Rwanda and Senegal joined the global commitment to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050 at COP30 in Belém, Brazil. They have united with 31 other countries in endorsing the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy, which was launched two years ago at COP28.
International support for nuclear power as a key part of the equation to achieve net-zero emissions continues to grow, including in Africa, which now accounts for nearly 20 percent of countries endorsing the pledge to triple nuclear energy production.
A Nuclear Future for Africa
According to the World Bank, around 600 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity, representing nearly 83% of the world’s unelectrified population. This underscores the need to develop new sources of clean energy, including nuclear.
South Africa, as president of the G20, spotlighted this need by hosting the first ever high level G20 meeting on nuclear energy in October 2025. The event was co-organized with the IAEA, which also released the Outlook for Nuclear Energy in Africa as part of its collaboration with the South African G20 presidency.
According to current IAEA projections, in the high case scenario Africa’s nuclear generating capacity will triple from 2024 to 2030, and increase sixteen fold by 2050.
Tripling Global Nuclear Capacity
Tripling global nuclear capacity in Africa by 2050 calls for closer cooperation among governments, the nuclear power industry, financial institutions and energy consumers. Achieving this goal will require an enabling policy environment, robust supply chains, a skilled and diverse workforce, and greater regulatory and industrial harmonization and standardization.
The pledge made at COP28 encouraged the World Bank, regional development banks and international financial institutions to include nuclear energy in their lending policies, and highlighted the importance of secure supply chains to accelerate deployment of nuclear energy technology.
Since then, efforts to increase access to financing, including by the World Bank, and to streamline deployment continue to gain momentum.
The 33 States that have endorsed the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy include: Armenia, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, the Czech Republic, El Salvador, Finland, France, Ghana, Hungary, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, the Republic of Korea, Kosovo, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Poland, Romania, the Republic of Rwanda, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
In addition, over 140 companies in the nuclear industry, 16 major financial institutions and a growing number of energy-intensive enterprises support the goal.
