International

Restoring the U.S.-Russian nonproliferation relationship and sustaining U.S. nuclear security spending levels will be key in addressing security vulnerabilities that could open the door to acts of nuclear terrorism, according to a new report from Harvard University. The report from the university’s Project on Managing the Atom said that despite nuclear security improvements in recent […]

Letters are flying around Congress regarding the Green Climate Fund lately, and it’s clear there is no shortage of opinions about the international anti-climate change financing program. The latest correspondence to come to light comes from a bipartisan group of senators: Democrats Tom Udall (N.M.) and Jeff Merkley (Ore.), and Republicans Mark Kirk (Ill.) and […]

The U.K. is well poised to become a carbon capture and storage leader, but the government is squandering that opportunity by not supporting the technology’s development, according to a report issued Wednesday by Scottish Carbon Capture and Storage. “The UK is uniquely well-positioned to develop and benefit from CCS, but windows of opportunity are closing […]

The Australian government has established a $750 million ($1 billion AUS) fund to support emerging clean energy technologies. The Clean Energy Innovation Fund will help technologies transition from the demonstration to commercial deployment stages, the government announced Wednesday. “Clean energy is central to the Government’s strategy to address climate change and meet our emissions reduction […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has withdrawn a license application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on behalf of the Belgian Nuclear Research Center (SCK-CEN), for the export of 134 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, according to correspondence shared with NS&D Monitor between the NRC and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). A […]

Longtime nuclear industry manager Tom Foster on May 16 will become president and project manager of Savannah River Remediation, the prime liquid-waste cleanup contractor at the Energy Department’s Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C., the company announced Wednesday. In his new role, Foster will lead liquid waste remediation activities at the site, which involves operating several facilities […]

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) of Australia will join with AGL Energy, Brown Coal Innovation Australia, and Japan’s IHI Corp. to launch the PICA post-combustion capture research project at the AGL Loy Yang brown coal-fired power station in southeastern Victoria. The two-year project seeks to “examine the energy efficiency of CO2 capture […]

The Australia Institute is taking aim again at a nuclear waste plan that backers say would produce billions of dollars in revenue for South Australia, this time with a report claiming the plan makes dangerous cost-benefit assumptions. South Australia Sen. Sean Edwards is proposing a plan in which the state would take in about 13 percent of the […]

A new report on preventing nuclear terrorism highlights restoration of the U.S.-Russian nonproliferation relationship and U.S. nuclear security spending levels as key measures to address gaps in nuclear security worldwide. The report from Harvard University’s Project on Managing the Atom said that despite nuclear security improvements in recent years, the phasing out of U.S.-Russian nonproliferation […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) said Monday it could not confirm reports that two British ships have docked in Japan and will be loaded with 331 kilograms of weapon-usable plutonium. After the vessels travel to the U.S. and dock in Charleston, S.C., the plutonium will be trucked to the Savannah River Site near Aiken, […]

Carbon capture and storage is required if the world is to limit global warming to 1.5°C – 2°C, as called for in the Paris Agreement, Global CCS Institute CEO Brad Page wrote in an institute article published Monday. “Independent, credible forecasts are that by 2040 the world will still be predominantly reliant on energy from […]

The provincial government of Quebec said Thursday in its 2016-17 budget that it will invest $15 million (CAD) in carbon capture company CO2 Solutions over the next three years. The funding is allocated under the 2015-2020 Government Strategy for Sustainable Development and will be used specifically to “support the creation of a consortium to promote […]

While appearing in South Australia earlier this month, renowned Canadian scientist and environmentalist David Suzuki told the state to let its indigenous tribes decide the fate of nuclear waste storage. South Australia Sen. Sean Edwards has proposed a plan for the state to take in about 13 percent of the world’s nuclear waste, mostly from […]

The United States and the regulatory China Atomic Energy Authority (CAEA) have commissioned a new nuclear security Center of Excellence (COE) in China, the Department Of Energy (DOE) announced Friday. Officials from the DOE, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and Department of Defense worked with the CAEA to open the COE, which is intended […]

