Countries should not just adopt a new global action plan on nuclear safety developed after the Fukushima disaster, but must also prove that they are implementing it quickly, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Monday.
The action plan to be adopted at this week's IAEA board meeting has been toned down under pressure from the United States and other major nuclear countries, making it less binding and deleting most time lines for safety improvements, DPA reported.
"It will take rapid and visible improvements in nuclear safety - not just good intentions - to restore public confidence in nuclear power," IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said at the start of the board session.
He said it is "actions, not words, that count."
He urged member states to commit firmly to implementing the plan, which is to be updated over time.
Its aims include improving existing international safety guidelines and national accident prevention measures, and increasing the number of international safety inspections.
A number of mostly European countries are expected to criticize the plan as being too weak at the board session.
The critical group includes several non-nuclear countries as well as Germany, which has decided to phase out nuclear energy in reaction to the nuclear accident in Japan.