CND Press Digest: Monday 8th July 2024

Nukes in Britain

• Declassified UK: Starmer’s red button: Labour’s long addiction to nuclear weapons.
• Associated Press: British PM’s 1st day at 10 Downing St. will stretch from nuclear weapons briefing to Larry the cat.
• The Guardian: ‘Letters of last resort’: deciding response to a nuclear attack among first of Starmer’s tasks.
• Metro: The deadliest decision Keir Starmer will have to make today.

Global Nukes

• Allies and former advisers to former President Donald Trump are arguing that the US, for the first time in decades, should resume nuclear testing. They say it’ll advance American safety by ensuring that the US has a decisive military and technological advantage over other nuclear powers. In reality, the U.S. — and the world — would be made more dangerous by the kind of arms race this could spark. And it seems plausible that if Trump were to win the White House he could adopt the policy because of the manner in which it aligns with the unilateral militance of the “America First” worldview. https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/trump-nuclear-policy-election-rcna160459?link_id=4&c…
• PBS: Where Putin stands on using nuclear weapons to win Russia’s war in Ukraine.
• ‘My Life’s Work Melting Before My Eyes’: An adaptation of Scott Ritter’s recent presentation to a 1 July round table organised by the Russian delegation to the Vienna Negotiations on Military Security and Arms Control.
• The Daily Star on the legacy of US nuclear testing on the Marshall Islands.

UK Nuclear Power

• The Times: New nuclear is ‘too expensive’ for UK zero-carbon energy target.Chairman of the Energy Transitions Commission says hydrogen or gas power with carbon capture and storage could help to keep the lights on. New nuclear power stations may not be needed for Britain to hit targets for net zero because there are cheaper, low-carbon alternatives that could back up intermittent renewable power, the head of a leading think tank has claimed.
• The Telegraph: An Indian family dynasty nicknamed “the Rockefellers of Uganda” have joined forces with General Electric (GE) to propose a series of mini-nuclear reactors in Britain. The Madhvanis, who trace their history in Uganda back to the 19th century, head a conglomerate spanning sugar farming, steel production, construction, hotels and insurance.
• Renew Economy: Federal Opposition leader Peter Dutton this week welcomed new UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s landslide victory, making a point of the fact that UK Labour supported nuclear power. “I take this opportunity to commend Sir Keir Starmer and the UK Labour Party for their goals to make Britain ‘a clean energy superpower’ and to achieve ‘energy independence’,” Dutton said in a post on X/Twitter.
• NNB Generation Company Ltd, otherwise known as Sizewell C, is seeking permission to build a temporary depot at the former Cinram in Ransomes Europark in Ipswich, near the A14. The proposals include plans for a temporary hydrogen refuelling facility, the erection of a temporary maintenance building and the installation of a 2.4-metre-high boundary fence. The proposed depot will be in place for 24 months.
• This is Money: Rolls-Royce risks losing billions in overseas contracts if Labour delays vital strategic decisions on nuclear reactors, in what is emerging as the first crucial test of its business policies.

Nuclear Power

• Agencia Brasil: Brazil is expected to establish a permanent repository for nuclear waste by early 2029. This facility will centralize the storage of materials resulting from operations that produce radioactive waste, including nuclear power plants, medical facilities, and the food industry, for centuries to come. The repository is expected to be completed by the National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN), the regulatory body overseeing nuclear activities in Brazil, under the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation.

NATO / Europe

• Financial Times: NATO allies to pledge €40bn for Ukraine amid domestic turmoil
  Washington summit to set out limited support package for Kyiv as allies grapple at home with political turmoil.
• The Guardian: The NATO alliance should not invite Ukraine to become a member.
• Foreign Affairs: A better path for Ukraine and NATO. What Kyiv could do now for a place in the alliance.
• Politico: NATO’s in denial about deterrence by denial. Taking the necessary steps to fully operationalize deterrence by denial is critical — especially before a possible change in America’s relationship with NATO.
• The Telegraph view: NATO is facing an uncertain future. The re-election of Donald Trump could put considerable pressure on the alliance.
• Reuters Exclusive: NATO will need 35-50 extra brigades under new defence plans.

AUKUS / Asia-Pacific

• The Guardian: Book on AUKUS ‘fiasco’ says decision to embrace pact will ‘haunt’ Labor for years. Andrew Fowler’s book reveals one of Australia’s most important requirements for its submarines was the ability to work alongside the US in South China Sea.
• The Strategist: With its risks understood and managed, SSN-AUKUS is our best bet.
• King’s College London: AUKUS and war powers webinar, 18 July.

Best,

Pádraig McCarrick

Press and Communications Officer

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament