WEBVTT

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Dear John, excellencies,
dear colleagues.

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The climate crisis is here.

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In my home country,
small, beautiful country,

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nestled at the slopes of the Alps,
we thought we were safe.

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We thought climate change
is something that happens to others.

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But then in the last two years,
first, we faced the fires

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of proportions
we've never seen,

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and last year,
catastrophic floods hit our country.

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A third of the country
was under water.

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The message is clear.

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We cannot stall, we need to act
decisively and collectively.

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In order to make our economy
carbon-free,

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the first step
has to be done by the energy sector.

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We cannot think about carbon-free
economy unless we have

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totally carbon-free
energy production.

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That is one message
that we shall never forget.

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And civil nuclear industry
really gained momentum

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in the last couple of years.

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Especially in Europe
after the adoption by the Parliament

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of the taxonomy regulation,
nuclear energy became

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a viable, sustainable
source for the future.

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The energy alliance
of the EU member states

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is growing every day.
Now more than half of us

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are in alliance,
and more are joining.

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Meaning that the politicians
have taken the first step.

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Even though the former president
of the International Energy Agency

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Amano was saying that nuclear
is all about politics,

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I would say,
and I'm an engineer by profession,

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it's also about engineering.

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And we, the engineers,
have to do our share as well.

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We need to be able to build
the project on time and on budget.

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And we're not there yet.

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Let's not ...

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Let's be fair
when we say this.

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If we want to get
the economics right,

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first the engineers
will have to do our share.

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Second, and I'm glad that

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the round table that follows
is about the financing,

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we have to solve the riddle of the
economics of the nuclear energy.

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It is not about whether
we choose renewable or nuclear.

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We need to choose both.

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But they have to be competitive
when it comes to pricing.

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At the moment, they are not.

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Why? It's very easy and simple.
I've worked for an energy company,

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we've invested
in renewables in the past,

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and all of the financial instruments
are about the lifespan of renewables,

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which is 15 years.

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15 years of financing will not solve
the civil nuclear energy.

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It cannot. So we need to come up
with new financial instruments.

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Let's try to be illustrative.
It's like investing in stocks,

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that's renewables,
and investing in long-term bonds,

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that's nuclear. As a society, we
need them both in the power sector.

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But we have to adapt
the financial instruments.

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And that's why the financial industry
is so important

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to get on board, to recognise
the advantages of both sectors,

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of renewables,
because we can build them fast,

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and the nuclear,
where we can build them not so fast,

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but the price is going to be stable
for the next 60 years.

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That's the major advantage
to the industry and to the society.

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Having said that,
let me just refer briefly

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to what we are doing
in Slovenia.

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We already have a running
Westinghouse nuclear reactor.

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We've extended its lifespan
for another 20 years,

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so now it's going to run
for 60 years.

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We're also looking into options
of further extension,

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but we're already planning
a new 1.5 GW nuclear unit.

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In order to get there,

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of course, we understand that
the public acceptance is crucial.

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And for that reason,
we've already instigated the motion

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for the public referendum, which is
going to take place this November.

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At the moment, public acceptance
when we go to the polling

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is higher than 60%.

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That is really showing the momentum
of nuclear energy is building

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also amongst the public,
not just amongst the politicians.

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I believe there is a window
of opportunity for nuclear industry,

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for its renaissance. It's going to
last maybe 5, 7 years, no more.

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Let's use it correctly.
Thank you.