1st Edition

The Politics of Radioactive Waste Management Public Involvement and Policy-Making in the European Union

By Gianluca Ferraro Copyright 2019
194 Pages
by Routledge

194 Pages 9 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

194 Pages 9 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

Environmental concerns have pushed the decarbonisation of the European economy high on the EU political agenda. This has renewed old debates about the role of nuclear energy in the European economy and society that gravitate around the issues of nuclear safety and radioactive waste management (RWM). RWM carries many elements of technical complexity, scientific uncertainty and social value, which... Read more

List of Figures



List of Tables



Foreword



Preface



List of Abbreviations



Introduction



Chapter 1 – Nuclear energy and the management of radioactive waste



Chapter 2 – Public involvement in policy-making



Chapter 3 – The institutional challenge, key issues and stakeholders' needs



Chapter 4 – General principles for public involvement



Chapter 5 – National practices of public involvement



Chapter 6 – The involvement of local stakeholders



Chapter 7 – Public involvement, trust and social acceptance



Chapter 8 Public involvement in RWM: answers and implications



Chapter 9 Conclusions



Index

Biography

Gianluca Ferraro is a policy analyst. He has worked for the European Commission and the University of Leuven, Belgium

"This book provides a timely guide on public involvement in radioactive waste management, and challenges practitioners and scholars to rethink the governance of this wicked socio-technical problem. With its rich, empirical material and interdisciplinary appeal, it will engage all those interested in environmental policy and conflict resolution more in general." -- Valérie Pattyn, Assistant Professor in Public Administration, Institute of Public Administration, Leiden University, the Netherlands.

"Gianluca Ferraro does an excellent job of alerting us to questions that need resolving in ‘wicked’ policy areas. This book draws out important lessons for scholarship on environmental governance and on the quality of democracy. Policymakers across governance levels and policy fields need to read this book to reflect on effective and legitimate long-term policy planning." -- Claire Dupont, Assistant Professor of European and International Governance, Ghent University, Belgium.

"Though the book itself concentrates on radioactive waste management, the insights provided by it on public involvement in EU decision-making processes have broader ramifications. Social acceptance of policies is not simply generated because citizens can be involved in the decision-making process, especially in safety related matters. This complexity is well-explained, and well-analyzed throughout the different chapters." -- Joery Matthys, Assistant Professor, Institute of Security and Global Affairs, Leiden University, the Netherlands.