Climate
We are committed to taking meaningful action to address climate change in a manner that we expect to add long-term value for our stakeholders.
We integrate climate-related risks and opportunities into our governance, strategy, risk management, metrics, and target-setting processes in alignment with the Task Force on Climate-Related Disclosures (TCFD). Climate-related disclosures have been integrated throughout our Sustainability Report and other disclosure documents, such as our management’s discussion and analysis (MD&A), and annual information form (AIF).
For a summary of material risks to our business operations, revenue, or expenditures, please see our annual MD&A and AIF.
Governance
We believe that sound governance is the foundation for strong corporate performance in all areas of our business.
Within Cameco, our Board of Directors holds the highest level of oversight for our business strategy and strategic risks and opportunities, including climate-related risks and transition-related opportunities.
Risk Management
Our approach to managing risk involves a broad, systematic approach to identifying, assessing, reporting and managing the significant risks we face in our business and operations.
Our corporate risk register tracks enterprise-level risks, which are risks that have the potential to significantly affect our ability to achieve our corporate objectives or strategic plan. Once risks are identified and assessed, we develop a risk mitigation plan. Senior management is responsible for verifying that key risks, as well as emerging risks, are identified, managed to an acceptable level, and reported on regularly to the appropriate level within the organization.
Cameco is aware of the increasing risk that changing climate conditions can create for our operations and value chain. We have, currently and historically, identified and managed risks posed by acute physical climate events (e.g., wildfire and flooding) and chronic changes in climate patterns (e.g., temperature and precipitation), as well as risks posed by changes in regulations or policy. Some of the elements of our risk management processes that focus on climate-related risks are:
- Climate risk identification
- Risk assessment
- functional risks
- tactical risks
- strategic risks
- Monitoring and reporting
- Risk management
- Climate risk integration
- accountability
- physical risks as a part of our risk management program
- capital allocation
- carbon compliance costs
- integrating decarbonization projects into our budgets
Strategy
Cameco is a pure-play investment in the growing demand for nuclear energy, focused on taking advantage of the near-, medium-, and long-term growth occurring in our industry.
Through our own operations and through our investment in Westinghouse, we provide nuclear fuel and nuclear power products, services, and technologies across the fuel cycle that support the generation of carbon-free, reliable, and affordable energy.
Cameco’s business strategy is to capture full-cycle value by:
- remaining disciplined in our contracting activity;
- building a balanced portfolio in accordance with our contracting framework;
- profitably producing from our tier-one assets and aligning our production decisions in all segments of the fuel cycle with contracted demand and customer needs;
- being financially disciplined to allow us to execute our strategy, invest in new opportunities that are expected to add long-term value, and to self-manage risk; and
- exploring other emerging opportunities within the nuclear power value chain, which align with our commitment to manage our business responsibly and sustainably, contribute to decarbonization, and help to provide secure and affordable energy.
We expect our strategy will allow us to increase long-term value for our stakeholders, and we plan to execute it with an emphasis on safety, people, and the environment.
Evaluating resilience under different transition scenarios
There are multiple initiatives underway globally, including in Canada, which recognize the need to advance nuclear power as part of the transition to decarbonize the energy sector. We completed an initial qualitative transition scenario analysis in 2022, and we update this analysis annually to reflect changes to the scenarios. Our analyses use the annual World Energy Outlook developed by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Nuclear energy is put forward in all three evaluated transition scenarios as a growing source of supply for electricity.
Learn more about our work related to transition scenarios
Metrics and targets
Metrics and targets are important tools to measure and monitor progress. We are focused on better understanding the impact of climate-related risks and opportunities and reducing our GHG emissions.
Climate-related metrics
We have tracked and reported GHG emissions for more than two decades. Our performance on Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions is included in our 2024 Sustainability Report.
In 2024, we continued to work to better understand our total Scope 3 emissions, identify our most significant Scope 3 categories, and identify the companies in our value chain that make the largest contribution. In 2024, we refined our Scope 3 emissions and continued to engage with value chain partners to understand initiatives that may impact our emissions. In this report, we have published our first detailed Scope 3 inventory covering all 15 categories outlined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s Technical Guidance for Calculating Scope 3 Emissions and have had these emissions externally verified. Read more about this work and our Scope 3 emissions our 2024 Sustainability Report.
Climate-related targets
Net-zero ambition and 30 by 30
Our target to reduce our Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions by 30% by 2030, from 2015 levels, demonstrates our commitment to doing our part to help achieve the ambitions of the Paris Agreement. Although we are looking at options towards the achievement of our longer term net-zero ambition, we have not yet set a timeline for that ambition.
Physical risks
We have set a target to develop site-specific adaptation plans for each majority-owned and operationally controlled site by the end of 2026 that address potentially significant physical climate risks.