Title
Discussion and Possible Action on Support of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) International Conference "Mayor's Declaration"
Recommended Action
I move that Council approve the endorsement of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) International Conference “Mayor’s Declaration” and ask the Chair to sign a letter designating the endorsement.
Body
Councilor Randall Ryti recently attended the International Conference on Stakeholder Engagement for Nuclear Power Programmes 2025 in Vienna, Austria along with a contingent from the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA). General information on this conference can be found at: <https://www.iaea.org/events/seconf2025>
As part of this conference, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi invited mayors and representatives of communities hosting nuclear facilities from around the world to join the event “Nuclear Communities and Mayors in Focus.” The event served as a unique platform for open dialogue and the exchange of ideas among municipal leaders from around the world. Mayors and communities’ representatives had the opportunity to deliver statements related to their experience as well as the benefits and challenges of hosting nuclear facilities. Councilor Ryti’s statement is below:
“I appreciate the opportunity to participate in this IAEA stakeholder conference and share some perspectives from Los Alamos County on being a long-term host of a nuclear facility. Our community is substantially tied to the nuclear industry and understands public perception issues with nuclear. My County was one of the partners in the carbon free power project, which would have been a new nuclear power plant using small modular reactor technology. This project was terminated by these community partners due to a lack of subscriptions, which was tied to project costs.
We need to be able to sometimes temper enthusiasm for nuclear projects with real-world perspectives on cost and other issues like the still unresolved impacts of legacy uranium mining in the southwestern USA and limited nuclear waste disposal options in the USA.
The path forward must be a collaborative approach to siting nuclear developments and dealing with nuclear waste in the short-term and long-term. We also need to acknowledge and remedy the environmental legacies of the nuclear industry. This is the only way that nuclear energy can continue to play an essential role in providing a clean energy future.
Los Alamos County supports the business case for nuclear energy innovation for existing and new nuclear deployment for power generation and manufacturing, including the development of nuclear microgrids, research on fusion technology, and research on adopting reprocessing methods throughout the US nuclear industry.”
One of the key outcomes of the event “Nuclear Communities and Mayors in Focus” will be the “Mayors’ Declaration” (shown in Attachment A). This item allows for the consideration by the full Council whether to endorse the “Mayor’s Declaration” or not.
Attachments
A - Mayor’s Declaration