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We are pleased to share an invitation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to participate in the International Conference on Resilience of Nuclear Installations Against External Events from a Safety Perspective – Focus on Climate Change, to be held from 20 to 24 October 2025 at the IAEA Headquarters in Vienna, Austria. This conference aims to bring together global experts in the nuclear power industry to exchange lessons learned and discuss best practices regarding the safety and resilience of nuclear installations, particularly in the context of climate change impacts.
Background
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is pleased to announce the inaugural International Conference on Resilience of Nuclear Installations against External Events from a Safety Perspective. Resilience may be defined as ‘the ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from, and more successfully adapt to adverse events.’ In the context of external hazards, the resilience of nuclear installations is their ability to prepare and plan for, absorb, recover from and more successfully adapt to these hazards. Regarding safety, resilience can be a measure of an installation’s ability to recover to a safe condition after an incident. Resilience also encompasses the development of flexible solutions that can support the response to emerging, changing or unknown threats, as well as planning, response and recovery strategies. A special focus of this conference will be the industry’s efforts to address the impact of climate change on external hazards and installation resilience. Many plants have been designed for loads resulting from natural phenomena, such as floods and high winds, based on analysis and interpretation of historical data. However, climate change is affecting the severity and frequency of many of these phenomena. Furthermore, changes in geological conditions (e.g., fluid injection to the Earth’s crust), land use, aircraft flight patterns and addition of new industrial facilities lead to non-stationarity of external hazards.
Purpose and objectives
The purpose of the conference is to share experiences and discuss current and novel methods to evaluate the resilience and robustness of nuclear installations and radioactive waste disposal facilities against external events, particularly in the context of the changing climate. This will include existing facilities, as well as those under design, licensing and construction.
Main topics
The conference will be arranged into the following six themes and encourages submittals aligned with these:
1. Identification and analysis of external hazards, consideration of uncertainties in hazard analyses, and events resulting from combined hazards.
2. Impact of external hazards on nuclear installations and radioactive waste disposal facilities.
3. Safety features of innovative emergent reactor designs and their contribution to resilience.
4. Post-event response.
5. Risk-informed, performance-based approaches for safety assessments of nuclear installations against external events.
6. Regulatory matters related to enhancing nuclear installation resilience.
Call for Papers
Contributions on the topics listed above are welcome as oral or poster presentations. Submissions are now being accepted via the InTouch+ platform. The synopsis can be submitted through this system from 25 November 2024 until 31 May 2025. Participants are encouraged to share innovative approaches, research findings, and case studies that contribute to the resilience and safety of nuclear installations. Submissions from women participants are strongly encouraged.
Conference Details
- Date: 20–24 October 2025
- Venue: IAEA Headquarters, Vienna, Austria
- Language: English
For more details and information, please refer to Announcement and Call for Papers and IAEA website. Looking forward to your valuable contributions to this important conference.
