Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ECOSENS (Economic and Social Considerations for the Future of Nuclear Energy in Society)
Reporting period: 2022-10-01 to 2024-03-31
The effects of climate change (long heat waves, drought, extended vegetation fires, dramatic floods and tornadoes) and the more recent energy security aspects have become everyday facts confronting EU citizens. Reaching Zero Net Emissions by 2050 should concentrate the efforts of all responsible parties, from policymakers and industry to research, academia, civil society and the general public, and must cover all economic sectors.
Current and innovative nuclear energy technologies are presented as promising means to support decarbonisation of power generation, increased safety and sustainability. Several Small Modular Reactor (SMR) designs are currently being explored and, should their promise be accomplished, could complement the fluctuating renewable energy supply.
However, nuclear research, development and decision-making need to better align with societal values, needs and concerns by engaging the public and ensuring that a plurality of stakeholders and disciplines can weigh in on sustainability assessments.
In this context, the ECOSENS project aims to create a neutral space where specialists in social sciences and humanities and in nuclear energy research and policy meet, exchange views, and collaborate with civil society and other relevant stakeholders to provide:
•a societal perspective on the development and use of existing and new nuclear technologies in the context of current major societal challenges;
•an assessment of nuclear energy sustainability considering the entire life cycle of the current nuclear technologies, possible evolutions of the energy markets and nuclear technologies in the transition toward climate neutrality;
•a radically new economic model, based on the System of Provision (SoP) approach, for the nuclear energy assessment, overcoming the key weaknesses of existing models and providing a suite of indicators relevant for a wide range of stakeholders.
Societal perceptions of the nuclear energy in different national contexts and factors driving public acceptance of nuclear technology practices have been explored. Focus groups, interviews and case studies addressing public views on SMRs s in the current EU context framed by the climate change effects, energy crisis generated by the war in Ukraine and political concerns for the energy security supply are currently ongoing in the framework of ECOSENS.
Investigations have been started into people's motivations to engage with and the impact of new social movements and interest groups on attitudes towards energy issues and nuclear power in particular.
Deliberative workshops involving representatives of civil society, researchers, policy-makers and nuclear industry have been conducted to discuss their views on the concept of sustainability applied in energy governance, and assessments thereof, and the role of nuclear energy herein, considering existing and emerging technologies.
The analysis of nuclear energy sustainability elaborated based on a methodology co-constructed with a large range of stakeholders allowed for a better understanding of nuclear energy characteristics in terms of sustainability, a clearer view on the total costs of the entire life cycle and an assessment of its contribution to a climate-neutral EU energy system by 2050.
An interdisciplinary analysis of the evolution and development of the energy market was carried out to better predict energy demand and possible paths to meet the consumer needs, under climate change mitigation conditions, considering crisis evolutions (e.g pandemic, migration, global warming) as well as the high impact of factors such the implementation of disruptive technologies, energy efficiency measures or transport electrification.
Furthermore, a novel model rooted in the SoP approach will enable policymakers and researchers to examine energy socio-technical systems (ST-systems) and establish the role of nuclear technologies in such systems. The model will represent a tool to evaluate the suitability of a context for nuclear technology deployment, overcome key weaknesses of existing models and provide a suite of indicators relevant to a wide range of stakeholders.
Current and innovative nuclear energy technologies are presented as promising means to support decarbonisation of power generation, increased safety and sustainability. Several Small Modular Reactor (SMR) designs are currently being explored and, should their promise be accomplished, could complement the fluctuating renewable energy supply.
However, nuclear research, development and decision-making need to better align with societal values, needs and concerns by engaging the public and ensuring that a plurality of stakeholders and disciplines can weigh in on sustainability assessments.
In this context, the ECOSENS project aims to create a neutral space where specialists in social sciences and humanities and in nuclear energy research and policy meet, exchange views, and collaborate with civil society and other relevant stakeholders to provide:
•a societal perspective on the development and use of existing and new nuclear technologies in the context of current major societal challenges;
•an assessment of nuclear energy sustainability considering the entire life cycle of the current nuclear technologies, possible evolutions of the energy markets and nuclear technologies in the transition toward climate neutrality;
•a radically new economic model, based on the System of Provision (SoP) approach, for the nuclear energy assessment, overcoming the key weaknesses of existing models and providing a suite of indicators relevant for a wide range of stakeholders.
Societal perceptions of the nuclear energy in different national contexts and factors driving public acceptance of nuclear technology practices have been explored. Focus groups, interviews and case studies addressing public views on SMRs s in the current EU context framed by the climate change effects, energy crisis generated by the war in Ukraine and political concerns for the energy security supply are currently ongoing in the framework of ECOSENS.
Investigations have been started into people's motivations to engage with and the impact of new social movements and interest groups on attitudes towards energy issues and nuclear power in particular.
Deliberative workshops involving representatives of civil society, researchers, policy-makers and nuclear industry have been conducted to discuss their views on the concept of sustainability applied in energy governance, and assessments thereof, and the role of nuclear energy herein, considering existing and emerging technologies.
