CND's Press Round-Up - 6th May 2021
Posted: 6th May 2021
Dear all,
Please find today’s press round up below. Thank you to all for their continued help and support.
Nuclear Weapons
ICAN receive coverage in the Australian press for their efforts there, whilst a senior academic makes the case for the widespread adoption of ‘no first use’.
TPNW-Australia
The Guardian Australia carries a piece on a speech due to be delivered in Tasmania by the head of ICAN, Beatrice Fihn. The speech is expected to urge the Australian government both to join the TPNW and work to convince its allies of doing the same. Polling for Greenpeace in 2017 suggest more than 70% of Australians supported a total international ban on nuclear weapons.
No First Use Posture
Gareth Evans in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has an article examining the implications of a no first policy being adopted by nuclear-armed powers, particularly the United States. At present, only India and China say they are committed to a no first use posture, with the U.S. under Donald Trump having ruled it out again in its 2018 Nuclear Posture Review. Professor Evans pessimistically argues that the TPNW ‘has…no buy-in whatsoever from any of the nuclear-armed states or those that think they benefit from their protection’ and ‘Nor will it have buy-in for the foreseeable future’. He goes on to make the case that the adoption of no first use would have very positive impacts in terms of reducing the deployment and alert levels of existing nuclear weapons.
Anti-war
The UK government has sent gun boats to Jersey in a dispute over fishing rights, whilst more details of the new aircraft carrier’s mission emerge and Russia begins testing its new model of ICBM.
Channel Islands Dispute
The UK Government has sent Royal Navy ships to the area off the coast of Jersey as French fishermen protested over post-Brexit fishing rights. The Guardian reports that HMS Severn and HMS Tamar observed the French flotilla a mile off the coast of the tax haven early this morning. The European Commission has said that the new rules imposed on French fishing boats by Jersey are in breach of the trade deals struck in December 2020.
UK Aircraft Carrier Mission
Aircraft from the new Queen Elizabeth vessel will be used to strike against the remnants of the Islamic State when the new ship reaches the Eastern Mediterranean region towards the end of May, according to the specialist Janeswebsite.
Russian Missile Test
The Russian state TASS agency has said that the country will hold three tests of the new version of its Sarmat Inter-continental Ballistic Missile this year. At least one of these test fires will be at the missile’s maximum range. The Sarmat replaces the Voevoda, which has been in service since the 1970s. Russian military sources claim that the Sarmat possesses a host of new features which allow it to penetrate missile defences more effectively, including a shorter active flight stage.
Nuclear Power
The U.S. is considering introducing huge new subsidies for existing nuclear power plants as it attempts to meet its new carbon emission targets.
Nuclear Power-USA
Reuters reports that the Biden administration is considering subsidies to keep nuclear power plants operating, as part of an effort to reach its carbon emission reduction targets. Wind and solar power already receive ‘Production Tax Credits’. The US currently has more than 90 civil nuclear reactors, the most in the world. Some electricity-generating corporations have threatened to close their nuclear plants unless subsidies are brought in.
With best wishes,
Michael Muir
Press and Communications Officer
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament