nternational Atomic Energy Agency Annual Report 2024 – Key Points – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1181

International Atomic Energy Agency Annual Report 2024 – Key Points – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1181

Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1181 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here.

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Preamble

This blog post is based on the Annual Report 2024 of International Atomic Energy Agency, presented to UN General Assembly in October 2025. Link to report at the end.

IAEA 2024: From Peaceful Uses to Climate, Security and Development

The IAEA is often associated with nuclear safeguards and non-proliferation. But the Agency’s 2024 review shows its scope increasingly reaches into clean energy, climate mitigation, health, food security, technical cooperation and global development.

Here are the major take-aways:

Expanding Technical Cooperation & Development Impact

In 2024, the IAEA implemented over 450 new technical cooperation projects across 148 countries and territories. It signed 25 new Country Program Frameworks, reinforcing the Agency’s role in supporting development goals: health (cancer control via radiotherapy diagnostics), food security, water and environment, industry and knowledge management.

A prime example: the “Rays of Hope” initiative (joint with the World Health Organization and the International Agency for Research on Cancer) for cancer care missions. In 2024, nine imPACT review missions were carried out in nations seeking to improve cancer-control services.

For low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the IAEA is more than a “nuclear watchdog”; it is a technical partner. This breadth opens cross-sectoral value: energy + health + agriculture. For governments, aligning national development strategy with IAEA frameworks can unlock not just energy benefits but wider socioeconomic gains.

Nuclear Energy & Clean-Energy Transition

One of the standout themes of 2024 is nuclear energy’s growing alignment with climate and clean-energy ambitions. At a ministerial conference in 2024, member states jointly adopted a declaration recognizing nuclear science and technology as vital for tackling emerging challenges.

More concretely, the IAEA convened the first-ever Nuclear Energy Summit (Brussels, March 2024) jointly with the Belgian government, to elevate nuclear among global decarbonization tools.The first international conference on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and their Applications drew about 1,300 participants from ~100 countries, signaling serious global interest in modular nuclear capacity.

The Agency emphasizes the need for significantly larger investment in nuclear: one report argues annual global investment must rise to USD 125 billion (up from ~USD 50 billion today) if nuclear is to play the role needed in reaching 2050 climate goals.

Countries seeking energy security, lower emissions, or industrialization, especially those with large baseload needs (like Pakistan), should note nuclear is moving from niche to strategic. For investors and governments, the infrastructure, financing models, regulation, skills and supply-chain aspects of nuclear merit renewed attention.

Safety, Security and Verification – Safeguards Remain Core

Despite the expanded mandate, safeguards remain a foundational pillar of the IAEA’s work. In 2024. 

Safeguards were applied in 190 States with safeguards agreements in force.

The IAEA drew “broader conclusions” in 75 states (i.e., concluding that all nuclear material remained in peaceful activities) for the first time in some cases (e.g., Morocco).

The growing number of nuclear programs globally means the IAEA’s workload in verification, inspection and oversight is increasing, both in quantity and in complexity.

For countries operating or planning nuclear programs, compliance, transparency and regulatory frameworks are critical. For the sector, nuclear safety and nuclear security are non-negotiables; failure in these areas erode trust, finance, and deployment. The verification piece also underlines the geopolitical dimension: nuclear energy is not just technical; it sits in the intersection of diplomacy, security and development.

Regions of Crisis – Ukraine & Fukushima

The 2024 review highlights some of the IAEA’s high-profile operational interventions, showing the dual nature of nuclear: beneficial applications + risk management.

In Ukraine, the IAEA maintained a presence at all five nuclear sites; 82 Agency staff undertook 80 missions including to critical substations feeding nuclear power plants. Eight ad-hoc assistance missions were carried out.

In Japan, the IAEA confirmed that the ALPS-treated water discharged from the Fukushima facility (79 000 m³) had tritium concentrations far below operational limits and established an independent lab for measurement of radionuclides.

Nuclear risk is often region-specific, but its impact is global. The IAEA’s operational footprint in crisis zones shows the importance of resilient systems, international oversight, transparency and capability to respond. For countries like Pakistan with nuclear programs, this underscores the need for robust emergency preparedness, credible monitoring and public communication.

Gender and Human Capacity – Building the Future Workforce

In 2024, the IAEA held its “For More Women in Nuclear” event (International Women’s Day) with nearly 500 women from 100 countries, signaling a push to improve gender parity and human-resource depth in the nuclear field. As nuclear programs proliferate and new technologies (SMRs, fusion, advanced materials) emerge, the talent gap becomes more acute. Building home-grown capability, ensuring diversity and planning skills pipelines are vital parts of the long-term nuclear agenda.

Strategic Outlook & Emerging Initiatives

The IAEA is not just reporting what was done, it is showing what will come next. In 2025 and beyond the Agency plans:

Its first conference on the safety of nuclear sites in the face of climate change.

A conference on radiation protection in medicine.

A planned “SMR School” in early 2025 to support capacity-building in countries initiating SMR programs.

These forward-looking initiatives highlight where the IAEA sees pressure and opportunity: adaptation to climate change, medicine & health applications, modular nuclear deployment, and capacity building. For countries and organizations wanting to engage in the nuclear and peaceful-uses domain, aligning with these emerging vectors may unlock assistance, partnerships and funding.

Challenges & Risk Areas

The promising signals notwithstanding, there are several caveats:

Up-front cost and financing: Nuclear remains capital-intensive with long pay-back periods. For Pakistan, securing sustainable financing and managing fiscal risk remains a major barrier.

Public perception and regulatory trust: Nuclear accidents, safety anxiety, waste-management concerns persist globally. Without strong communication and transparent regulation, programs may face social push-back.

Skills and supply-chain readiness: Deploying SMRs or new reactors is not just about the reactor; it’s about a complete ecosystem: regulation, licensing, fuel supply, waste disposal, grid integration, safety culture. 

Operational risk in conflict or disaster zones: Pakistan’s geophysical vulnerabilities (earthquakes, floods), geopolitical tensions and climate-shock exposure mean nuclear sites may face elevated risk. The IAEA’s Ukraine example emphasizes this.

Sum Up

The IAEA’s 2024 review shows an Agency evolving in scope and ambition: supporting not just safe nuclear energy, but development, health, agriculture, climate, capacity building and global partnerships. For countries like Pakistan, this represents both opportunity and challenge.

The key message: nuclear science and technology continue to have a strategic place in the 21st-century development agenda, not just for power plants, but for agriculture, health and climate. The IAEA is positioning to support that broader agenda. Countries ready to engage strategically, invest wisely and partner effectively will be better placed to harness the benign power of the atom for peaceful, productive purposes.

Concluded.

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Reference:

https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/iaea-unveils-2024-annual-report