GMF President, Ms. Pia Almström, participated at the first government-industry conference Roadmaps to New Nuclear hosted by NEA and the Ministry of Energy Transition of France at the OECD Conference Centre in Paris, France, which was held on 28-29 September 2023. The conference convened senior officials and industry executives from NEA countries seeking to create the conditions for success to rebuild leadership in nuclear new build.

Ms. Almström was a panelist in the session “Public Engagement and Trust: Revisiting public engagement strategies for the expansion of nuclear power”.  As local elected representatives and therefore, civil society representatives, Ms. Almström highlighted the need for early engagement with areas potentially impacted by the construction of the nuclear power plant. This engagement, when delivered on a continual basis, can help to build trust and confidence which should never be taken for granted. For this, resources to develop an engagement process with the local community and to ensure that experts in different topics and on local issues are available at local level are crucial. In addition, resources are required to conduct interactions with stakeholder groups build trust and confidence in the safety of nuclear technology.

Energy ministers and heads of delegations of 20 countries issued a call to action and guiding principles in support of roadmaps for nuclear energy. The full text can be read here.