The upcoming Nuclear Security Summit would have greater impact if it expanded its focus to include negotiations for a long-stalled fissile material ban treaty, according to a former Canadian diplomat and member of the International Panel on Fissile Materials. Speaking Tuesday at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Paul Meyer, who once served […]

Paraguay last week ratified the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, leaving support from just 10 nations needed before the measure enters into force, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. “We are now approaching the finishing line,” IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said in a press release. “I hope that after a […]

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change expanded its ranks by one Thursday with the official addition of Palestine. With the new addition, the UNFCCC now has 197 members. The Palestinian government began the process of joining the UNFCCC in December, officially ratifying the convention on Dec. 18, 2015. Under UNFCCC rules, “the Convention […]

Ed Davey, the U.K.’s former secretary of state for energy and climate change, has voiced some strong opinions about the current government’s decision to scrap a £1 billion carbon capture and storage commercialization competition. “The Conservatives’ decision to pull the funding was not based on evidence: it was irrational,” the Liberal Democrat said in a […]

The U.K. government, after facing a backlash for scrapping a carbon capture and storage commercialization program, has pledged to develop an updated CCS plan by the end of 2016, Minister of State at Department of Energy and Climate Change Andrea Leadsom said Monday in the House of Commons. “I recognize that industry and others are […]

A loophole in the European Union Emissions Trading System enabled energy-intensive companies in 19 countries on the continent to rake in €24 billion in profits from the system between 2008 and 2014, according to a report issued by CE Delft on Monday. Under the current EU ETS rules, industrial companies that are believed to be […]

Paraguay last week ratified the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, leaving support from just 10 nations needed before the measure enters into force, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. “We are now approaching the finishing line,” IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano said in a press release. “I hope that after a […]

Environmental Defense Fund Europe said Monday that Baroness Bryony Worthington has been selected as the first executive director for the European branch international nonprofit environmental group. “Under Bryony’s leadership, Environmental Defense Fund will bring a fresh voice to the European environmental debate — a voice for practical solutions grounded in science and harnessing the power […]

In the wake of the Paris climate agreement, countries are increasingly focused on using emissions trading systems as a means to achieve the emissions reductions committed to in the deal, according to an ETS handbook issued last week by the World Bank. With the added attention being paid to ETSs, it’s important to ensure that […]

The fear of carbon leakage, high-emitting industries leaving countries with stringent environmental policies in favor of doing business in countries where they can emit more, is somewhat misguided, according a report released last week by the Organization for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD). “An increase in the gap in environmental policy stringency between two trading […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Stephen Burns responded Tuesday to a report criticizing the agency’s post-Fukushima Daiichi disaster initiatives, arguing that American plants are safer now than they were when the Japanese nuclear accident occurred in March 2011. Speaking at NRC’s annual Regulatory Information Conference in Bethesda, Md., Burns noted that he has read a quick […]

President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Thursday committed their countries to increase cooperation on climate and energy activities. Under the U.S.-Canada Joint Statement on Climate, Energy, and Arctic Leadership, “the leaders reaffirm their commitment to working together to strengthen North American energy security, phase out fossil fuel subsidies, accelerate clean energy development […]

Roughly 200 nuclear power plants around the world are set to be decommissioned in the coming two decades, so regulators, utilities, and companies need to begin preparing now. A panel of U.S. and international experts will discuss issues including decommissioning costs and challenges, dealing with waste, and remediation. The session, “International Nuclear Power Plant Decommissioning: […]

New data released from the South West Hub Carbon Capture and Storage Project in Western Australia will help progress research into the feasibility of CO2 storage in the area, according to a release from the state government. “The data includes drilling reports and wireline logs from three stratigraphic wells drilled into the three distinct fault […]

Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Stephen Burns responded Tuesday to a report criticizing the agency’s post-Fukushima Daiichi disaster initiatives, arguing that American plants are safer now than they were when the Japanese nuclear accident occurred in March 2011. Speaking at NRC’s annual Regulatory Information Conference in Bethesda, Burns noted that he has read a quick summary of […]

Two panels today will address the ongoing remediation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the wake of the March 2011 meltdown. The first session, “Cleanup of Fukushima NPP – D&D and Waste Management – is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to noon in Room 102BC. It will focus on the decommissioning plan for Fukushima […]