Thesis:"

Preface

The entire world of energy is currently facing an unprecedented state of

uncertainty: the Great Recession of 2008-09 caused turmoil in the global energy

market, whose prospects depend on the resilience of world economy. Ultimately, the

future of the energy sector in each single country, and consequently in the whole

world, will depend on the governments' response to the twin challenges of climate

change and energy security.

The outcome of the 2009 UN Climate Change Summit, also known as the

Copenhagen Summit1, stressed the urgency of a change in the global energy system

and shifted the attention of the whole world on sustainable energy.

The Italian response to energy crisis has been the relaunch of a plan for nuclear

generated electricity, aiming to cover 25% of national generation by 2020-30.

The starting point of this revamp is the Italian Law 99 of 23rd July 2009, defining

the regulation for promotion of nuclear power for civilian purposes.

In the two decades following the 1987 referendum abolishing nuclear plants in

Italian territory, the nuclear power debate has been turned into a taboo reserved for

discussion by a few experts, both as a consequence of ideological factors and more

importantly because it was not perceived as a real necessity.

However, after the power outage in September 2003 and the gas dispute in Winter

2006, Italian public opinion suddenly acknowledged a deficiency in the national

energy sector. Thus, in 2007, the nuclear debate slowly left academia, making the

front pages of national newspapers and triggering a lively discussion in the media.

The public and political debate on nuclear power is part of a communication

strategy aiming to promote particular aspects, for example the possibility to release

Italy from its reliance on imports (especially oil), increasing security of supplies, and

generation of a national electric energy on a large scale at competitive prices, thereby

reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and abiding by the obligations set by the

Kyoto Protocol.

Questions posed by this debate may be whether nuclear power can really be the

magical wand to solve environmental and energy issues? Or will it turn out to be just 1 During the final draft of this work, the COP 16 (Conference of Parties) was being held in Cancún, Mexico, from November 29 to December 10, 2010.

a blind alley?

This essay does not reject nor is it in favour of nuclear power, but focuses on the

way information on a technical subject strongly related with risk perception is

delivered to the general public.

The main task of the media should be to offer a clear view to the public on all the

main aspects and the possible consequences of relying again on nuclear power,

thereby supplying tools for critical thinking on the matter.

At the time of writing, the prevailing public feeling is of a general lack of

preparation on the part of the media on nuclear energy and of inadequacies in

presenting it. The public feel as though decisions are being imposed upon them and

their voices not being heard.

This essay aims to prove this feeling either wrong or right, by means of a deep

investigation of articles published by the national press on the subject of the

reintroduction of nuclear power. The newspapers analysed are the following:

• Il Sole 24 Ore

• Il Corriere della Sera

• La Repubblica

• Il Messaggero

• La Stampa

The investigation covers a period of four years, starting from 1st January 2006 and

until 21st December 2009.

The analysis is composed of four chapters.

The first chapter presents the theoretical structure of the investigation, carried out

using three different approaches. The first aims to explain how human beings attain an

understanding and a definition of realities foreign to the subjective experience thanks

to the opportunities presented by the media. This approach will focus on the relation

between people and mass media, introducing the “agenda-setting” and the “spiral of

silence” theories. The second stresses the role of environmental communication in

Italy, studying the relation between mass media and environmental and scientific

subjects. The third and last one examines the constructs of technology and risk,

analyzing the role of risk communication.

The second chapter studies energy use and electricity generation in Italy and

abroad, in the present and in the future, stressing the role of nuclear power on

electricity generation and on a decreased emission of greenhouse gases. It also

examines the key points of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change (UNFCCC) and later negotiations from Kyoto to Copenhagen, and their

repercussions nationwide and globally. This chapter contains official data obtained

from the major organisations nationwide (ENEA) and globalwide (IEA, IAEA, NEA,

WNA, WEC).

The third chapter examines in depth the technical and economical aspects of

nuclear power, from its functioning to the different kinds of nuclear reactors, from its

decommissioning and radioactive waste disposal to the nuclear fuel cycle, from

energy generation costs to the Generation IV reactors. The last paragraph is entirely

focused on the nuclear debate in Italy, both in the past and in anticipation of the

future, studying the premises that triggered the recent political debate.

The fourth chapter represents the heart of this work and contains results of the

study on the news articles about the possibility of a come back of the nuclear power in

Italy. Following collection of the sources and arrangement of a data sheet developed

by ENEA and already in use for similar research, an analysis of content can finally

take place, examining the main methods of press release. The final reflections take

into consideration the whole process of research that resulted in this work and try to

sum up the key points examined.

Appendix I conveys a broad perspective on the subject, presenting a series of

interviews with experts in the field of nuclear power, communication, scientific and

environmental information and sociological research. It refers to views held by Dr.

Gaetano Borrelli (ENEA sociologist and an expert in the nuclear field and

communication risk), Dr. Chicco Testa (president of “Forum Nucleare Italiano”), Dr.

Francesco Troiani (former NUCLECO president, now working for ENEA), Engineer

Paolo Allievi (SOGIN technician), Dr. Giuseppe Onufrio (Greenpeace Italia executive

director) and Dr. Antonio Cianciullo (environmental and scientific journalist for La

Repubblica).

Appendix II contains a glossary of the terms specific to the energy and nuclear

field.

Appendix III contains the full text of 1987 Italian nuclear referendum and its in-

depth analysis.