Stockholm (NordSIP) – According to news reports, the World Bank’s (WB) Board has sent its staff an email announcing it has reconsidered its 2017 decision to exclude investments in nuclear power. Instead, the WB will now invest in extending the life of existing nuclear reactors and invest in small modular reactors.
According to World Nuclear News, WB President Ajay Banga told staff in the email that “what’s new is that, for the first time in decades, the World Bank Group will begin to reenter the nuclear energy space”. The report notes that Banga also added that “Working in partnership with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other partners ‘we will support efforts to extend the life of existing reactors in countries that already have them, and help support grid upgrades and related infrastructure. We will also work to accelerate the potential of Small Modular Reactors – so they can become a viable option for more countries over time’”.
However, as of 2025, 33 countries have nuclear power plants in operation, with 439 reactors globally. The World Bank stopped investing in nuclear energy in 2017 as part of a broader shift away from controversial fossil fuels like oil and gas and in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima accident. There were also potential risks associated with nuclear power projects in developing countries due to the lack of in-house expertise. The WB reportedly stopped funding upstream oil and gas projects by 2019.
The present decision U-turn can be seen as the result of a number of parallel dynamics. In the email, Banga highlighted the need to expand energy production to satisfy the growing needs of developing countries. However, there is more to the decision.
On the one hand, the Russia-Ukraine conflict induced bouts of inflation have made the world more sensitive to energy prices. In the USA, the largest WB shareholder, the Trump Administration has also been advocating for ending the nuclear. At the same time, the continued climate crisis means that carbon-free energy sources remain popular. However, intermittency problems continue to plague solar and wind power, to the extent that wondered whether they may not have played a role in the recent blackouts witnessed in Spain and Portugal.
Finally, there seems to be increased hopes that small modular reactors (SMRs) may bring down the cost and construction time of nuclear reactors and bridge the gaps of renewable energy intermittency, even though the technology has not yet become mainstream. Nevertheless, both in terms of its classification and of official support, nuclear appears to continue to increase in popularity.
