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Nuclear Monitor #887 - 17 June 2020

Nuclear Monitor Issue: 
#887
17/06/2020
Full issue

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Kujataa threatened by mining projects and uranium mining: Niels Henrik Hooge writes about the multiple mining threats ‒ including uranium mining ‒ facing the Kujataa UNESCO World Heritage Site in Southern Greenland.

Nuclear corruption and the partial reform of South Korea's nuclear mafia: Nuclear corruption of one sort or another is evident in many countries. The rampant corruption in South Korea's industry is a case in point. A recent article in the Journal of World Energy Law & Business argues that despite efforts to stamp out corruption, only radical structural and governance reform could uproot South Korea's 'nuclear mafia'.

REN21 Renewables Global Status Report: The latest REN21 Renewables Global Status Report notes that a record 201 gigawatts of renewable electricity generating capacity was installed last year, which makes for a sharp contrast with nuclear power's net decline of 0.6 gigawatts. Renewables accounted for 75% of total new installed capacity, and 75% of investments (compared to 3.8% for nuclear investments). But the report warns that the share of renewables in heating, cooling and transport continues to lag far behind.

Anti–nuclear resistance in Russia: problems, protests, reprisals: A new report by the Russian Social Ecological Union summarizes many of the problems with Russia's nuclear industry: inadequate safety standards, an aging reactor fleet, inadequate assessments of uranium mining proposals, Rosatom's scheme to import uranium hexafluoride waste, the contaminated Mayak site, a struggle against a planned nuclear waste repository in Krasnoyarsk, and abandoned nuclear sites.

Uranium, extinction, expedited approvals and extreme risks: the need for stronger environmental laws: Mia Pepper writes about plans to weaken assessments of uranium mining proposals in Australia, with a former uranium company executive appointed to a committee to review the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act. She concludes: "The push from the industry to weaken regulations should be wholeheartedly rejected and instead the EPBC Committee could consider advice from the former UN Secretary General to hold an "in-depth" assessment of the uranium sector and its impacts."