Carnegie Moscow Center
The 2011 conference focused on new actors and new agendas, reflecting the need to develop cooperative responses to challenges being posed by changing technology, distributions of political power, interest in nuclear energy, and security conditions in key regions.
As Japan struggles to find ways to cool its damaged nuclear reactors, it is increasingly clear that it is in the world’s best interest to ensure that nuclear operators can effectively handle unpredictable and even extreme external events that might impact their installations.
Nuclear disarmament faded from media attention after the New START agreement was signed, but it remains a challenge for the world.
Japan has been hit by the most powerful earthquake in recorded history and many countries, including Russia, have offered assistance. Russia should give Japan all the help it needs during this terrifying experience.
Amidst the drama of the worst seismic catastrophe in Japan’s recorded history, the Japanese government and its nuclear industry have been struggling to prevent a power reactor core melt accident similar to that which occurred at Three Mile Island in the United States three decades ago.
The fire in the spent fuel pool in Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant and the explosion inside another reactor have opened more pathways for radiation to be released, prompting the nuclear industry to reconsider whether their designs for reactors are sufficient to withstand significant natural disasters.
While public concerns about the safety of nuclear energy have resurfaced in the wake of the crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, the case for nuclear power remains strong.
In the aftermath of a devastating earthquake and tsunami, Japan is scrambling to avert further problems at damaged nuclear plants.
In the past 20 years, there has been a major, and positive, turnaround in the Russo-Turkish bilateral relationship.
Low fuel prices and a lack of government incentives have hindered energy efficiency improvements in the Russian auto industry, but greening the country's vehicles is a necessary precursor to further economic modernization.