Sustainability and the Role of Thorium in Our Future Energy System

Abstract

How will 9 billion people live well within the limits of the planet? Demand for electricity will go up by 40% over the next 25 years and all of that is in the emerging economies. We are inevitably facing a carbon and pollution constrained world in 2050. Therefore, it is clear that when we look at the future energy mix, we need clean, safe, and scalable energy. Nuclear with thorium and renewable energy will play important roles in this mix. Competition, the fact that the markets will demand low carbon and pollution solutions, will play a major role in the climate agenda going forward. Indeed, the transformation to a sustainable world presents the biggest business opportunity the world has seen in its modern industry. The companies that see it, understand it, and invest in it will see enormous opportunities. The companies that don’t understand and don’t invest won’t be around in the future. No part of society can create a sustainable world on their own. Therefore, we need new partnerships between governments, business, civil society, and academia, where each part is delivering on their specific responsibilities and roles. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) was created for global business to have a neutral platform, which was not the individual company but a platform for like-minded that want to drive change in a certain direction. The nucleus for such a platform for thorium is the International Thorium Energy Organization (IThEO).