Five nations of the G7 have reiterated their intention to work together to build resilient allied supply chains for nuclear fuel and reduce reliance on Russia.
The UK, US, Canada, Japan and France, known colloquially as the “Sapporo 5”, announced their intention to pursue at least $4.2 billion (£3.3bn) in total in government-led and private investment over the next three years, at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.
They recognise the global goal to triple nuclear energy generation by 2050 and particularly the need for resilient supply chains, including fuel, to deliver safe and secure nuclear technologies as set out in the Net Zero Nuclear declaration.
The five countries intend to promote public-private investment in enriched uranium production capacity free from Russian material, resolve to establish a resilient uranium supply market free from Russian influence and work towards enabling government or private-led financial investment and advance efforts to secure reliable nuclear fuel suppliers.
They said in a statement: “Canada, France, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States share common visions of democracy as well as safe and secure global economic and energy systems. Russia’s unprovoked and unjustifiable war against Ukraine and the increasing impacts of climate change have fundamentally altered the global energy landscape and accelerated the need for collaboration between like-minded allies.
“This multilateral cooperation would enable us to strengthen our domestic sectors and establish a level playing field to compete more effectively against predatory suppliers.”
The latest announcement builds on the initial pledge announced in April 2023 in the margins of the G7 in Japan.
