Future of the Nuclear Security Environment in 2015 Proceedings of a Russian-U.S. Workshop (2009) / Chapter Skim
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ASSURANCES OF SUPPLY VS. PROLIFERATION: A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY
ASSURANCES OF SUPPLY VS. PROLIFERATION: A NEW FRAMEWORK FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY
Pages 59-68
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From page 59... ...
For the past five decades, the role of nuclear power has been shaped by many factors such as growing energy needs, economic performance, the availability of other energy sources, the quest for energy independence, environmental factors, nuclear safety and proliferation concerns, and advances in nuclear technology. And while nuclear power continues to hold great potential as an environmentally clean source of energy, it remains in a holding position due to a number of associated concerns.
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From page 60... ...
Over 50 countries currently have spent fuel stored in temporary locations awaiting reprocessing or disposal.74 Not all countries have the appropriate geological conditions for such disposal -- and, for many countries with small nuclear programs for electricity generation or for research, the financial and human resource investments required for the construction and operation of a geological disposal facility are daunting. ENERGY FOR DEVELOPMENT AND GLOBAL ENERGY SECURITY Recently, the IAEA has begun emphasizing the role of "energy for development" since it is becoming more and more clear that without energy there can be no development, and without development there is misery that can often lead to violence.
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From page 61... ...
And concern is mounting regarding the proliferation risks created by the further spread of sensitive nuclear technology, such as uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing. The convergence of these realities points to the need for the development of a new framework for the nuclear fuel cycle.
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From page 62... ...
This new framework should in our view include: • innovative nuclear technology that is inherently safe, proliferation resistant, and more economical • universal application of comprehensive safeguards and the Additional Protocol • concrete and rapid progress towards nuclear disarmament • a robust international security regime • an effective and universal nuclear safety regime The first notion of fuel assurances came in the 1946 Baruch plan.80 Some thirty years later, the 1976 international nuclear fuel cycle evaluation looked at multilaterally owned-andoperated nuclear frameworks.81 Sixty years after the Baruch Plan, the 2006 Special Event focused on several new proposals for multilateral approaches such as commitments to supply enrichment services, international nuclear fuel centers, and even multilateral control over all fuel cycle facilities. So, what has changed in the intervening half-century?
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From page 63... ...
In that context, the task that has been given to the policy staff at the Agency is to look at the existing proposals that have already been formulated to try and find a framework that draws upon the common elements of those proposals and to suggest a possible framework for the 82 The IAEA Director General's Statement to the General Conference of September 2003 can be found at http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Statements/2003/ebsp2003n020.html; accessed April 6, 2008. 83 The Nuclear Energy Agency defines the stages of the fuel cycle as follows: "a)
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From page 64... ...
During the summary of the Special Event, the chairman mentioned in part that the recent proposals for assuring supplies of uranium-based nuclear fuel can be seen as one stage in a broader, longer-term development of a multilateral framework that could encompass assuranceof-supply mechanisms for both natural and low-enriched uranium, as well as nuclear fuel and spent fuel management.84 In this context, establishing a fully developed multilateral framework that is equitable and accessible to all users of nuclear energy is a key element for the IAEA and its Director General. The chairman's summary also pointed to why we need an assurance of supply mechanism.
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From page 65... ...
In his Statement to the IAEA Board of Governors in June this year, the IAEA Director General presented his report on a possible new framework for the utilization of nuclear energy assurances of supply.87 In this statement he said that we are looking at these proposals and their associated legal, technical, financial and institutional aspects: the trends clearly point to the need to develop a new multilateral framework for the nuclear fuel cycle, and it is clear that an incremental approach with multiple assurances is the way to move forward. And he said that such a multilateral framework would best be achieved through establishing mechanisms that would, in the first instance, assure the supply of fuel for nuclear power plants, over time convert enrichment and reprocessing facilities from national to multilateral operations, and third, limit future enrichment and reprocessing to multilateral operations exclusively.
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From page 66... ...
None of these countries is prepared to dilute its rights, and therefore we need to frame this debate in a way that enables countries to make sovereign choices in a context where they feel comfortable relying on a multilayered mechanism that is built upon the market, backup assurances, as well as a real physical reserve of nuclear material. The IAEA report, which was released to the Board of Governors on the 13th of June 2007, was still restricted when this proceedings was published.88 The Board of Governors decided not to make this report available for public distribution at this time.
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From page 67... ...
This new framework should include swift and concrete action to achieve: • robust technological development and innovation in nuclear power and nuclear applications • a new multinational framework for the fuel cycle, both the front and the back end, to assure supply and curb proliferation risk • universal application of comprehensive safeguards and the Additional Protocol as the standard for nuclear verification to enable the Agency to provide assurance about declared activities as well as the absence of undeclared activities • recognition of the linkage between non-proliferation and disarmament and therefore the need for concrete and rapid progress toward nuclear disarmament through deep cuts in existing arsenals, downgrading of alert levels for deployed nuclear weapons, and the resuscitation of multilateral disarmament efforts starting with bringing into force the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty91 and beginning negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty92 • a robust international nuclear security regime, in light of the diverse threats we face • an effective and universal nuclear safety regime, a cornerstone for any expansion in the use of nuclear power • sufficient funding for the Agency to meet its increasing responsibilities in an effective and efficient manner 90 The text of this speech can be found at http://www.iaea.org/About/history_speech.html; accessed April 6, 2008. 91 The text of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty can be found at: http://www.ctbto.org/; accessed April 6, 2008.
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