 We do not act, temperatures will soar, seas will rise and the very existence of many small island developing states will be threatened. But existing commitments to reduce emissions fall far short of what is required. The president of the next United Nations Climate Conference spoke at this year's IAEA Scientific Forum on the role nuclear energy can play to help drive the transition to clean power. Nuclear currently accounts for a quarter of global emissions and as a source of constant low carbon power nuclear can play an important role. Mr Sharma was one of a range of prominent thinkers and policy makers who spoke at the event to discuss ways innovative forms of nuclear energy can help combat climate change. What is clear based on our work at UNEC is that we will not achieve our objective collectively if nuclear energy is excluded. 90% of electricity will need to be produced by low carbon sources by 2050 if the world is to meet its climate goals. The director of the International Energy Agency who is a keen advocate of renewables also argued that nuclear should be part of the clean energy mix. The scale of the challenge of addressing climate change is so big that we cannot afford to exclude any solution out of the table. And we believe at the IAEA I believe personally nuclear is definitely part of the solution. Breakthroughs in the use of atomic energy such as safer nuclear reactors, small and medium reactors and improved waste management were all covered in detail during the event. The resilience and flexibility of nuclear power was also discussed including as an option to back up intermittent renewable energy. In the face of the mountain pack of climate change the international community can no longer afford to ignore the nuclear sector's solid track record. The future is clear hybrid power systems that combine nuclear technology with renewable intermittent sources for power generation and industrial heating. Experts at the two-day scientific forum discussed the large number of countries currently embarking on or expanding nuclear power programs. Contrary to some narratives what we see is a steady grow in nuclear energy across the world. A few years ago to think about nuclear energy in the Gulf would have been considered a joke. Now it's what we are seeing. The scientific forum is a key event in the nuclear calendar and is held every year as part of the IAEA General Conference.