PARIS: The decline of nuclear in the global energy mix poses a threat to economies and efforts to reduce carbon emissions, International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol said on Wednesday.

Safety concerns, soaring costs and technological setbacks have slowed nuclear projects since the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in Japan in March 2011.

At the same time, despite governments setting ambitious targets to cut green house gas emissions responsible for global warming, emissions hit a record high in 2018.

“This is a result of government failure,” Birol told an electricity conference in Paris.

“There is a growing disconnect between government targets and what is happening in real life, a very dangerous disconnect,” said the boss of the IEA, which advises industrialised countries on energy issues.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2019