The LAS Symposium is undoubtedly the most important meeting of the Latin American nuclear sector.

We are living exciting days, more than ever the nuclear energy “renaissance is close to a reality. There are two main drivers of this phenomenon: the climate change, due to the earth’s global warming, mainly caused by the emission of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels combustion, and the high international prices of oil and gas. The first is very closely related to the environment and the second to the economics; and both are very important dimensions of the sustainability of an energy source. The maturity of the nuclear industry, expressed in plant reliability (higher capacity factors) and operational safety, is also an important driver of the “new confidence in the nuclear industry. Recently we have seen how Finland, a country greatly concerned about the environment, after a very detailed study, has selected the nuclear option to increase the electric power capacity. Criteria such as cost, reliability and environmental issues were taken into account in their final decision.

In Latin America the situation is similar to the rest of the world. Nowadays the economics and the environment are global issues, which affect the strategic decisions of the countries. In particular the energy sector is a strategic one, which strongly depends on these issues; we are also facing the high prices of the fossil fuels and the climate change disturbances. Some other local political decisions in Latin America, like the “nationalization of gas in Bolivia, have added a new element into the decision making process of the energy policies in countries like Argentina and Brazil. This new element, related to the security of the energy source supply, is becoming one of the key issues in the definition of the energy portfolio in the countries. Nuclear energy has demonstrated, over the years that it is a reliable source of energy, independent of the political disturbances around the world. This is why I am convinced that once more, the role of the LAS-ANS is very important at this moment, such as it has been over thirty one years of existence, promoting the deployment of nuclear energy and gathering the nuclear community of Latin America. Nuclear energy must play a new and very important role in the short term in Latin America, vis a vis the energy needs and the economical and environmental concerns. We as Latin Americans, facing similar technical, social and political issues, can share experiences and knowledge through LAS-ANS in order to work for the “renaissance of nuclear energy in our countries.