PH in 'right moment' to revisit push for nuclear energy—IAEA

Manila Bulletin

The Philippines is at the “right moment” to begin pushing for nuclear energy use amid its aim to achieve energy security and reduce its reliance on fossil fuels like coal, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. (MB video by Raymund Antonio)  READ: https://mb.com.ph/2025/11/26/ph-in-right-moment-to-revisit-push-for-nuclear-energyiaea  Subscribe to the Manila Bulletin Online channel! - https://www.youtube.com/TheManilaBulletin  Visit our website at http://mb.com.ph Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manilabulletin Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/manilabulletin Instagram: https://instagram.com/manilabulletin Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@manilabulletin  #ManilaBulletinOnline #ManilaBulletin #LatestNews

Transcript

00:00I believe that what we sign today is extremely important.

00:07Nuclear projects, whether big or medium-sized or even small,

00:12require an initial capital investment which is significant.

00:19And one of the, if not obstacles, one of the problems that nuclear has had historically is the lack of access to finance.

00:38Because of a number of situations, some of them having to do with a bad image of nuclear energy,

00:49in a certain sense, the Brasilia work was referring to this in the past,

00:56some banks, international institutions, were reluctant.

01:03But with passage of time and the safety record of nuclear and the ability to demonstrate by the industry,

01:10you know, banks are conservative, of course, in what they finance.

01:15There has been an important change, which was initiated earlier this year,

01:22when I signed with the President of the World Bank a similar agreement.

01:28So when the World Bank sent this, you know how it happens in the economy in general,

01:34when there is a sign from the leading institutions, the leading financing institutions in the world,

01:43that there is no problem, basically, to put it in plain English.

01:48There is really no problem, no technical problem, no fundamental problem in financing.

01:55Of course, this will be the sovereign decision of the Philippines.

01:59But the IEA will be an indispensable partner in that.

02:04If you talk about conditions, yes, the conditions are there to do it.

02:10In terms of the IEA and the Board of Governors, I think, you know, the IEA within the, if you want,

02:19the galaxy of international organizations is one of the most important that exists

02:28because of the spectrum of its activity.

02:31We're talking here about recycling plastics, but with the IEA, you talk about cancer.

02:38You talk about nuclear weapons.

02:40You talk about non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.

02:42You talk about development of nuclear energy.

02:44You talk about technical cooperation.

02:46I mean, it's a very wide, a very strategic mission.

02:56And, of course, the Board of Governors is that.

02:59It's the governing body.

03:01It is clear that the Philippines is in a process of analyzing,

03:07evaluating the possible introduction of nuclear energy in the country.

03:12The IEA is, of course, the global platform for nuclear cooperation in the world.

03:18So it is natural that we have this conversation today, of course,

03:25at the level of the president to evaluate what steps the country is taking

03:30and how best to cooperate in this effort.

03:35So this is by way of an introduction.

03:37And, of course, I will be glad to address it.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended