Zahra Asghari – International Relations Researcher

BRICS members realize the priority of participating in sustainable energy supply, developing clean energy sources for electricity generation as part of a just global energy transition, and taking into account the commitments of BRICS member countries with the goal of achieving zero carbon in electricity generation and other industrial sectors within the framework of the domestic laws and regulations of each BRICS member country; they agreed to form this platform by emphasizing the fundamental role of peaceful nuclear technologies in ensuring equal and non-discriminatory access to energy and technological governance.

Given that the BRICS member states are leaders in nuclear commitments, taking into account their commitments to the nuclear non-proliferation regime, as mentioned in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and especially in paragraph 1 of its Article 4, with the knowledge from the key role of companies based in BRICS countries in multiplying the capacity of nuclear power generation in the coming decades, they announced their intention to participate in this platform.

Based on the agreement in the meeting mentioned above, BRICS members are trying to create fair conditions for nuclear energy to be a central element in achieving clean energy supply and decarbonization goals. They also effectively contribute to a de-politicized and non-discriminatory partnership between developers and users of peaceful nuclear technologies. In addition, they will develop and implement best practices and advanced approaches for peaceful energy and non-nuclear energy technologies in BRICS and other markets.

Other goals of this group include exchanging experience, technology, and knowledge and promoting technical and engineering services to help countries that seek to improve their nuclear expertise. BRICS members should also explore different options and provide access to BRICS financial instruments to support nuclear energy projects. Members also support cooperation for implementing advanced reactor and nuclear fuel cycle projects and promote sustainable supply chains and technology development for the sustainable, safe, and reliable operation of nuclear power plants and research reactors.

Another goal of BRICS Nuclear is to share experiences in gaining public acceptance for nuclear energy projects and to effectively participate in research and marketing for BRICS member countries to apply them to non-energy applications, including in nuclear medicine, agriculture, plasma, quantum technologies, artificial intelligence, and other new technologies, and provide the basis for new partnerships for non-peaceful nuclear energy applications.

In the framework of this platform, public and private BRICS companies and other signatory institutions and organizations are encouraged to collaborate to align their initiatives with the global level of existing industries and international organizations. Also, the nuclear community will provide the background, common ideas, and proposals in the framework of international cooperation formats in a way that will shape the future trends of the nuclear industry.

Also, the BRICS government, public and private companies, and other signatory institutions and organizations request that other companies and institutions based in BRICS countries join this BRICS nuclear platform initiative.

It is worth noting that the agreements reached in the Moscow meeting mentioned above among the BRICS members are not legally binding and are not considered international agreements between the signatories or their respective countries.

It should be noted that the primary goal of nuclear BRICS is the development and implementation of the best practices and advanced approaches in terms of energy and non-energy applications of nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes in the BRICS and BRICS+ markets, as well as the development of incentive mechanisms and models and project implementation in the nuclear industry of member countries.

It is worth noting that by 2050, the BRICS countries will provide at least half of the world’s energy production and consumption, and nuclear energy will play an important role in meeting the growing demand for it.