Renowned experts advocate nuclear safety and clean energy for net-zero carbon emissions

11 March 2021

Top row (from left): Professor Alex Jen of CityU, President Way Kuo of CityU, Dean Min Lee of National Tsing Hua University.
Middle row (from left): President Chung Ming Kuan of National Taiwan University, Dr Bruce Cheng of Delta Electronics, Chancellor Lih-Jun Chen of University System of Taiwan.
Bottom row (from left): President Ferruccio Resta of Politecnico di Milano, Dr Lin-wen Hu of MIT, Professor George E. Apostolakis, Head of Nuclear Risk Research Centre, Japan; and Professor Emeritus of MIT

Thirty-eight world-leading scholars, industry leaders and policy-makers from around the world debated recent advances in low-carbon energy technology and nuclear safety in a specially convened online Forum on clean energy and nuclear safety on 10 March, titled “Clean Energy and nuclear safety – 10 years after Fukushima”. The Forum offered two streams, namely clean energy and nuclear safety, and approximately 2,500 participants from over 20 countries and territories participated.

This event was co-hosted by City University of Hong Kong (CityU), National Tsing Hua University, Seoul National University, and Tokyo Institute of Technology. Hong Kong Institute for Advanced Study (HKIAS) was one of the Organization Supporters.

President of CityU, a Member of the US National Academy of Engineering and a Senior Fellow of HKIAS, Professor Way Kuo, was the General Chair for the Forum. In the opening remarks, he introduced the idea of “Rainbow Energy”, which includes hydropower, fossil (coal, oil and natural gas), nuclear, wind, solar, biofuel, and others (geothermal, ocean energy and marsh gas).

According to President Kuo, upon reviewing the Fukushima crisis in March 2011, the ensuing discussions debated workable suggestions for tackling climate change, thus turning the possibility of a carbon-neutral world by 2050 into a reality.

The Forum also covered clean energy, including renewable energy generation, storage including new batteries and hydrogen fuel, and utilisation such as smart energy management systems and energy-saving applications.