CND Press Roundup Friday 2nd September 2022

War in Ukraine / NATO

• UN nuclear inspectors conducted a long-awaited inspection of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine with the IAEA chief saying the “physical integrity” of the plant had been “violated.” Rafael Grossi added that a team would stay at the Russian-controlled plant until Sunday or Monday to continue their assessment.

• Ukraine’s nuclear agency Enorgoatom said the UN team inspecting Zaporizhzia was having its investigation hampered by Russia. “The Russians did not allow the mission to enter (the plant’s) crisis centre, where Russian military personnel (are) currently stationed, whom the IAEA representatives were not supposed to see,” the agency wrote on the social messaging app Telegram. “The (Russian) occupiers lie, distort the facts and evidence that testify to their shelling of the power plant, as well as the consequences of damage to the (plant’s) infrastructure,” the statement added.

• Russia meanwhile accused Ukraine of hampering the UN inspection, with defence minister Sergei Shoigu accusing Kiev of “nuclear terrorism” by its shelling of the plant, an accusation Ukraine denies.

AUKUS

• Australian submariners will be given unprecedented access to British nuclear submarines, The Times reports. While Norwegian and French crews have previously been given access to British subs, they have never been given access beyond the bulkhead where the nuclear reactor technology is kept. Speaking to the paper, Australia’s deputy prime minister Richard Marles said his country’s submariners needed to evolve beyond diesel-powered subs: “The idea of Australian crew working with either British or American crews to get experience on British or American vessels in the shorter term is what we are seeking to do. Having the opportunity for Australian submariners to gain experience on the submarines of either the United States or the United Kingdom is going to be absolutely fundamental.”

NPT

• Two letters to the Guardian in response to New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern’s recent piece expressing scepticism on nuclear weapons states’ commitments to nuclear disarmament. Former co-chair, World Disarmament Campaign Frank Jackson says “the only way to break the deadlock is for one of the major nuclear-armed powers to break ranks by declaring that nuclear weapons do not give security, but, on the contrary, their continued existence threatens all of us.” Colin Hines adds to this calling for a second programme to ban nuclear power which he says is a “likely source” of the spread of nuclear weapons.

UK Nuclear Energy

• With Boris Johnson’s tumultuous tenure as prime minister trundling towards its end, he used one of his final outings to visit the site of Sizewell C in Suffolk – and announce £700 million in funding for the project. Coverage of the announcement by the BBC and in The Times, while The Guardian has an explainer on the project which includes the costs, funding model, and opposition to the project.

• The Independent reports on the dozens of people who gathered to protest outside the gates of Sizewell. You can find statements condemning the decision by Stop Sizewell C, Together Against Sizewell C, Greenpeace, and the Green Party’s Caroline Lucas.

• Meanwhile the Telegraph’s big hitters come out with the plates spinning – Deputy Political Editor Daniel Martin covers Johnsons’s pledge for a “massive expansion of nuclear power,” along with another story on how this expansion could help solve the energy crisis – but needs new rules to fast track projects. Chief Political Correspondent Camilla Turner looks at Johnson’s rambling funding announcement, focusing on “Labour’s abject failure” to invest in nuclear power – despite the fact the Tories have been in government for over a decade. The paper’s editorial calls for energy not to be an afterthought for the next PM, and the parliamentary sketch writer ponders what might have been if Johnson had managed to stay on as PM.

Nuclear Energy

• Lawmakers in California voted on Wednesday to extend the life of the state’s last remaining nuclear plant. The Diablo Canyon facility was earmarked for closure by 2025, but fears of rolling blackouts in the state later this year led to a vote to extend running the plant for an additional five years.

• The head of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Friday that advanced nuclear technology would be critical for the US and Japan to meet their decarbonising target. Speaking in Japan, Michael Regan said: “I think the science tells us that we have to respond to the climate crisis with a sense of urgency and nuclear energy and nuclear technology has and can have a role in continuing with a zero emissions contribution to the climate.”

Iran Nuclear Deal

• US State Department officials quickly rebuked proposals put forward by Iran on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal. Tehran published its latest text on the deal early Friday morning, saying it presented “a constructive approach” aimed at “finalising the negotiations.” However, after receiving the text from intermediaries in the EU, a Washington official was quoted as saying it was “not at all encouraging” and in fact amounted to a step “backwards.”

Nuclear Korea

• South Korea’s national security advisor said Friday that there would be no soft response if North Korea restarts nuclear testing. Kim Sung-han made the comments after talks in Hawaii with his US and Japanese counterparts amid indications Pyongyang had completed infrastructure works at its nuclear testing facility.