Remarks by John Ritch Director General, World Nuclear Association European Nuclear Society PIME Conference, Evian 5 February 2001
This is my first time at a PIME conference, and I am pleased to be a part of it.
During my three decades of involvement in American politics and foreign policy, which began when Senator Fulbright hired me back in 1972, I devoted much effort to fighting for causes in which I believed, including responsible American leadership in the UN system. Most recently, I pursued that purpose during 7 years as American ambassador to the IAEA and other UN organizations in Vienna. There I was able to encourage and participate as the IAEA acted to fulfil its 'Atoms for Peace' mandate by fostering improved global safeguards and new worldwide conventions on nuclear safety. These measures have served to erect ever-stronger barriers against illicit activity and accidents.
One month ago I began doing something different , but in which I believe equally strongly. I came to the Uranium Institute to fight for public recognition of the urgent need to expand the world's use of nuclear energy as the one available means, consistent with the imperative of global sustainable development, to produce massive amounts of base-load electricity without severe pollution and without exacerbating the threat of catastrophic climate change.
The purpose of PIME, of course, is to talk about how best to conduct this fight.
Although I now work for a global private sector organization, let me begin by talking a bit about the United States. It is not a reflection of American arrogance to say that the context in which all of us here will be operating in the years ahead depends a great deal on what happens in America.
Fortunately, the prospect for nuclear in the USA is growing brighter by the day. This past week the Nuclear Energy Institute was able to offer Wall Street analysts some extremely promising facts.
Surrounding these impressive performance indicators I can identify four other phenomena, all of major significance.
I have dwelled on the American dimension because it helps to define what we at the Uranium Institute will be seeking to accomplish in the months ahead. The American nuclear industry, with the effective support of the NEI, is making a comeback that will send strong signals throughout the world. These signals will serve, in some considerable measure, to re-educate a global population and media that have, in recent years, been confused and misled by the inordinate attention given to the green organizations and the inordinate political strength wielded by a few green parties, which at least temporarily have held the whip hand in coalition governments such as that in Germany.
For supporters of nuclear power outside the United States, the imperative now is to assemble and drive home these and other positive messages. To do so, we need better organization of well-conceived and carefully aimed efforts to make the case for nuclear power on the multinational stage. As head of an entity calling itself 'The International Association for Nuclear Energy,' I intend to see that we do everything in our power to fulfil this broad need for effective advocacy.
The UI began some 25 years ago as a representative body for companies involved in the nuclear fuel business. In that capacity, we have become increasingly international and now have members from nations representing most of the world's current nuclear power production. In the 1990's we gained the membership of several entities from the former Soviet Union; and we now, for example, have 20 corporate members from Japan alone.
Seven years ago, our members decided that the UI should become more externally focused so as to influence opinion in favour of nuclear power. This was not a diversion from traditional work but rather the assumption of an additional role. In this new capacity, we have had some limited success:
But as events in The Hague so rudely reminded us, this work cannot yet be called successful and indeed has just begun.
At the UI, we do not intend to abandon our traditional role as a facilitator of technical workshops and cooperation among our member companies. But we do intend to become far more aggressive in our role as an advocate on the global stage. Here our aims will be two-fold.
First, we will try to do better what we have already begun:
Second, we are aiming to shape ourselves into a truly global organization. In the months ahead, we will be placing great effort on building membership, especially in countries not now represented in our ranks. We will emphasize China, India, and other countries where the nuclear option is alive, where the domestic debate over energy strategy is still unfolding, and where the outcome could have an enormous impact on global interests, both economic and environmental.
By becoming a genuine 'world nuclear association,' we believe we can help to promote, and bring favourable attention to, the work of other nuclear organizations that are operating with narrower scope but performing invaluable service. I refer to organisations such as:
I refer also, of course, to the various national associations and societies, to whom we would hope to be of service.
We do not intend to intrude upon the work or sovereignty of others. But we believe that we can play a needed role by helping to bring all such organisations into closer affiliation. We aspire to see the many elements of the nuclear realm form a more united front to present the powerfully persuasive case that the facts equip us to make. Our aim is to serve as a hub, combining forces with others in an agreed manner that serves a common purpose.
We recognize, of course, that much of public education and public relations must be done locally , on the frontlines, so to speak , in the communities and regions where the nuclear industry does its work. But there is also an important function to be performed at the broad national and multinational level.
Nearly a half century ago, the famous economist John Kenneth Galbraith introduced the concept of 'countervailing power.' He was referring to large institutional forces in modern society that serve to check and balance one another. Galbraith saw that the presence of such counterpoised forces could often, through the interplay of public debate, move us toward reasonable policy outcomes.
Unfortunately for the nuclear industry, the phenomenon of countervailing power has been lacking. For many years, the so-called 'nuclear industry' has not really acted as such but instead has been more like a disparate group of entities, with few willing or able to articulate and champion a common interest on a national or international stage. Meanwhile, those opposing nuclear have wielded enormous influence in shaping public policy against this fragmented industry and stifling its voice.
We believe that the time has come to assemble a countervailing power. The nuclear industry must speak for itself, candidly and with pride. Once we are better organized , once we have galvanized our energies , we will be far better positioned to make the nuclear case where it must be made, which is among the great national and multinational institutions that define the political and economic context in which the industry operates.
Thus, our efforts to recruit will not be simply a means of empire building. Our goal is to help build that countervailing force, so that the ' world nuclear industry' is truly worthy of that name , and so that it makes its case effectively in our parliaments, in our media, and in the major multilateral organizations that the world has built to guide and promote sustainable development.
As the 21 st century begins, nuclear science , improved over a half century of research and practical application , is a technology whose time has come. Our task is nothing less than to see that the world understands, and acts upon, this compelling reality.