Sustainability narratives in the nuclear field

2025-08-15

Sustainability has become an important part in nuclear narratives especially over the last years. The term “sustainable” keeps appearing in names of nuclear organisations and titles of nuclear conferences. But what is meant by “sustainability” in these contexts?

And, on the other hand, how is nuclear included in sustainability regimes? Do references to nuclear energy production and nuclear waste management in key documents of sustainability policies reflect problems and challenges in an adequate way?

Th new report of the Austrian Institute of Ecology gives an overview of both approaches and investigates the relationship of sustainability and nuclear from a critical perspective, focussing on nuclear power and nuclear waste management.

The report was funded by the Vienna Ombudsoffice for Environmental Protection and can be downloaded here.