An oil state's nuclear power gambit

The National, an Abu Dhabi–based English‑language daily newspaper, recently likened the domes erected at the United Arab Emirates' first nuclear reactor complex to "an industrialised version of a mosque." The US $30 billion Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, located on the coast some 300 kilometers west of Abu Dhabi, is a source of national pride as well as a strategic investment in energy diversification and climate action. At least one of the plant's four reactors is slated to start up this year. When fully completed, the plant, jointly owned by Emirates Nuclear Energy Corp. (ENEC) and Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), will produce more than 5 gigawatts of low-carbon power in a region best known for filling megatankers with oil and liquefied natural gas.