International Workshop PUBLIC AUTHORITIES AND CIVIL SOCIETY TOGETHER FOR A SAFE EUROPEAN NUCLEAR FUTURE

Kyiv (Ukraine), 22.09.2008

Speech by Ian Micallef, President of the Chamber of Local Authorities of the Congress

Opening Session

May I begin with my heartfelt thanks to the Ukrainian European Centre of Technological Safety in Ukraine and to the EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement for the organisation, with the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities, of this Workshop.

I had the honour of speaking at the Conference held in Slavutych in 2006 to mark the 20 year anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe.  That disastrous and tragic event, whose impacts are still being felt, not only put the issue of the safety of nuclear energy high on the agendas of national and international authorities, but it also broadened the range of the actors involved in this issue which had previously been a domain reserved for governments.

Indeed, it was to highlight the growing involvement of territorial authorities and civil society in these issues that the Congress launched the ‘Slavutych Appeal’ at the 2006 conference. This text is composed of five principles, all of which are relevant to our discussions today: the central role of governments; the crucial role of local and regional authorities; the value of neighbourhood solidarity; the importance of transparency and information; and the need to involve and consult citizens.

I hope our discussions today will enable us to see that progress has been made on the recommendations of the Appeal.

Chernobyl made clear the extent of the challenge. It was a tragedy which served as a wake-up call for all concerned at international, national and local level as well as for nuclear operators and civil society as a whole. Since then attempts have been made to improve hazard management, enhance emergency preparedness and promote transparency.  New forms of international cooperation and exchange have been put in place and this meeting provides just one example of this most welcome trend.

Finding ways of reinforcing nuclear safety is all the more urgent as nuclear power is back on the political agenda with some countries considering building new reactors. There are several reasons for this; countries are increasingly concerned by rising fuel costs, by diminishing oil supplies, by a dangerous increase in carbon-dioxide emissions, by fears about energy security and by the search for energy independence.

We are all deeply concerned about how energy will be produced and used in the future. We need to make sure that our citizens’ voices are heard on this fundamental issue. The best way to do that is to make sure that they have access to reliable and impartial information and data on all the options before us including nuclear, renewables and fossil fuels.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The controversy and emotion induced by the nuclear question poses a conundrum for politicians; we want to see our citizens fully informed and we want to see them participating in policies to protect and manage their environment. But nuclear power involves highly complicated technology beyond the reach of non-specialists.  Added to this is the invisibility of radiation: without information citizens cannot know if they are at risk.

For these reasons, everyone involved in the nuclear industry - international organisations, national governments, watchdogs, nuclear operators and plant managers - have an obligation to provide honest and comprehensive information to the local communities, to neighbouring populations and to the international community.  And this both as a matter of routine and in times of crisis. 

We know that ultimate responsibly for nuclear power justly lies with central governments; the complexity and hazardousness of the processes mean that national governments’ paramount responsibilities cannot be delegated. But nuclear accidents; radiation leaks; transportation and disposal of radioactive waste take place, one could say, at local level.

And the solutions too are implemented at local level. I am convinced that, regarding nuclear safety matters, local and regional authorities have a decisive and central role to play in protecting and raising awareness in communities and in involving citizens in emergency preparedness.

We are here today to reinforce nuclear safety. This year Europe has seen several nuclear incidents: in France, Spain, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. And we are a long way from transparency and integrated responses.

For example, following irradiation at the Tricastin nuclear plant in France and uranium leaks from a nearby treatment centre, the French nuclear safety authorities criticised the operators for not adequately informing local authorities and for unsatisfactory measures and operational procedures. The leak rated at level one on the seven-stage scale of nuclear incidents.

Even more worryingly, the French Environment Minister informed the public that there were 86 level-one nuclear incidents in France in 2007 and 114 in 2006. 

We must ensure that safety is our main concern. Our priority must be to protect individuals, society and the environment. We must tread cautiously and make decisions that are rational, consistent with available scientific information and mindful of society’s needs and values.

We should be thinking about how the precautionary principle might relate to nuclear power. This principle calls for ethical criteria to guide scientific and technical choices. It suggests that if an action or policy might cause severe or irreversible harm to the public or to the environment, in the absence of a scientific consensus that harm would not ensue, the burden of proof falls on those who would advocate taking the action.

The UNECE Aarhus Convention which we will be discussing this morning offers a framework for such reflection. Its objective is to ensure that future generations will be able to live in a healthy environment and it suggests that the best way to ensure this – as its full title suggests - is to guarantee access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters.

We also need to consider the ‘polluter pays principle’ which deems the polluter to be responsible for any harm they may cause to the environment.  This approach is coming of age; one year ago, the French courts recognised ecological prejudice in their ruling on the “Erika” off-shore oil spill. Such rulings lay the foundation for environmental responsibility. We need to explore how this notion could relate to the nuclear industry.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The nuclear question is a cross-border issue par excellence. Disasters know no frontiers and can affect many countries beyond the national boundaries of the accident area itself - as Chernobyl has shown us only too clearly. The international community needs to reinforce its cooperation; the prevention and management of such situations calls for shared responsibility and trans-frontier co-operation.

The Congress is convinced that networks offer the best way to exchange knowledge and experiences in disaster management in order to minimise the harmful effects. These networks are essential not only at international and national level, but also at local and regional level.

We need to develop a coherent and integrated approach to emergency planning which enables all the stakeholders to be able to respond to hazards in a rapid and well-coordinated manner. We see this conference as providing a valuable contribution to this approach..

It is with this in mind that the Congress welcomes the proposals to strengthen coordination and exchange of experiences as proposed in the draft conclusions and draft recommendation of this Workshop. I look forward to our discussions.