Launch of the Royal Society report on nuclear non-proliferation

http://royalsociety.org/policy/projects/nuclear-non-proliferation/report/

Fuel cycle stewardship in a nuclear renaissance considers the relationship between civil nuclear power and nuclear weapons development, as well as other nuclear security threats. With a focus on the management of spent fuel it considers the potential of new technologies and governance norms to make the nuclear fuel cycle more secure and proliferation resistant.

A major finding of the report was that the nuclear industry has changed from purely state-run to multinational companies, and countries look to the international market for fuel cycle services rather than constructing their own facilities. This increases the transparency of national programmes and helps to spread best practice. The industry now has a supranational interest in nuclear security, safety and non-proliferation. An act of proliferation from a single civil facility or major nuclear security incident would affect the credibility of the entire industry.

Global governance does not fully reflect this international reality. It is therefore timely to establish a CEO-led, World Nuclear Forum (a ‘nuclear Davos’) so that industry and government leaders can explore their respective views on the future development of nuclear power and responsibilities for non-proliferation and nuclear security. This Forum must consider the changing geography of nuclear power. It should engage leaders in countries at the forefront of a nuclear renaissance, especially China, India, Russia and South Korea, and other countries embarking on nuclear power for the first time. These countries may have ambitions to provide fuel cycle services to other countries at some stage themselves, and so should be engaged on how they can help to promote and international and multinational practices. This Forum could be proposed at the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit and set up thereafter.

The report recognises that the management of spent fuel and radioactive waste, including disposal of radioactive wastes, is the last part of the fuel cycle to be fully internationalised. It outlines options for doing so, highlighting the potential of regional approaches that learn lessons from the European experience under the EURATOM Treaty. It is in everyone’s interests that all counties embarking on nuclear power have access to capacity manage nuclear materials safely and securely.