China, Brazil, Italy and Belgium Join Nuclear Tripling Pledge at Paris Summit as 38 Nations Now Back 2050 Target
The second Nuclear Energy Summit in Paris brought four new signatories to the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy, with the EU announcing a 200 million euro guarantee for advanced reactor investment.
Overview
The second Nuclear Energy Summit, hosted by France and the International Atomic Energy Agency in Paris on March 10, concluded with four additional countries — China, Brazil, Italy and Belgium — endorsing the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy by 2050. The coalition now stands at 38 nations, up from the original 25 that signed at COP28 in Dubai in December 2023.
Representatives from more than 60 countries attended the one-day summit, alongside leaders from international organizations, financial institutions and industry, according to the IAEA.
What We Know
New signatories and their significance. China’s endorsement is the most consequential addition. The country has added more nuclear capacity over the past 15 years than the rest of the world combined, operates the world’s first fourth-generation high-temperature gas-cooled reactor, and expects its Linglong One — the first onshore small modular pressurized water reactor — to connect to the grid in 2026. Brazil, which already draws roughly 90 percent of its electricity from clean sources, possesses large uranium reserves and its energy minister Alexandre Silveira proposed replacing fossil fuel plants in the Amazon with small modular reactors.
Belgium and Italy round out the new signatories, bringing the total to 34 countries listed in the joint declaration plus additional endorsements, for a coalition the IAEA describes as nearly 40 nations.
EU financial commitment. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a new strategy for small modular reactors, including efforts to align licensing rules across EU member states. The Commission will also create a 200 million euro guarantee to support private investment in advanced nuclear technologies. Von der Leyen described Europe’s reduction in nuclear capacity over the past three decades as a “strategic mistake”.
US ambition. The United States pledged to quadruple its own nuclear capacity by mid-century, going beyond the collective tripling target.
Global nuclear baseline. The summit convened against a backdrop of 413 operational reactors producing more than 377 gigawatts of electrical capacity across 31 countries, with 69 additional reactors under construction in 16 countries, according to IAEA figures. Nuclear currently supplies roughly 10 percent of global electricity and about 25 percent of low-carbon power.
The declaration’s scope. The joint statement goes beyond electricity generation, identifying roles for nuclear in industrial heating, AI data center power, hydrogen production, desalination and agriculture. It calls for deep geological disposal of spent fuel and commits signatories to independent national regulatory authorities compliant with IAEA safety standards.
What We Don’t Know
The declaration contains no binding financial commitments beyond the EU’s 200 million euro guarantee, and no country-specific construction timelines. How the tripling target — which would require adding roughly 750 gigawatts of new capacity — will be financed remains an open question. The World Bank and IAEA formalized a partnership at the summit to unlock financing, and new cooperation agreements were signed with the Asian Development Bank, but the scale of concessional lending available to nuclear newcomers has not been disclosed.
Whether the 38-nation coalition can maintain political cohesion also remains uncertain. Germany, which shut down its last three reactors in April 2023, did not sign the declaration. German environment minister Carsten Schneider argued at the summit that “clean, safe electricity from wind and solar energy is affordable” and “does not produce radioactive waste.”
Analysis
China’s endorsement transforms the tripling declaration from a largely Western initiative into a genuinely global commitment. With Bangladesh, Egypt and Turkey already building their first nuclear plants, and Rwanda exploring small modular reactors, the summit signals that nuclear expansion is increasingly being driven by emerging economies rather than the traditional nuclear powers that built the first generation of plants decades ago.
The practical challenge is pace. Tripling capacity by 2050 implies commissioning new reactors at a rate not seen since the 1970s and 1980s, when France and the United States built out most of their current fleets. Whether small modular reactors can compress construction timelines and reduce upfront capital costs enough to meet that schedule is the central question the declaration leaves unanswered.