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© 2015 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development © 2015 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

The activities of the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) related to

public access to environmental information Pierre Bourdon

Legal Consultant, Office of Legal Counsel

4th meeting of the Task-Force on Access to Information Geneva

10-12-2015


• To assist its member countries in maintaining and further developing, through international co-operation, the scientific, technological and legal bases required for a safe, environmentally friendly and economical use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

• To provide authoritative assessments and to forge common understandings on key issues, as input to government decisions on nuclear energy policy, and to broader OECD policy analyses in areas such as energy and sustainable development.

The Strategic Plan of the Nuclear Energy Agency, 2011-2016

2

NEA Mission

© 2015 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

NEA Member Countries

The NEA's current membership consists of 31 countries in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region. Together they account for approximately 86% of the world's installed nuclear capacity.


Mandate (2011-2016):

1. Consider issues relating to interpretation and application of international nuclear liability instruments;

2. Promote harmonisation of national legislation in the nuclear liability and compensation field;

3. Encourage development of national legislation governing peaceful uses of nuclear energy based on internationally accepted principles;

4. Promote exchange of information and sharing of experience;

5. Advise on collecting, analysing and disseminating information on major nuclear law developments.

Nuclear Law Committee


** Environment & Public Participation **

1) OLC following questions related to public participation, access to information and transboundary EIA – Espoo Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context

– Aarhus Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters

– Related instruments in EU law

– National developments in NEA member countries

2) Working relationship with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe – Presentation by the Espoo Convention Secretary to the NLC in June 2015

– Background Note on the Application of the Espoo Convention to Nuclear Energy-related Activities

3) Current areas monitored by OLC

– Good practice recommendations to support the application of the Espoo Convention to nuclear energy-related activities

– The lifetime extension of nuclear power plants

– The restrictions to access to information under the Aarhus Convention













– The restrictions to access to information under the Aarhus Convention (national defence, public security, intellectual property, etc.)



Objectives:

• Provide support to improve communication of Nuclear Regulatory Organisations (NRO):

• share information, news, documents, data, views, ideas, and experiences in the field of public communication and stakeholder interaction

• review developments, progress, techniques, tools, procedures and achievements in the area of nuclear regulatory communication with the public and stakeholders

• provide assistance to CNRA members, through technical notes and workshops, by addressing specific issues and practices

• co-operate, internally and externally, with other organisations in regulatory public communication and stakeholder interaction matters, in line with NEA policy

Working Group on Public Communication of Nuclear Regulatory Organisations (WGPC)


Issues addressed from 2001-2013 Future program of work • Crisis communication • Transparency • Publicity of regulator’s decisions • Local meetings • Achievement and challenges • Building, measuring and improving public

confidence in the nuclear regulator • Public perception surveys of NROs

• Stakeholder involvement • Media interaction • Internal/employee communication • International Cooperation • Crisis communication • Public meetings • Strategic planning • Social media • Public education • Public opinion

Recent publications

• Nuclear Regulatory Organisations, the Internet and Social Media: The What, How and Why of their Use as Communication Tools, July 2014

• Nuclear Regulatory Organisations and Communication Strategies, June 2015



** Permanent activities**

1. Three pilot international workshops with stakeholders: - European stakeholders, ASN headquarters, Paris, 9 April 2014 - North-American stakeholders, NRC headquarters, Washington, 1 April 2015 - Asian stakeholders, NRA headquarters, Tokyo, 5 April 2016

REPUTATION AND TRUSTWORTHINESS NEEDS, CONSTRAINTS AND KNOWLEDGE BUILDING EXPECTATIONS AND CONCERNS SOURCES AND RELATIONS TRANSPARENCY AND EMOTION ASPECTS TRADITIONAL/SOCIAL MEDIA CONTRIBUTION TO PUBLIC INFORMATION PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT AND RISK CULTURE/TRANSLATING RISK

2. Fl@shnews system: A network to share information and experience in the field of public communication of nuclear regulatory organisations



Background: Set up in 2000, NEA member countries + European Commission Objectives: • Serves as a platform for regulators, implementers, policy-makers and civil society

representatives involved in Radioactive Waste Management (RWM) to learn to know each other and to work together. Latest publication: Fostering a Durable Relationship between a Waste Management

Facility and its Host Community, 2015. • To provide support to FSC members in: building durable confidence about waste management solutions through exchange

of experience and mutual learning; providing and gaining insight into processes for embedding waste management

programmes into a socio-political decision-making context; organising national workshops to foster interaction with a broader range of

stakeholders in the national context on topics of current concern.

RWMC Forum on Stakeholder Confidence (FSC)


FSC October 2014 Flyer: Stakeholder confidence and transparency in

radioactive waste management

• Since the FSC’s creation, it has identified the topic of transparency in the decision-making process as fundamental for building sustainable solutions for radioactive waste management.

• It recommends that transparency should be embedded in the three main elements that contribute to sustainable decision-making:

1. Process 2. Institutional framework 3. Behaviour

• In this 2014 flyer, the FSC recognised the importance of the Aarhus Convention and the Council of the EU Directive 2011/70/Euratom.

• In addition, it highlighted that the mandates of national waste management institutions typically include transparency provisions.

http://www.oecd-nea.org/rwm/fsc/docs/transparency-a4.pdf







Committee on Radiation Protection and Public Health (CRPPH)

** International Workshops **

• Has been holding workshops on stakeholder involvement in radiation protection decision-making since 1992: Villigen Workshops (1998, 2001, 2003) - Integrate radiation protection aspects into societal decisions

Chernobyl Work (1987-2006) - The radiation protection expert should be at the service of stakeholders

Science and Values Workshops (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012) - Decisions are informed by science, but are driven by social values


Committee on Radiation Protection and Public Health (CRPPH)

** Post-Fukushima Daiichi** • The NEA, and the CRPPH in particular, offered international assistance to the

Japanese government CRPPH organised 3 international workshops: - Emergency Management

- Decontamination and Stakeholder Involvement - Thyroid Cancer

CRPPH actively supported the 12 ICRP Stakeholder Dialogue Symposia (2011-2015)


• Will bring together expertise in managing stakeholder involvement in nuclear-related issues (waste, risks, safety, environmental impacts, etc.)

• Will address ways that public acceptance is built or undermined, including evaluation of the impacts of • Fukushima Daiichi accident • Environmental issues (pollution, climate change)

• September 2016 • Seeks to capture lessons learnt

regarding stakeholder involvement and its effects on nuclear projects

NDC: Experts Workshop on Stakeholder Involvement in Nuclear Projects


All NEA publications and institutional documentation

available at www.oecd-nea.org

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