The analysis of nuclear energy sustainability elaborated based on a methodology co-constructed with a large range of stakeholders allowed for a better understanding of nuclear energy characteristics in terms of sustainability, a clearer view on the total costs of the entire life cycle and an assessment of its contribution to a climate-neutral EU energy system by 2050.
An interdisciplinary analysis of the evolution and development of the energy market was carried out to better predict energy demand and possible paths to meet the consumer needs, under climate change mitigation conditions, considering crisis evolutions (e.g pandemic, migration, global warming) as well as the high impact of factors such the implementation of disruptive technologies, energy efficiency measures or transport electrification.
Furthermore, a novel model rooted in the SoP approach will enable policymakers and researchers to examine energy socio-technical systems (ST-systems) and establish the role of nuclear technologies in such systems. The model will represent a tool to evaluate the suitability of a context for nuclear technology deployment, overcome key weaknesses of existing models and provide a suite of indicators relevant to a wide range of stakeholders.
ECOSENS has carried out interdisciplinary studies addressing socio-economic and technical aspects of nuclear energy in parallel.
The literature review of public attitudes in the EU towards the use and development of nuclear energy technologies, including new and emerging technologies, showed that public support is generally negatively associated with climate change concerns and positively associated with concerns for energy security. The higher the perceived benefits of nuclear energy for energy security and, to a lesser extent, for climate change mitigation, the more open or favorable attitudes towards nuclear energy are. However, differences between countries exist.
Two international deliberative engagement workshops gathering a diversity of societal stakeholders and experts captured views on energy and climate futures, and develop recommendations for future-shaping pathways.
A new sustainability assessment methodology was co-developed by specialists in nuclear energy and representatives of civil society, academia, industry. Its basic principles, selection criteria, evaluation areas and indicators have been agreed upon during two international workshops, integrating the plurality of views.
The role of nuclear power in the future energy market was investigated exploring possible evolutions of society, and considering driving factors and obstacles, potential impacts of disruptive technologies and diverse crises.
The analysis of the SoP approach and its suitability for nuclear energy provided the basis for a preliminary model to help identify the challenges and opportunities associated with nuclear power provision, as well as potential solutions that consider the diverse perspectives and priorities of all relevant stakeholders in a given national context.
Furthermore, an analysis of the existing methods mostly used for Social Discount Rate estimation was conducted. This analysis can facilitate the development of new frameworks for the calculations of the social discount rate (relevant for the assessment of social projects such as nuclear power plants), ultimately fostering a more informed decision-making process.
Several recommendations on stakeholders’ involvement, including wider public, have been formulated in the last two decades in research projects or guidelines from international organizations. However, their implementation in practice may fall short of these recommendations, for instance as regards development and implementation in society of emerging technologies, and will be the object of a forthcoming ECOSENS survey.
The literature review of public attitudes in the EU towards the use and development of nuclear energy technologies, including new and emerging technologies, showed that public support is generally negatively associated with climate change concerns and positively associated with concerns for energy security. The higher the perceived benefits of nuclear energy for energy security and, to a lesser extent, for climate change mitigation, the more open or favorable attitudes towards nuclear energy are. However, differences between countries exist.
Two international deliberative engagement workshops gathering a diversity of societal stakeholders and experts captured views on energy and climate futures, and develop recommendations for future-shaping pathways.
A new sustainability assessment methodology was co-developed by specialists in nuclear energy and representatives of civil society, academia, industry. Its basic principles, selection criteria, evaluation areas and indicators have been agreed upon during two international workshops, integrating the plurality of views.
The role of nuclear power in the future energy market was investigated exploring possible evolutions of society, and considering driving factors and obstacles, potential impacts of disruptive technologies and diverse crises.
The analysis of the SoP approach and its suitability for nuclear energy provided the basis for a preliminary model to help identify the challenges and opportunities associated with nuclear power provision, as well as potential solutions that consider the diverse perspectives and priorities of all relevant stakeholders in a given national context.
Furthermore, an analysis of the existing methods mostly used for Social Discount Rate estimation was conducted. This analysis can facilitate the development of new frameworks for the calculations of the social discount rate (relevant for the assessment of social projects such as nuclear power plants), ultimately fostering a more informed decision-making process.
Several recommendations on stakeholders’ involvement, including wider public, have been formulated in the last two decades in research projects or guidelines from international organizations. However, their implementation in practice may fall short of these recommendations, for instance as regards development and implementation in society of emerging technologies, and will be the object of a forthcoming ECOSENS survey.
The sustainability assessment methodology co-created in ECOSENS combines through a social lens three existing methodologies: NESA and KIND of IAEA and LCA/LCIA-JRC, into a new one. The new methodology assesses Environmental life cycle, Economic life cycle and Social life cycle, based on 3 High Level Objectives: Contribution to planetary wellbeing, Reliability and resilience of supply, Social feasibility, and 72 indicators.