Row awaits future IAEA chief

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) holds a vote on Thursday to try to pick a successor to director-general Mohamed ElBaradei, who will retire in November without realizing his vision of a safe nuclear fuel supply for all.

The issue will test his successor's diplomatic mettle but who that will be is also up in the air, with industrialized and developed nations at odds over the best candidate.

On the backburner for decades, the fuel bank has been given a strong boost U.S. President Barack Obama, and got further impetus from Iran's expanding enrichment program which the West suspects is aimed at yielding atom bombs. The IAEA forecasts that demand for nuclear energy, most visible so far in countries across the conflict-ridden Middle East, will almost double over the next generation as nations seek an alternative to high-polluting and finite fossil fuels.

But the uranium used in nuclear power plants can also be enriched to high levels to form the fissile core of atom bombs — something the West fears Iran could be pursuing but Tehran denies, saying its program is intended only for electricity.

“This is an issue which will increasingly demand the attention of the (IAEA) director-general — to manage the expansion of nuclear power in ways that provide for confidence,” said Mark Fitzpatrick, senior non-proliferation fellow at London's International Institute for Strategic Studies.

ElBaradei, backed by uranium producer Russia, has been trying to propel the plan forward but was blocked at a June IAEA board meeting by developing states, who fear it could limit their right to establishing their own atomic energy programs. Some 60 countries want to develop projects according to the IAEA.

Keen to build his legacy after 12 high-profile years at the agency helm, ElBaradei has promoted “multinationalizing” the fuel cycle through an IAEA-supervised bank which would provide low-enriched uranium from industrialized nations' stocks if recipients can show an impeccable non-proliferation record.

Countries would be able to tap the bank if their fuel supply is cut off for political reasons.

“There is a difficult line — who is this aimed at? With countries like Iran, how do you manage the criteria so you don't reward bad behavior but at the same time supply to countries you fear are engaging in that behavior?” an EU diplomat said.

“That's quite a delicate balance.”

India, which along with China is set to become one of the world's biggest users of atomic power, has led objections to the fuel bank solution, rejecting ElBaradei's request to flesh out the plan for approval in September.

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