assessing public information and participation in …€¦ · assessing public information and...
TRANSCRIPT
Zoriana Mishchuk, UNENGO “MAMA-86”
Assessing public information and
participation in the nuclear
sector of Ukraine in the context
of the ACN national roundtable
Luxembourg, 13.03.2013
The nuclear sector in Ukraine
VVER – 440
VVER – 1000
RBMK – 1000
Research reactors
RW storage facilities
Uranium mining and milling
Current challenges
Revised Energy Strategy until 2030
- provides for intensive nuclear power development – plus 5-7GW (well
beyond Ukraine’s technical and environmental capacity to sustain it)
- developed and revised without effective public participation and without a
state environmental expertize
Building new blocks of existing NPPs
- decision on construction of 2 blocks of Khmelnytsky NPP already taken (in
violation of the Aarhus and Espoo Conventions)
Plant life-time extension
- many NPP blocks are about to expire (12 out of 15 until 2020) – the
operator seeks their life extension ( South Ukrainian NPP – the most immediate)
-
Legislative base for public information
and participation in the nuclear sphere
Aarhus convention
Espoo convention
Law of Ukraine “On Information”
Law of Ukraine “On Access to Public Information”
Law of Ukraine “On Use of Nuclear Energy and Radiation Protection”
Law of Ukraine “On Environmental Protection”
Law of Ukraine on Taking Decisions on Placement, Designing and Construction of Nuclear Facilities and Radioactive Waste Management Facilities of the National-level Importance, etc.
BUT: still lacking legislation providing for the proper EIA and due participatory process in decision-making
National ACN Roundtable
2010 – First National ACN Roundtable, Kyiv
2012 – Regional ACN Roundtable, Kirovohrad
2013 – National ACN Roundtable “Towards Nuclear
and Radiation Safety through Multi-Stakeholder
Dialogue”, Kyiv
In-between – constant lobbying with the regulator to
enhance information provision and public participation
National ACN Roundtable
The National ACN Roundtable “Towards Nuclear and Radiation
Safety through Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue” (Kyiv, 21 February 2013)
o organized by UNENGO “MAMA-86”
o in partnership with the SNRIU and support of the Swiss Embassy in Ukraine
o under the aegis of the Parliamentary Committee for Environmental Policy, Use
of Natural Resources and Chernobyl Aftermath
o 85 participants – representatives of NGOs, SNRIU, Energoatom (operating
company), research institutes, media
o 5 international experts plus representatives the EU Delegation, embassies of
EU member-states, etc.
o Discussion both on the state of nuclear safety in Ukraine and the world and
public information and participation (both Aarhus and Espoo conventions
implementation)
Positive developments
Improved information provision
by the regulator:
- annual reports on the state
of nuclear and radiation
safety,
- regular provision of
information on the website
- FB page,
- telephone hotline,
- work with media, etc.
Positive developments
A consultative mechanism established on the national level -
SNRIU’s Public council:
- composed of major relevant NGO members
- meets on the regular basis (bimonthly or quarterly)
- regulator’s officials sit on every meeting
- jointly developed agenda
- reports on the topical issues of nuclear and radiation
safety by regulator or other agencies’ representatives
Good for obtaining information but unclear how opinions of
the Public council affect decision-making
Current Obstacles to ACN process
Ministry of Fuel and Energy, other authorities and operators
are closed to public dialogue
Public consultations do take place but mostly
- formally, without further taking into consideration of
the public opinion
- with arbitrary selection of participants
- without proper access to all the documentation
- at the late stage of decision-making
- public opinion is often manipulated or misused
The situation on the regional level is even worse than on the
central
“The Dialogue”: two extreme views
Operators&authorities
• NGOs are all ‘bought’
• NGOs are incompetent
and apriori against
everything in the
nuclear industry
• Public does not have
capacity to understand
information on nuclear
safety therefore
doesn’t need this
information
NGOs
• Operators and
authorities do everything
only for their profit, they
don’t care about nuclear
safety – anything they do
is dangerous
• Our aim is non-nuclear
future, therefore we
should not have a
dialogue with operators&
authorities - we should
fight with them
What is necessary
Improvement of legislation to ensure effective
Aarhus Convention implementation
External pressure (sticks & carrots)
Expertize development
Analytical basis (incl. on external good practices)
Reaching to other stakeholders (local authorities,
TUs, etc.)
Capacity-building for different stakeholders
Fostering the culture of dialogue
Our vision of the next stage
The national dialogue on public information and participation in the nuclear field is formalized and put on a sustainable track
Representatives of the stakeholders already motived by previous ACN roundtables (SNRIU, civil society organizations such as NECU, EPL and others, interested local government officials, operating organizations, specialized research institutions and others) form the ACN Taskforce
Suggested ACN Taskforce’ functions
Scrutiny of the Ukrainian legislation
Analysis of the EU legislation and good practices
Preparation of proposals to amend Ukrainian legislation or
develop new one to increase the nuclear industry’s
transparency, public information and participation
Monitoring of the Aarhus Convention implementation in
Ukraine’s nuclear field
Thematic stakeholder dialogues (roundtables) on topical
issues of nuclear safety
Contribution to the European ACN process
Liaison with European counterparts, the Aarhus Convention
Secretariat, etc.
MAMA-86 is committed to
Serve as a Secretariat of the Taskforce
Mobilize stakeholders to engage in the Taskforce formation
Popularize the European ACN process in Ukraine
Bring this issue to the attention of civil society in the Eastern
Partnership region (Belarus, Armenia are nuclear states, others
also affected) via EaP CSF
Thank you for your attention!
We are looking forward to new partnerships and further exchange of ideas
14 Chapayeva Str., Office 1
Kyiv 01030, Ukraine
+38 (044) 227-0257