World Bank changes course: Nuclear power for combating global poverty!

World Bank changes course: Nuclear power for combating global poverty!

Saporischschja, Ukraine - The World Bank has announced that it will resume its support for nuclear power plants (nuclear power plants) after these projects have not received any funding for ten years. This happens despite the fact that nuclear power can not be operated profitably worldwide according to the total cost calculation. One main goal of the World Bank remains to combat global poverty, but the decision to reactivate the funds for nuclear power projects raises questions, in particular with regard to the efficiency of the associated decarbonization measures that are insufficient.

The World Bank justifies this change of course with a doubling of prices for carbon dioxide (CO₂). However, revenue from the CO₂ certificates only partially flow into sensible decarbonization projects. Especially in conflict regions, such as in Ukraine or in Iran, nuclear power source is a significant source of danger. The example of the nuclear power plant in Saporischeschja, which is in the crisis area, illustrates the problem and the contradiction that nuclear power is considered peaceful despite decades.

global poverty and their challenges

global poverty continues to be a pressing challenge that has decreased in recent decades, but has increased through the Covid 19 pandemic and various conflicts. In 2024, an estimated almost 700 million people live in extreme poverty, and experts predict that 622 million people will still be affected in 2030. The world community has set itself the goal of eliminating extreme poverty by 2030, even if the economic recovery of many countries, especially in Middle East and North Africa, is slowed down by inflation and wars.

The poverty level, which was set at $ 2.15 a day in 2022, shows that numerous people suffer from extreme living conditions. Children who are disproportionately affected by absolute poverty are often affected, often without access to basic vital exercises such as safe drinking water, health and education.

carbon price design as a solution approach

In the fight against the climate crisis, pricing for carbon is becoming increasingly important. A price on carbon is intended to capture the external costs of emissions and can be implemented either by emissions trading systems (ETS) or by carbon taxes. Around 40 countries as well as numerous cities and states already use mechanisms for carbon price design, which together cover about half of the global emissions. These approaches promote innovations in the field of clean technologies and enable issuers to flexibly decide how to reduce or continue to damage their emissions.

The latest developments and the return of the World Bank to support nuclear power plant, however, raise the question of how well these priorities ultimately harmonize. In view of the challenges of global poverty and the need for an urgently required change to sustainable and safe energy sources, it remains to be seen how these strategies will affect future energy policy and well -being of people worldwide.