Confidence gap or timid trust building? The role of trust in the evolution of the nuclear waste governance in Germany

Nucci, Maria Rosaria Di; Losada, Ana María Isidoro; Themann, Dörte

doi:10.1080/13669877.2021.1936605

Cited by 7 publications

References 30 publications

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Nuclear Waste Governance in Italy: Between Participation Rhetoric and Regionalism

Nucci

Prontera

2023

Energiepolitik Und Klimaschutz. Energy Policy and Climate Protection

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Italy has abandoned its nuclear power ambitions in the aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster and following the decision of the popular referendum held on 8 November 1987. However, nuclear waste from four permanently shut down nuclear plants, various research reactors, reprocessing and fuel fabrication facilities represents a pressing problem. The nuclear waste governance in Italy is characterised by a complex, intertwined relationship and interaction between the different political-territorial levels from the national, the regional to the local. Recently, after a long period of incoherent stop and go nuclear research and industrial policies, local opposition and a subsequent deadlock, the mandatory search for a national site has started taking shape. The national map of potentially suitable area released in 2021 was followed by a series of consultations to which several institutional and civil society actors participated. In January 2022, the public consultation was concluded and in March 2022 the proposed National Map of Suitable Areas (NACI) was submitted to the Ministry of Ecological Transition for approval. The final site search process should lead to the location of a site, which should initially house 78,000 cubic metres of intermediate and low-level waste as well as 17,000 cubic metres of HLW. The latter should be stored for a maximum of 50 years to be then placed in a deep geological repository about which nothing has been revealed at the moment. This challenges institutional actors, like the Ministry of Ecological Transition, the regulator and the operator to adopt inclusive and decentralised forms of decision making. The process is therefore expected to be slow and cumbersome and will require more democratic approaches to nuclear waste management.

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Nuclear Waste Governance in Italy: Between Participation Rhetoric and Regionalism

Nucci

Prontera

2023

Energiepolitik Und Klimaschutz. Energy Policy and Climate Protection

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The Long Road Towards the Soft Nuclear Repository State: Nuclear Waste Governance in Germany

Nucci¹,

Brunnengräber²

2023

Energiepolitik Und Klimaschutz. Energy Policy and Climate Protection

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The decision-making processes in the field of radioactive waste in the Federal Republic Germany have been dominated for long time by the decide-announce-defend (DAD) strategy. In response, the movement against nuclear power and the transport and storage of nuclear waste grew strong and continues to be a key political actor in the current siting process. Following the decision in 2011 to phase out nuclear power by 2022 and with a view to the failures of the past, an ambitious Site Selection Act (StandAG) was passed in 2013 and amended in 2017. This provided the frame for the establishment of new institutions and a far-reaching participation procedure. In this respect, the StandAG represents a key milestone for the new start of the site search for high-level waste (HLW) based on the principle of the blank map and has contributed to modify the nuclear waste governance system. In 2020, following the release of a preliminary report with an evaluation of regions with potentially suitable host rock formations for a geologic nuclear repository, the operator BGE designated around 90 potential areas. The search for a site that provides the greatest possible safety and security potential sites is being accompanied by a participative process involving various stakeholder groups. It was planned to find a suitable, accepted location by 2031. However, in November 2022 the operator BGE announced that the search for a site would last longer, possibly between 2046 and 2068. The process is thus confronted with significant challenges and Germany must work out a concept for a long-term temporary storage facility as in several European countries. This chapter analyses the long-term multi-level governance of HLW in Germany and the evolution of new institutions with a focus on the domains: politics & administration, legislation, science & technology and civil society and the interaction between them.Procedural fairness and inclusiveness of the process remain important and necessary prerequisites for building public confidence and for the social acceptability of the political siting decisions. The chapter maintains that the legal framework and the StandAG leave many unresolved issues, but still permits extensive room for manoeuvre and represents an opportunity for new and expanded forms of participation to be pursued.

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Confirmation bias, information selection, and belief reinforcement about the safety/risk of nuclear spent fuel storage facilities

Lee,

Kim,

Choi

2024

Nuclear Engineering and Technology

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Confidence gap or timid trust building? The role of trust in the evolution of the nuclear waste governance in Germany

Cited by 7 publications

References 30 publications

Nuclear Waste Governance in Italy: Between Participation Rhetoric and Regionalism

Nuclear Waste Governance in Italy: Between Participation Rhetoric and Regionalism

The Long Road Towards the Soft Nuclear Repository State: Nuclear Waste Governance in Germany

Confirmation bias, information selection, and belief reinforcement about the safety/risk of nuclear spent fuel storage facilities

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