Beautiful Nuclear

John Gibbons, climate journalist contributing to The Sunday Business Post and The Irish Times, and Kirsty Gogan talked to Eamon Dunphy about the outcomes of COP26. Kirsty is founder and managing partner of Terra Praxis, an advisor to Governments and NGOs on innovative ways to decarbonize, and chairs the UK Government’s Nuclear Innovation Research and Advisory Board (NIRAB) Cost Reduction Working Group. "The COP is half full rather than half empty because there was progress made. 1.5 [°C] is still on the table, but there's a heavy dose of realism that is needed here."

Thanks to a grant from Founders Pledge, Terra Praxis hosted a high-level, high-impact event in parallel with COP26 in Scotland on November 3, 2021: De-risking the Terawatt Transition at the Climate Action Solution Centre. Read this article on Grant II: Changing how we think and act about the challenge of committed emissions to learn why Founders Pledge decided to make this grant, what they expect from it, and how they will track impact and what it has achieved so far.

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In a side event at COP26 in Glasgow, a group of prominent energy and environmental NGOs, industry, and trade organizations discussed the role of advanced nuclear energy in a decarbonized world. The organizations included ClearPath, Third Way, Terra Praxis, Clean Air Task Force, Nuclear Innovation Alliance, U.S. Nuclear Industry Council, Ultra-Safe Nuclear Corporation, and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. Kirsty Gogan represented Terra Praxis. Watch the video.

Terra Praxis joins a broad, diverse group of 40 international organizations to encourage the delegates of COP26 to deliver more urgent action on climate change. We all have different missions and areas of focus but we are united in the belief that COP26 is a seminal moment and we have come together with a shared message to delegates – there is no time to waste, please work together for the future of humanity. The campaign has been collaboratively and collectively developed by the organizations involved, in conjunction with Quadrature Climate Foundation.

As part of the VISIONS 2100 Project, published at COP26 in Glasgow, this book tells of the power of Visions and invites the reader to create and share their own vision of a better world. Only by starting conversations of the future will we manage to build the world that we really want. These are stories from some of the world’s leading environmental thinkers and influencers. It includes those leading the process of making global agreements on climate change and those working on leading technology solutions. These are the people who are shaping your future world. Their visions tell what they want to see in the future. They are passionate about achieving the world of their vision. Kirsty Gogan and Eric Ingersoll of Terra Praxis were among these leading environmental thinkers who contributed to Stories from 2030. Kirsty Gogan of Terra Praxis along with other contributors to 'Stories from 2030' joined the launch event at the Asia House in London.

Mohamed Nasheed, former prime minister of the Maldives who now leads a group of countries called the Climate Vulnerable Forum, singled out the G20’s failure to be more ambitious about phasing out coal. “This is a welcome start,” Mr. Nasheed said in an emailed statement, “But it won’t stop the climate from heating more than 1.5 degrees and devastating large parts of the world, including the Maldives. G20 countries need to look at decommissioning coal plants at home and repowering their coal fleet infrastructure with clean energy.” (Note former Prime Minister Nasheed participated in Terra Praxis' full-day event on De-risking the Terawatt Transition at COP26.)

Mohamed Nasheed, a former president of the Maldives who once held an underwater cabinet meeting to highlight the threat to the Indian Ocean nation, said the coal commitments were not nearly enough. "This is a welcome start. But it won’t stop the climate from heating more than 1.5°C and devastating large parts of the world," he said, "G20 countries need to look at decommissioning coal plants at home and repowering their coal fleet infrastructure with clean energy." (Note former Prime Minister Nasheed participated in Terra Praxis' full-day event on De-risking the Terawatt Transition at COP26.)

Glasgow — “This is a welcome start. But it won’t stop the climate from heating more than 1.5 degrees and devastating large parts of the world, including the Maldives. And so, clearly, this isn't nearly enough. It is also becoming the case that even if you want to sell coal no one wants to buy it anymore. G20 countries need to look at decommissioning coal plants at home and repowering their coal fleet infrastructure with clean energy.” Former President Nasheed participated at the Terra Praxis Energy Day summit running in parallel to COP26. Watch video of each speaker and the entire Terra Praxis Energy Day summit event.

The Institution of Mechanical Engineers organized a two-day conference to highlight the central role of engineering in delivering a Net-Zero future. The conference focused on practical engineering solutions to achieve net-zero emissions and consider the wider implications for industry and society. Kirsty Gogan of Terra Praxis gave the keynote talk: Setting the scene – The role of science and engineering in the energy transition.

The SREI Foundation hosted "India Celebrates World Values Day" with a special session on "Reconnecting with Nature," which included an introduction by Dr Rahul Varma and talks by Dr H. P. Kanoria, Matthew Pye, Kirsty Gogan, and Satish Kumar. Kirsty Gogan of Terra Praxis spoke about how energy access is a feminist issue. This session also introduced Paul Palmarozza's book, Cultural Cycles & Climate Change.

Diverse, scalable and low-cost applications for nuclear technologies have for first time been fully represented across whole energy system. "To enable the deep decarbonization that is required to meet net zero, it is clear that we need to completely and utterly transform the totality of our energy system." "Our analysis shows how nuclear can help to minimize the overall physical footprint of the energy system and contribute to achieving net zero at least cost to society."

Leaders in the nuclear sector discussed how nuclear energy can contribute to reducing carbon emissions in the fight against climate change during a panel discussion on the side lines of the 12th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM12) hosted by Chile. They said technological breakthroughs and innovations can extend nuclear energy's contribution to climate action and accelerate strategies to cleaner energy. The discussion was moderated by Kirsty Gogan, co-founder of Terra Praxis.

This 12th Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM12) event was hosted by the NICE Future initiative, and moderated by Kirsty Gogan of Terra Praxis. View the video of this session with international leaders discussing how flexibility and integration can maximize the full potential of clean, reliable, and affordable power systems enabling the transition towards countries’ ambitious net zero goals. Note that at the 36th minute, Kirsty Gogan interviews current and former Director Generals Sama Bilbao y León, Grossi, and Magwood and then she has a conversation with Fatih Birol.

Watch Kirsty Gogan of Terra Praxis in this important discussion. In the year the UK hosts COP26, the Prime Minister has made delivering a Green Industrial Revolution a key priority for the Government. Meeting the Net Zero target by 2050 will largely depend on how quickly the energy system can be decarbonized. A greater share of electricity generation will need to come from zero-emission sources, such as nuclear and renewables. But other trends — such as the electrification of transport and heating — will mean more electricity overall will need to be generated. This discussion explores how Britain can ensure that it has the infrastructure and policies in place to meet these challenges.

Kirsty Gogan was invited to moderate a discussion centred on the social, environmental, and global partnerships aspects of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the launch of Atoms for Humanity - Why Humanity Needs Nuclear produced by Rosatom.