countries can effectively transform the complex nuclear project into bankable opportunities. So the ongoing collaboration between IAEA, World Bank, and other IFIs exemplifies how such partnerships create a structured, scalable framework to direct capital towards energy security and sustainable development, particularly for the AODC countries, ensuring a truly inclusive global transition and leave no one behind. It's more than expected. Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached the end of this dynamic and insightful dialogue, which has clearly answered the High-Level Political Forum's call So while this event concludes, the conversation and our cooperation will continue. So before I conclude the session, please join me in a round of warm applause for this, our excellent panel. So meeting is adjourned.