The Nuclear Regulation Authority of Japan is considering changes that would make the clearance of radioactive material about ten times stricter than international standards, creating unnecessary confusion and cost, writes Dr Charlotta Sanders, senior project manager at World Nuclear Association.

On 21 July, 1969, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the Moon. During the brief few hours he and Buzz Aldrin spent on the surface they deployed a suite of scientific experiments, some of which would depend on radioisotope heaters to protect them from the harsh lunar night. Dr Jonathan Cobb, senior communication manager at World Nuclear Association, describes nuclear technology's role in the historic event.

There are two misleading narratives about nuclear energy: one, that it is the sole answer to tomorrow’s energy and climate challenges; the other, that it could - and perhaps even should - disappear entirely. The truth is of course somewhere between the two - but what's certain is that nuclear, like every sector of the energy industry, must earn its place in the energy mix of the future, writes Rob Whittleston, VP of Insight at the UK’s National Nuclear Laboratory.

World Nuclear Association was invited to present this week at the opening of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s International Conference on the Management of Spent Fuel from Nuclear Power Reactors, Learning from the Past, Enabling the Future. Mikhail Baryshnikov (TENEX) and Cecile Evans (Orano), chair and deputy chair of the Sustainable Used Fuel Management Working Group, share the industry’s message.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has led international efforts to transform the site of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. Here, Balthasar Lindauer, director of the London-headquartered bank's Nuclear Safety Department, gives an insight into the change in safety culture at the plant.

The International Energy Agency’s recent workshop Nuclear Power in a Clean Energy System was "extremely timely and important" because "time is of the essence if we are to successfully decarbonise our economies", Jean-Bernard Lévy, CEO of EDF, said in a special address to participants in the meeting. The following is the text of his speech on 25 February.

More than 40 nuclear associations representing over 80,000 scientists have called on the Clean Energy Ministerial Conference - which will be held in Vancouver between 28 and 29 May - to commit to doubling public investment in nuclear-related R&D and innovation within the next five years. Their declaration was signed yesterday at the International Congress on Advances in Nuclear Power Plants, in Juan-les-Pins, France.

France set out its energy transition roadmap in the recently proposed PPE plan. Included are challenging targets to gradually reduce the country's reliance on nuclear generation. Pierre George, senior director, and Claire Mauduit-Le Clercq, director, EMEA Utilities at S&P Global Ratings, explain the implications for France’s nuclear future and for the country’s sole nuclear operator, EDF.

All countries in Europe have a common interest in ensuring that radioactive waste management is done in a way that guarantees safety and security today and also in the long term, writes Charles McCombie, president of Arius Association.

Finnish power companies are looking for ways to streamline licensing and qualification processes through a new project started last year called KELPO. The first part of the project has been completed and it is moving ahead to the pilot phase, writes Tuomo Huttunen, senior advisor on nuclear power at industry group Finnish Energy.

With the anticipated increase in decommissioning-related activities over the coming decades, significant challenges lie ahead. By viewing nuclear back-end management through a sustainability lens, a set of principles that offer tremendous benefits for a wide range of stakeholders emerges, writes Kristina Gillin, a principal consultant in nuclear waste and decommissioning at Lloyd's Register. 

Policymakers have unreasonably and unfairly overlooked the role of nuclear energy in the fight against climate change, writes Borislav Boev, a PhD student at D. A. Tsenov Academy of Economics in Bulgaria.

Climate change and its effects on Earth continue to be a hot topic in the media these days. A lot of organisations, both international and governmental, claim that they are putting their best efforts into tackling the issue of greenhouse gas emissions.