This policy brief was first published by The European Leadership Network (ELN) in June 2020.
While the world focuses on managing the consequences of novel coronavirus, other global risks warrant political attention. As the sea ice retreats and the permafrost collapses due to climate change, the growing nuclearisation of the Russian Arctic should be high on this list.
The largest concentration of nuclear installations – both civilian and military – is in northern Russia. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union kept a significant portion of its nuclear weapons arsenal in the Arctic, carried out extensive nuclear weapons testing at Novaya Zemlya, and used its waters as nuclear dump sites. russia’s inability to effectively deal with this nuclear legacy created the potential for an environmental catastrophe and became a major post-cold War challenge. During the period 19962006, defence agencies of the United States and Norway – later joined by the United Kingdom – worked with Russia to jointly manage transboundary radioactive waste issues under the aegis of the Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation (AMEc) program.
Today, almost three decades after the international cleanup started, a new generation of nuclear reactors are coming to the Arctic. in 2019, The Independent Barents Observer reported that there are 39 nuclear-powered vessels or installations in the Russian Arctic, with a total of 62 reactors. This is set to increase considerably over the next 15 years.
According to some estimates, the Russian Arctic will constitute the most nuclearised waters on the planet by 2035.
Russia’s poor record on nuclear management, coupled with insufficient emergency preparedness capabilities in the Arctic, raises safety concerns. these include potential incidents involving nuclear contamination, which could severely harm the Arctic marine environment and population alike, and pose a serious threat to Russia, Europe, and potentially the United States. We should not wait to put in place early warning and transparency mechanisms that reduce the risks of a dangerous nuclear incident in the Arctic.
Read the full policy brief here.
Photocredit: Kris krüg/ Flickr