CND Press Roundup - 8 January

• NPT review conference
• The next review conference of the NPT, expected for August 2021, is ‘expected to be characterised by deep divisions among the nuclear-weapon states (NWS), and between them and the non-nuclear-weapon states (NNWS), which are deeply disappointed with the lack of progress towards nuclear disarmament despite commitments laid down in the NPT and made at past NPT review conferences’, Pressenza reports. 
• Scientists on Presidential nuclear authority 
• The Union of Concerned Scientists has said that “President Trump’s provocation of the shocking violence that rocked the Capitol yesterday highlights the risks inherent in having invested the sole authority to order the use of nuclear weapons in the president”, calling on Biden to limit this authority by implementing a new decision making process requiring two additional elected officials in the presidential line of succession to concur before the use of nuclear weapons could go ahead. 

Nuclear power

• Floating nuclear plants
• Russia is planning a new generation of floating nuclear power plants, according to Nuclear Engineering. According Russia’s deputy prime minister, at least one of the floating nuclear plants will provide power for major copper and gold mining projects in the country’s far east.

Iran nuclear deal

• Conflicting signals 
• In a televised speech today, reported by Reuters, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that Iran is in no rush for the US to rejoin the nuclear deal, but that sanctions on Tehran must be immediately lifted: “We are not insisting nor in a hurry for the U.S. to return to the deal… But what is logical is our demand, is the lifting of the sanctions. These brutal sanctions must be lifted immediately.”
• Meanwhile, Benjamin Netanyahu has again warned against Biden rejoining the nuclear deal. Speaking alongside the outgoing US treasury secretary yesterday, the Israeli PM said: “If we just go back to the JCPOA, what will happen and may already be happening is that many other countries in the Middle East will rush to arm themselves with nuclear weapons. That is a nightmare and that is folly. It should not happen.”

Yemen war

• Biden policy 
• Representative Ro Khanna has suggested that the Biden administration will make ending the war in Yemen a key foreign policy priority, The Daily Beast reports: “That means no [American] logistical support, no intelligence support, and no military support for the Saudis in the war in Yemen… We’re going to see a partner in President Biden, Secretary-designate [Tony] Blinken, and of course National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.”

Climate

• 2020 joint hottest year on record
• Last year saw the joint hottest global temperatures on record, data released by the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service has showed. 2020 was Europe’s hottest year on record, 1.6C above the continent’s long term average. Report in the Guardian.