The International Atomic Energy Agency is this week hosting a meeting for countries considering developing their own nuclear power programmes as a way of helping mitigate the impact of climate change.

The four days of discussions and workshops are being attended by around 100 participants from 50 different member states, the IAEA said in a statement.

"Nuclear power is enjoying growing acceptance in many countries as a stable and clean source of energy that can help to mitigate the impact of climate change," the statement said.

Currently, nuclear energy produces slightly less than 14 percent of the world's electricity supplies.

As pressent, there are some 441 nuclear power plants up and running in 29 countries worldwide, with a further 60 under construction.

More than 60 more countries were currently considering introducing nuclear energy and the IAEA estimated that between 10 and 25 new countries were likely to bring their first reactors on line by 2030.

"I firmly believe that access to nuclear power should not be limited to the developed countries. It should also be available to developing countries," IAEA director general Yukiya Amano said in December at the Nuclear Power Forum in Manila.

The UN atomic watchdog was "well-placed to help. We now have projects on introducing nuclear power with 58 of our member states, 17 of whom are actively preparing nuclear power programmes," Amano said.

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