CHINA AND NUCLEAR ISSUES
September 2010
The Uncertain Future of Nuclear Energy
Report
By Frank N. von Hippel, Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom, Anatoli Diakov, Ming Ding, Tadahiro Katsuta, Charles McCombie, M.V. Ramana, Tatsujiro Suzuki, Susan Voss and Suyuan Yu
In the 1970s, nuclear-power boosters expected that by now nuclear power would produce perhaps 80 to 90 percent of all electrical energy globally. Today, the official high-growth projection of the Organization for Economic Co‑operation and Developments (OECD) Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) estimates that nuclear power plants will generate about 20 percent of all electrical energy in 2050. Thus, nuclear power could make a significant contribution to the global electricity supply. Or it could be phased out — especially if there is another accidental or a terrorist-caused Chernobyl-scale release of radioactivity. If the spread of nuclear energy cannot be decoupled from the spread of nuclear weapons, it should be phased out.
August 9, 2010
Graham Allison Calls for Citizen Follow-up to "Countdown to Zero"
Memorandum, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
The Belfer Center is honored to have a number of our scholars and alumni prominently featured in the film Countdown to Zero. It is a testament to our long-standing commitment to providing leadership in advancing policy-relevant knowledge about the threat of nuclear terrorism and proliferation. Translating words into deeds, however, will require private citizens to take action. For her work in pushing nations around the world to sign a treaty banning land mines, Jody Williams won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997....Someone asked one of my colleagues here at the Center, what would a nuclear Jody Williams do? Colleagues here have developed a list.
AP Photo
July 2010
"China's Current Spent Fuel Management and Future Management Scenarios"
Conference Paper
By Yun Zhou, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
China's recent nuclear energy ambitions have put it in the forefront of research and development in the nuclear industry.This paper will first discuss the status of China's current spent fuel management methods and storage capability. Second, this paper will estimate and calculate the accumulated spent fuel and required spent fuel storage up to 2040 based on three different nuclear development scenarios. Third, future spent fuel management scenarios from now to 2040 are designed and financial costs and proliferation risks are evaluated and discussed associated with each scenario. Last, policy recommendations will be provided for the future spent fuel.
AP Photo
Forthcoming July 2010
"The Security Implications of China's Nuclear Energy Expansion"
Journal Article, Nonproliferation Review
By Yun Zhou, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
This article examines and evaluates security measures at Chinese civilian nuclear power plants and suggests ways to improve them. It also reviews current export control policies and systems, identifies likely challenges to the expanding nuclear sector, and proposes possible solutions.
Summer 2010
Belfer Center Newsletter Summer 2010
Newsletter
By Sharon Wilke, Associate Director of Communications
The Summer 2010 issue of the Belfer Center newsletter features recent and upcoming activities, research, and analysis by members of the Center community on critical global issues. This issue highlights the Belfer Center's involvement with the Nuclear Security Summit, which was organized by Center alumni Gary Samore and Laura Holgate.
Belfer Center Photo
Summer 2010
"Fellowships Encourage Scholars in Nuclear Security, History and Policy"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Beth Maclin, Former Communications Assistant, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
The Belfer Center has grown this year with the addition of two new fellowships: the Nuclear Security Fellowships and the Ernest May Fellowships.
Photo by Martin Malin
Summer 2010
"U.S.-China Experts Meet to Strengthen Nuclear Cooperation"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Martin B. Malin, Executive Director, Project on Managing the Atom
In mid-March, the Belfer Center's Managing the Atom (MTA) Project, together with Professor Li Bin of Tsinghua University, convened back-to-back workshops in Beijing on ways to strengthen U.S.-Chinese cooperation across a broad agenda of issues.
AP Photo
July 2010
"Why is China Going Nuclear?"
Journal Article, Energy Policy, issue 7, volume 38
By Yun Zhou, Research Fellow, Project on Managing the Atom/International Security Program
This study investigates China's claim that nuclear energy is necessary to meet its growing energy demands by analyzing China's energy alternatives and assessing their likelihood of contributing to total Chinese capacity. By looking at China's transformative energy policy from several perspectives, this study finds that nuclear energy is indeed a necessity for China.
April 17, 2010
"Assessing Obama’s Nuclear Summit"
Op-Ed, The Daily Beast
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government, Harvard Kennedy School
"This summit was Act One. Other governments are most likely to take the actions required when their leaders feel in their guts that a loose nuclear weapon in their country could be used to blow up the city in which they live."
April 2010
Securing the Bomb 2010
Book
By Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom
Associate Professor of Public Policy and Project on Managing the Atom Co-Principal Investigator Matthew Bunn provides a comprehensive assessment of global efforts to secure and consolidate nuclear stockpiles, and a detailed action plan for securing all nuclear materials in four years. Securing the Bomb 2010 was commissioned by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI). The full report, with additional information on the threat of nuclear terrorism, is available for download on the NTI website.
