CND Press Roundup Friday 16th December 2022

War in Ukraine / NATO

• Scientists for Global Responsibility has an article on what would happen if the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant was hit and the risks a radiation leak poses both domestically and internationally.  

• The Metro reports on footage of the moving of Yars strategic nuclear missiles to the Tver region outside Moscow – and close to the borders of Belarus and the Baltic states.

• AP has an explainer on the US decision to send Patriot missiles to Ukraine.

• AP also looks at the war in Ukraine as winter sets in and the potential for further escalation in the new year. Some analysts say the Zaporizhzhia region is the next target for the Ukrainian military offensive, while some retired Russian commanders have touted the use of so-called tactical nuclear weapons to avoid military defeat – and the subsequent breakup of the Russian Federation.

Nuclear Weapons

• ICAN’s Don’t Bank on the Bomb report for 2022 has been released and shows that the long-term investors in nuclear weapons aren’t lending as much money as they used to. It also has more evidence that upgraded US nuclear bombs are coming to Britain noting that in July, a US Department of Defence contract was awarded to Atlantic Commtech to upgrade nuclear weapons storage systems at US/NATO bases in Europe – and Lakenheath airbase in Suffolk is one of them.

Trident Replacement

• UK Defence Journal reports on the delivery of the first pressure hull unit for the future HMS Dreadnought to the Barrow shipyard. The unit will be outfitted and integrated into the finished vessel – the first in Britain’s new fleet of nuclear-armed subs.

AUKUS

• The Sydney Morning Herald on how Australia could still procure some off-the-shelf subs from the US as a stopgap until the AUKUS programme comes to fruition.

US in Britain

• The £25 million refurb of the runway at RAF Fairford has been completed.

India

• AP reports on a successful test on Thursday by India, of a long-range “Agni-5” ICBM “that is expected to strengthen its deterrence against long-time rival China.”

North Korea

• The US has formally deployed a Space Force unit to South Korea, believed to better enable Washington to motor the activities of Pyongyang, China, and Russia.

Nuclear Energy

• Twice as many people support onshore wind compared to nuclear power according to UK Government survey. Renewable energy of all sorts is at least twice as popular with the British public compared to nuclear power according to the newly released ‘BEIS Public Opinion Tracker Autumn 2022‘. Solar power was supported or strongly supported by 89% of respondents, offshore wind by 85% and onshore wind by 79%. This was compared to only 37% for nuclear power, 25% for fracking and 44% for carbon capture and storage. The survey recorded that just 29% of people believe that nuclear energy ‘provides a safe source of energy in the UK’.

• Samina Khan, Deputy Director for Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Department for International Trade (DIT) and Project Delivery Advisor, Kate Hall for the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), share their thoughts about a recent site visit to the Hinkley Point C construction site.

• From The Economist: “As the world turns back to nuclear power, it should heed the lessons from France. Europe’s ability to get through the winter energy crunch depends in part on whether France’s ageing fleet of nuclear reactors can be cranked up to operate nearer full capacity. And in the long run, investment and innovation in nuclear power appear to be part of the answer to both Vladimir Putin’s energy war and climate change: an almost carbon-free way to generate a steady and controllable flow of electricity to work alongside intermittent solar and wind generation. As a result, countries around the world are once again embracing nuclear power, which today accounts for 25% of electricity generation in the European Union, and 10% around the world. Money is flooding into research and startups, although excitement this week over the results of a nuclear-fusion experiment at America’s National Ignition Facility has got far ahead of itself—years’ or decades’ more work will be needed to discover whether the concept is viable. Despite the industry’s record of cost overruns, Britain and France are keen to build large new conventional plants and Germany has postponed closing its reactors this year. India’s state-controlled power firm, ntpc, is planning lots of new nuclear capacity, according to Bloomberg. Nuclear generation will have to double by 2050 if the world is to reach net-zero emissions, according to the International Energy Agency.”