On February 10, the U. S. Department of Energy issued a news release stating that the United States and Eight Countries had agreed to jointly pursue advanced fission reactors for the production of electricity. The statement said that the U. S., Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, South Africa, South Korea and the United Kingdom have agreed "to pursue Generation IV nuclear power systems as a potential next generation energy option for the future." It says, "Generation IV nuclear power systems represent economically competitive advanced nuclear reactor technology to be deployed in the next 20 years, when demand for electricity worldwide is expected to increase dramatically."

Under Secretary Ernest J. Moniz said, "As we face increasing electricity demand worldwide and increasing concern about atmospheric emissions, nucear energy may be an important option within a broad energy portfolio for industrialized and developing nations. I am encouraged by the consensus reached by these diverse nations to collectively consider and pursue next generation technologies that are more proliferation-resistant, safe and economical."

In the statement available on DOE's Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology website (http://www.ne.doe.gov/), the participating countries recognize the important role that nuclear energy serves in meeting today's and tomorrow's demand for electricity and contributing to a cleaner environment. The representative agreed to begin investigation of Generation IV nuclear power systems as an option for the long-term future. An expert group was chartered to develop specific recommendations on the future direction of multilateral cooperation.

The joint statement was issued following a workshop held in Crystal City, Virginia, on January 27-28, 2000, where government officials discussed the attributes of next generation nuclear reactor technology. In addition to the attending countries, observers at the conference included officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency, the U. S. Department of State, American Nuclear Society and DOE's Nuclear Energy Research Advisory Committee.

In his FY 2001 Budget request, President Clinton request Congress to provide $35 million, a 56% increase over FY 2000, for the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative, to "initiate an international program to promote foreign collaborative research focused on advanced technologies to improve the cost, safety, waste management and proliferation resistance of nuclear energy plants through cost-shared arrangements with participating countries. The program is part of a larger Nuclear Energy Program budget that would grow by 7% to $306 million,under the President's budget proposal.