DiaNuke.org

Jim Green | This year has been catastrophic for nuclear power and just when it seemed the situation couldn’t get any worse for the industry, it did. There are clear signs of a nuclear slow-down in China, the only country with a large nuclear new-build program.

Westinghouse, a leading nuclear reactor manufacturer has filed bankruptcy in U.S. dealing a blow to the nuclear power industry. Newsclick spoke to Prabir Purkayastha, on the impacts this will have globally and in India. The filing ends the takeover of Westinghouse by Toshiba, one of a handful of nuclear contractors left worldwide. It will also have an impact on India, as Westinghouse was a part of the Indo-US nuclear deal.

There is a growing understanding that financing is a form of prohibited assistance. Including an explicit prohibition on financing in the nuclear weapons ban treaty will help make this understanding universal, and thereby build on existing international law.

Though the Australian Parliament has not yet ratified the Australia-India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement signed in 2014, civil society, environment and disarmament advocates caution that sale of uranium to India would fuel a nuclear arms race in the region and undermine Australia’s strong credentials as an exponent of nuclear safeguards policies.