Project

Global Nuclear Future

Energy & Environment
Global Affairs
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nuclear fuel storage

The Global Nuclear Future Initiative (GNF) examines and addresses the proliferation risks raised by the spread of nuclear technology around the world. As more and more countries seek the benefits of nuclear energy to respond to fast-paced industrialization and urbanization, the nuclear proliferation, security, and safety risks increase exponentially. The Academy's GNF project seeks to guide domestic and international policymakers trying to balance the pursuit of a national nuclear energy program with the potential safety, security, and economic concerns.

Overview

The Global Nuclear Future (GNF) Initiative is a comprehensive interdisciplinary, multi institutional, and multi-national project that seeks to identify paths that permit the peaceful use of nuclear power to meet the growing demand for energy, while minimizing the potential adverse consequences of the spread of inherently risky nuclear technology. GNF is distinct in its ability to bring together diverse communities, including leading experts from academia, government, nongovernmental organizations, and the nuclear industry. By engaging with key constituencies, particularly in Southeast Asia and in the Middle East whose choices and behavior will have a significant impact on the character of the international nuclear order, GNF identifies and promotes best practices to minimize the security and nonproliferation concerns associated with the spread of nuclear energy.

The GNF project builds on the Academy's history of more than 65 years - including a dozen prior Academy projects - dedicated to exploring the risks of nuclear weapons, examining the potential of nuclear power, and offering expertise to the nation. 

Project Work

GNF brings together diverse communities, including leading experts from academia, government, nongovernmental organizations, and the nuclear industry, to foster dialogue and debate with and among nuclear newcomers and encourage transparency and international cooperation. 

Outreach and Activities

People

People

Project Chairs
Senior Advisor

Scott D. Sagan

Stanford University
Caroline S.G. Munro Professor of Political Science, and Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Academy Member
Project Advisors

Sam Nunn

Nuclear Threat Initiative
Co-Chairman
Academy Member

William James Perry

Stanford University
Michael and Barbara Berberian Professor Emeritus, and Co-director of the Preventive Defense Project at CISAC
Academy Member

William C. Potter

Monterey Institute of International Studies

John W. Rowe

Exelon Corporation
Chairman Emeritus
Academy Member

George Pratt Shultz

Stanford University
Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Distinguished Fellow
Academy Member
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Publications

Publications

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News & Updates

News & Updates

In the News
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How governments and companies can prevent the next insider attack

In today’s high-tech and hyperconnected world, threats from insiders go far beyond leakers and lone-wolf shooters. How can we better protect against the enemy within, no matter what it is that needs to be protected?
Source
The Conversation
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Bulletin
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The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty at 20

Lassina Zerbo, Rose E. Gottemoeller, Siegfried Hecker, and Robert Rosner participated in a discussion on the prospects for ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the challenges presented by nuclear testing.
Press Release
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A Worst Practices Guide to Insider Threats: Lessons from Past Mistakes

The problem of nuclear terrorism has achieved remarkable visibility in the past few years thanks to the enormous efforts conducted by several countries under the effective leadership of the United States and alongside a myriad of NGOs, think tanks, and international organizations.
Bulletin
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Learning from Fukushima: Improving Nuclear Safety and Security after Accidents

How can nuclear technology be made safer? How should nuclear installations be protected from potential attacks by terrorist groups and from sabotage carried out by insiders? What policies should aspiring nuclear countries enact to fulfill their global commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)? These questions and others were discussed at a recent Academy symposium held in Hiroshima, Japan, on June 26–28, 2013.
Bulletin
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Nuclear Power in Southeast Asia

With nearly every nation in Southeast Asia exploring the possibility of developing a civilian nuclear power program, the Academy’s Global Nuclear Future (GNF) Initiative is working to create a culture of safety and security in the operation and oversight of nuclear facilities in the region.
Press Release
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Strengthening the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime

Nearly all of the 190 signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) agree that the 42-year-old treaty is fragile and in need of fundamental reform. But gaining consensus on how to fix the NPT will require reconciling the sharply differing views of nuclear weapons states and non-nuclear weapons states, according to a paper released today by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Strengthening the international rules is increasingly important as dozens of countries, including some with unstable political environments, explore nuclear energy.
Press Release
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American Academy of Arts and Sciences Releases Primer on Nuclear Reactors

As officials assess the impact of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami on that country’s crippled nuclear power plants, a new publication issued today by the American Academy provides background on the cost, safety, and security attributes of the major nuclear reactor designs, as well as their properties with regard to refueling and fuel disposition requirements.
Press Release
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Shared Responsibilities for Nuclear Disarmament: A Global Debate

Achieving the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons will require the increased engagement of nations that currently do not posses nuclear arms of their own. In a new occasional paper from the Global Nuclear Future initiative, the authors move beyond the traditional cycle of complaints from the “have-nots” and retorts from the “haves” to suggest new ways to realize the shared goal of nuclear disarmament.
Press Release
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Multinational Approaches to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle

The world may need to adopt new multinational arrangements to ensure the security and safe storage of nuclear materials that result from a global expansion of nuclear energy, according to the authors of a new collection from the American Academy.
Press Release
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Nuclear Power, Weapons Proliferation, and Climate Change

Essays in the Fall 2009 issue of Dædalus on the global nuclear future examine the interconnected issues of a potential worldwide expansion of civilian nuclear power, attendant risks of weapons proliferation and nuclear terrorism, and the prospects for lessening the impact of climate change through growth in nuclear energy.
Press Release
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Nuclear Fuel Cycle of the Future Discussed at Argonne

On May 12 and 13, the Academy and Argonne National Laboratory hosted a workshop, “Toward a New Nuclear Regime: The Fuel Cycle of the Future.” International representation from developed and emerging nuclear countries, as well as regional and international organizations, included senior policy officials, eminent scientists and educators, and leaders of the nuclear industry.
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Events

Events

May 19, 2016

The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty at 20

Featuring Lassina Zerbo, Rose Gottemoeller, Siegfried S. Hecker, Robert Rosner, Arun Rath, Scott D. Sagan, Chen Kane, Leonard S. "Sandy" Spector, and Rachel Bronson
Cambridge, MA
Transcript Copy Created with Sketch.
Project Outcomes

Project Outcomes

Since 2008, the Academy has made significant progress in identifying and promoting policy recommendations to minimize the security and proliferation risks inherent in the global spread of nuclear energy. For example, the work of the GNF Initiative influenced the outcome of the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference. A recent paper, Nuclear Collisions: Discord, Reform & the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime, also informed discussions with delegates to the May 2012 NPT Preparatory Committee meeting in Vienna, Austria. In addition, the Academy’s recommendations on the back-end of the nuclear fuel cycle are reflected in the 2012 report of the U.S. President’s Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Energy Future.

Project Information

This project has been generously funded by:

Carnegie Corporation of New York 

Flora Family Foundation 

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation 

The Kavli Foundation 

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation 

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

Project Date
-
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