International Conference on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, Decommissioning, Environmental Protection and Remediation: Ensuring Safety and Enabling Sustainability

How Wales' world-leading Well-being of Future Generations Act will contribute to the sustainable re-use of nuclear sites

Not scheduled

20m

M-Building (IAEA Headquarters, Vienna)

ORAL Track 2 - Managing the interrelationships in policy, strategy, legislation, and regulation

Speaker

Robert Morgan (Welsh Government)

Description

The Welsh Government has a long-standing commitment to sustainable development and is the only country in the world to have legislated for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through its Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015. The Act establishes national well-being goals and a sustainable development principle, which puts long-term thinking at the heart of our work. This legislative framework provides a platform for discussions with public, private, and third sector partners so we can collectively work towards becoming a more resilient and sustainable country.

Wales has a strong history of successful nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste management, exemplified by the re-use of previous nuclear sites in Cardiff, and decommissioning and site remediation at nuclear power stations in Trawsfynydd and Wylfa. Wales is therefore uniquely able to build on its experience from these activities to ensure that ongoing work is carried out safely and sustainably.

This important work makes a strong contribution to sustainable development and the Welsh Government works closely with nuclear safety and environmental protection regulators who ensure that it is also carried out safely.

The paper will explore these themes and demonstrate the importance of good alignment between sustainable decision-making and safety of operations.