Seminar on NDB’s Support to Nuclear Power and Nuclear Medicine
Synopsis
Recent policy re-evaluation of the world’s leading Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) demonstrates a fundamental realignment in their approach to energy, climate and development finance. For decades, nuclear energy was excluded from the portfolio of MDBs. This exclusion is now ending driven by a convergence of pressure from climate change, geopolitics and innovation. As global momentum accelerates, nuclear energy is steadily reclaiming its place at the center of the clean energy transition – supported by shifting MDBs` policies, innovative financing structures and rising demand for reliable, low-carbon power.
At COP28 in Dubai in 2023, 25 countries adopted the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy, which recognizes the key role of nuclear energy in achieving global net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and calls on “shareholders of the World Bank, other IFIs, and MDBs to encourage the inclusion of nuclear energy in energy lending policies.” Currently, 38 countries are the signatories of this Declaration, including four NDB member countries – Brazil, China, South Africa and the UAE.
During the 2nd International Nuclear Energy Summit in Paris (10 March 2026) – 27 signatory countries including China, issued a dedicated Statement on nuclear energy financing, recognizing “the importance of mobilizing adequate, predictable and diversified financing for nuclear energy projects, including through a combination of public funding, international financial institutions, export credit agencies, private investors and innovative financial instruments as well as asset regulation frameworks” . The signatories explicitly welcomed recent initiatives by multilateral development banks to engage on nuclear energy-related capacity-building, highlighting concrete cooperation frameworks established between the IAEA and several MDBs, including the World Bank Group (signed June 2025), the Asian Development Bank, the European Investment Bank, the EBRD, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), and the OPEC Fund for International Development. Most of NDB members are building new NPPs or are planning such construction. NDB countries see nuclear technology as an essential part of their energy systems, capable to deliver a reliable 24/7 supply of electricity needed to cleanly and safely power their rapidly growing economies.
In autumn 2025, responding to these challenges and assessing emerging opportunities, NDB Board of Directors agreed with the Management proposal and approved the list of guiding principles of extending NDB’s support to nuclear projects, including potential actions to be undertaken by the Bank. In accordance with this decision, the Bank will focus on financing large and small modular reactors, extension for existing nuclear reactors and grid upgrades, nuclear waste treatment, nuclear medicine, etc. By offering an affordable long-term financing to the nuclear sector, the Bank will not only secure safe and environmentally sound way of meeting these goals, but will also support the global lead in nuclear technologies that NDB members possess.
Taking the advantage provided by the events of the 11th NDB Board of Governors Meeting, the Bank intends to initiate a discussion about the NDB’s role in supporting the development of nuclear power as an efficient, safe, and low-carbon tool for accelerating development. Within the framework of this dialogue, we invite the participants to exchange views on the following issues:
• What are the preferred financing instruments and project structuring solutions for nuclear related initiatives (views, lessons and ideas from beneficiaries and from the Bank); options and requirements for NDB national currency financing?
• What are the NDB potential advantages in the context of nuclear projects financing?
• How to ensure effective cooperation of the Bank with national authorities and national nuclear agencies in the best interests of member countries and their economic goals?
• What criteria should a member country meet to be eligible for nuclear power financing?
• Should the Bank`s role extend to the nuclear assets themselves or be limited to adjacent infrastructure, at least at the initial stage?
• How to ensure compliance of NDB financed nuclear projects with green criteria, such as:
– limitation of GHG emissions over the life cycle of nuclear power generation;
– safety of operations;
– sustainability of nuclear generation, zero nuclear fuel failures and usage of regenerated nuclear materials;
– effective management of radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel, including decommissioning of nuclear power plants?
• What mechanisms are needed to ensure that borrowers have a credible plan for nuclear waste management\decommissioning before any loan is approved?
• How could member countries help to enhance NDB internal professional expertise in nuclear area?
The seminar will also feature a discussion on the Bank’s potential role in expanding access to nuclear medicine across its member countries. This discussion will address the unique financial, regulatory, and infrastructural barriers to establishing nuclear medicine capabilities in NDB’s countries, with the goal of outlining the way toward actionable outcomes in this critical, yet often underinvested, area of health care. Key questions to consider during this section of the seminar could be as follows:
• What are the current unmet needs for diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine in NDB member countries, and how do these impact the countries’ health outcomes?
• Beyond the cost of cyclotrons and scanners, what are the member countries’ financing needs for the surrounding ecosystem (medical physics, radiopharmacy, training, regulatory bodies)?
• How can the Bank mitigate the specific risks of nuclear medicine, such as radiation safety, waste management, and nuclear security?
• How can NDB support member countries in strengthening the legal and regulatory frameworks required to meet IAEA safety standards?
• What partnerships (e.g., IAEA, WHO, professional societies, private industry) are needed to de-risk investments in nuclear medicine facilities, and to bundle technical assistance with financing?