The Security Index Occasional Paper Series Came Out With The New Report “Way Out Of The Arms Control Pandemic” By Alexander Kolbin

MOSCOW. JULY 27, 2022. PIR PRESS. The Security Index Occasional Paper Series came out with the new report  “Way Out of the Arms Control Pandemic” by Alexander Kolbin.

This research paper attempts to place nuclear disarmament and arms control in the context of the sustainable development agenda. In particular, the paper examines the possibility of applying the experience and specific mechanisms of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to create new incentives for nuclear arms control and disarmament. Considering the devastating environmental consequences of nuclear weapons use, the nuclear-weapon states should take responsibility for possessing nuclear weapons just as they took responsibility for carbon emissions.

Key findings:

• Just as in the case of SALT I, which prompted critics to argue that it fueled the nuclear arms race between the USSR and the US, New START without the ABM and INF Treaties is already fueling the new nuclear arms race between Russia and the US.
• In summer 2021, Russia and the US, despite geopolitical disagreements, continued to discuss green agenda, including long-term strategies under the Paris Agreement, and implementation of joint climate projects.
• For many decades, scientists have been assessing the environmental consequences of nuclear weapons use. The topics of climate action and sustainable development received a new impetus in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• What happened in Europe in February 2022 serves as a novel threat multiplier, urging us to generate new ideas and create new infrastructure for defeating the nuclear arms control pandemic. Those ideas may include possible consideration of environmental responsibility, nuclear safety and nuclear security matters in one complex solution.
• The Kyoto Protocol can help find the appropriate mechanisms for taking environmental responsibility for possessing nuclear weapons.