ThePrint | US & other nations will push for tripling nuclear power by 2050 during COP28. India must join in

The agenda for the United Nations’ upcoming 28th Climate Change Conference of the Parties promises more than the usual climate discussions. This time, the spotlight will also fall on nuclear energy, and India must take advantage. Scheduled from 30 November to 12 December in the United Arab Emirates, the COP28 to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is particularly important. It marks the conclusion of the first global stocktake, a five-year assessment of progress made toward Paris Agreement goals. Apart from the usual business, nuclear energy will be a central talking point during the summit. The US is reportedly set to lead the effort to advocate for significantly increasing nuclear power globally, with the aim of least tripling worldwide capacity by 2050. Read the full article here.

Nikkei Asia | India can get more out of nuclear power with private sector help

India needs a way to generate a lot more power to keep up with rapidly rising demand without adding to its already severe pollution woes. For India, nuclear energy is the obvious solution. On Aug. 31, a new unit of the Kakrapar Nuclear Power Plant -- the largest to be designed in India -- began full operations in Gujarat state. At their meeting in New Delhi on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden discussed how the two countries could collaborate on developing next-generation small modular reactor technologies. A few weeks before, Modi talked to French President Emmanuel Macron about joint work on another emerging technology, advanced modular reactors. Read the full article here.

Why crisis-hit Pakistan won’t go the Lanka way

There are a few factors that might prevent an all-out collapse like we saw in Sri Lanka. First, Pakistan has been here before. Many times, in fact.  Pakistan has sought financial aid from the UAE, China, and the IMF in 2013, 2016 and 2018.  Second, the international community is wary about a Sri Lanka styled economic and political collapse in a nuclear armed country. The threat of rogue players gaining access to nukes often makes lenders a lot more lenient in issuance of fresh loans and repayment terms. Third, Pakistan has more generous friends. Pakistan received a loan from Saudi Arabia and recently, the UAE government has offered to acquire 10 to 12 per cent equity shares in Pakistan government-owned companies through its sovereign wealth funds.

NPT turns 50. The first half it lived a lie, the second half it saw its own demise

One way forward is to move away from prohibiting possession to discouraging their use. At Takshashila, we have advocated a Global No First Use (GNFU) treaty that can help reduce the risk of an accidental nuclear war. This will create the foundation for nuclear weapons states to lower nuclear alertness levels, reduce the sizes of the arsenals and change their posture. What about disarmament? Now, I do not think complete disarmament is feasible — and some such as nuclear strategy theorist Thomas C. Schelling have argued that it’s not desirable either — but it is perhaps a worthwhile goal to pursue in the long run. For the time being though, we can buy another day, month, year, and decade of human survival by committing not to use nuclear weapons first, and then, at all.Read more