This week I am in Vienna working at the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency acting as Chief Rapporteur for the above international conference. With participants from around the world sharing experience and best-practice approaches in the management of radioactive waste this conference is timely indeed, coinciding as it does with the gathering of world-leaders at the CoP26 in Glasgow.

Finland’s high-level nuclear waste disposal facility at Olkiluoto, which will soon become the world’s first operational deep geological repository for high level waste, was highlighted by the IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi, as a proof of progress in waste management and a game changer for the long-term sustainability of nuclear energy. In his opening address he said “We have solutions for a sustainable future, just like the title of this conference says.” Other opening speakers made the point that the challenge is not demonstrating the technology or safety case but for developers to communicate and engage with society and communities, so that they can progress in true partnership.