Chernobyl support fund heralds next steps in decommissioning

The first assembly meeting of International Chernobyl Co-Operation Account showed that the international community intends to support Ukraine in the next steps towards transforming the Chernobyl site.

At the first assembly meeting of the new International Chernobyl Co-Operation Account (ICCA), the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Odile Renaud-Basso, and the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossi, confirmed continuing support to Ukraine in the coming phase of decommissioning.

In doing so, they will draw on the IAEA’s technical mandate, knowledge and experience, and its network of international experts, and the EBRD’s project and fund management experience.

ICCA was established in November 2020 by the EBRD at the request of the government of Ukraine. It was set up as a multilateral fund to support the development of a comprehensive plan for Chernobyl, to consolidate existing planning as well as optimise and integrate all approaches to radioactive waste and spent nuclear fuel. Commemorating the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky signed an order making his country a contributor to the new fund.

Balthasar Lindauer, EBRD Director, Nuclear Safety Department, notes, ‘Despite an unprecedented level of international cooperation in the transformation of Chernobyl over the past decades, the decommissioning of the nuclear power plant and the management of radioactive waste in the exclusion zone remain the most challenging nuclear safety operations in the world. ICCA will aim to support capabilities that address these challenges. The EBRD stands ready to provide its services as a project and fund manager.’