BAKU, Nov 13: US officials touted newly announced plans Wednesday to triple nuclear energy by 2050 as a bipartisan project that could survive Donald Trump's incoming administration.
The White House unveiled the big push Tuesday for new nuclear energy capacity, making good on a commitment made last year.
The move is likely to be one of the final pieces of ambitious energy transition policy that outgoing President Joe Biden can put in place before he departs early next year.
The reelection of Trump, who has questioned the reality of climate change and pledged to withdraw Washington from the landmark Paris agreement, has rattled the COP29 climate talks.
But US officials at the meeting in Baku have sought to reassure counterparts that Trump will not be able to halt American climate action.
And Biden's climate advisor Ali Zaidi on Wednesday suggested the nuclear plans in particular were an example of that.
"I would remind you that this is an area that has witnessed not only bipartisan support... but also an area where Democratic and Republican administrations have passed the baton, one to the other, to keep progress going," he said.
"These targets are bold, but they are also achievable."
The move comes with growing interest in nuclear energy in the US.
Two American energy companies are preparing to bring nuclear power stations back online, including Three Mile Island -- site of the worst commercial nuclear power accident in US history. —AFP
