In today’s 2nd daytime session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), delegations opened discussion once again on the topic of nuclear energy in the developing world. As the Norwegian delegation noted, the developing world lacks the stability and know how to properly operate a safe nuclear energy program. The Chinese representative also noted that developing nations, both literally and figuratively “can’t handle the power”.
As the discussion began to progress forward, the Iranian delegate brought up an unknown, yet highly relevant point: there is an existing four-step IAEA checklist to determine if a nation is “nuclear ready”. This plan was unfortunately not discussed at great length.
The Mexican delegation became a leader in the debate after a short while, when the delegate made notable suggestions and stated important facts. Mexico brought to the committee’s attention that even in the highly developed world, there is still misuse of nuclear energy systems. In the past, Mexico, a country the delegate referred to as “upper middle”, has had better safety ratings on their nuclear facilities than the United States of America. Recently, a facility in the US state of North Dakota received a rating equivalent to a D grade in the Western schooling system. In the Mexican delegation’s mind, just because the country might be referred to as “developing”, it does not mean that they cannot handle running a nuclear program. However, the debate was quickly steered back to the popular belief that the developing world cannot be trusted with nuclear power. As the Australian delegation pointed out, corruption and militarization in government can lead to horrible misuse of nuclear capabilities. South Korea also added that both civil war and cyber-attacking are viable possibilities. Overall, there was a strong consensus that nuclear energy could be extremely dangerous in the developing world.
As the discussion began to progress forward, the Iranian delegate brought up an unknown, yet highly relevant point: there is an existing four-step IAEA checklist to determine if a nation is “nuclear ready”. This plan was unfortunately not discussed at great length.
The Mexican delegation became a leader in the debate after a short while, when the delegate made notable suggestions and stated important facts. Mexico brought to the committee’s attention that even in the highly developed world, there is still misuse of nuclear energy systems. In the past, Mexico, a country the delegate referred to as “upper middle”, has had better safety ratings on their nuclear facilities than the United States of America. Recently, a facility in the US state of North Dakota received a rating equivalent to a D grade in the Western schooling system. In the Mexican delegation’s mind, just because the country might be referred to as “developing”, it does not mean that they cannot handle running a nuclear program. However, the debate was quickly steered back to the popular belief that the developing world cannot be trusted with nuclear power. As the Australian delegation pointed out, corruption and militarization in government can lead to horrible misuse of nuclear capabilities. South Korea also added that both civil war and cyber-attacking are viable possibilities. Overall, there was a strong consensus that nuclear energy could be extremely dangerous in the developing world.