Foreign News

We’re delighted to bring you an excerpt by Heidi Hutner from the anthology Doom With A View: Historical and Cultural Contexts of the Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant.

Long Reads 30th June 2020 read more »

The man whose name is synonymous with Nevada’s opposition to building a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain northwest of Las Vegas is ending a career after three decades of service under Democratic and Republican governors. Robert Halstead, executive director of the Nevada Agency for Nuclear Projects, became a respected nemesis to the Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission and nuclear energy lobby. Although the Trump administration and Yucca Mountain advocates from other states in Congress have backed off previous proposals to store 110,000 metric tons of spent fuel rods and radioactive waste north of Las Vegas, Halstead is reluctant to let down his guard.

The Hour 11th July 2020 read more »

A former Mossad chief, who ran the agency under three Israeli prime ministers, admits that Iran’s nuclear program cannot be stopped, expressing confidently that the Islamic Republic is determined to advance its atomic work. Shabtai Shavit, Mossad chief from 1989 through 1996, made the remarks to The Times of Israel in a June 2 interview that the daily published on Wednesday. In the interview, the 80-year-old was asked about a book he has written under the title Head of Mossad — published in Hebrew in 2018 — where he has admitted Iran cannot be stopped in its nuclear bid.

Press TV 11th July 2020 read more »

The coronavirus pandemic has diverted public attention away from many pressing issues, not least the climate crisis. But behind the scenes, the EU appears to be keeping its foot on the gas in dealing with climate change. At a press conference in Brussels on Wednesday, the European Commission unveiled its strategy for a greener, cleaner energy future, with high hopes for increased use of hydrogen across various sectors, including energy.

Euro News 10th July 2020 read more »

HYDROGEN technology will increasingly take centre-stage in achieving the objective of a net-zero carbon emissions economy. However, several regulatory and legislative barriers to achieving a hydrogen economy in Europe continue to persist. The European Commission’s new Hydrogen Strategy, published yesterday, seeks to tackle some of the remaining challenges.

Energy Post 9th July 2020 read more »

Statement on the sly with very little detail. On July 7, 2020, Orano, operator of the La Hague nuclear plant (Normandy), declared that he had forgotten to carry out compulsory periodic inspections of almost twenty pieces of equipment important for the safety of the nuclear site.

Sortir du Nucleaire 7th July 2020 read more »

Foratom says it “remains concerned” that the European Commission is paying “insufficient attention” to low-carbon, non-fossil fuel sources of hydrogen, such as nuclear. The EU nuclear trade association was responding to two strategies the Commission released on 8 July for energy sector integration and hydrogen. Foratom said it welcomed the addition of a ‘low-carbon hydrogen’ category but said its usage should not be limited to the short and medium term.

World Nuclear News 9th July 2020 read more »

A net-zero economy by 2050 in the EU requires bold action across all sectors, and in none more than buildings. The building sector is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. In its long-term strategy for 2050, the European Commission recognises the need for a near-complete decarbonisation of the building sector to meet its climate goals. At the same time, citizens have a lot to gain from decarbonisation of buildings, including health, employment, lower household energy bills, and system cost savings. A new report released today by the ECF, prepared by CE Delft, shows that despite the necessity, benefits and urgency to decarbonise Europe’s buildings, the sector is not currently on a trajectory to zero-carbon by 2050. Current policies focusing on incentives and information are not enough for reaching this target. Focusing on three areas where the emissions reduction potential is the greatest, namely the energy performance of the existing building envelope, energy carriers, and building materials, the report recommends a first-ever long-term roadmap of policies to deliver essential carbon reductions in the residential building sector.

European Climate Foundation 9th July 2020 read more »

The European Union must significantly increase its climate ambition if it is to achieve climate neutrality by the middle of the century and the targets set by the European Green Deal and the Paris Agreement, according to a new report published this week. The report found that Europe must increase its emissions reduction targets to 65% on 1990 levels by 2030 – up from 40% – and must subsequently switch to 100% renewable energy by 2040. These are the key findings from a new report published Wednesday by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), which looks at how the necessary economic recovery packages planned by most European governments can integrate climate policy as a key component. The new report – European Green Deal: Using Ambitious Climate Targets and Renewable Energy to Climb Out of the Economic Crisis – comes as Germany takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Council for the next six months.

Renew Economy 10th July 2020 read more »

EU hydrogen strategy could drive 120 GW of renewables capacity. The European Commission has outlined a long-anticipated plan it says could unlock up to €340 billion for new solar and wind projects over the next decade. The 30-year strategy envisages up to €470 billion being spent on electrolyzer capacity.

PV Magazine 9th July 2020 read more »

In a matter of weeks, the government of Japan will have the opportunity to demonstrate to the world how much it values protecting human rights and the environment and to meet its international obligations. In the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, myself and other U.N. special rapporteurs consistently raised concerns about the approaches taken by the government of Japan. We have been concerned that raising of “acceptable limits” of radiation exposure to urge resettlement violated the government’s human rights obligations to children. We have been concerned of the possible exploitation of migrants and the poor for radioactive decontamination work. Our most recent concern is how the government used the COVID-19 crisis to dramatically accelerate its timeline for deciding whether to dump radioactive wastewater accumulating at Fukushima Daiichi in the ocean.

Japan Today 9th July 2020 read more »