This is the weekly electronic information service of the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility

Editor: Tobias Damjanov, e-mail:   
INES homepage: http://inesglobal.org
INES International Office   
INES Chair: Prof. Armin Tenner   

CONTENTS of WNII No. 36/2000

• Nuclear Weapons:
  • Putin Arms Control Proposal
  • Abolition 2000 Nuclear Weapons Convention Working Group
  • France: The Abrupt Doubling of the Megajoule Price
• Sustainable Development:
  • Just released: OECD/IEA working papers and publications
• Briefings:
  • RAND-Corporation Report on US Foreign Policy and National Security
  • Biological warfare articles
• Conferences, Meetings, Seminars:
  • 6th International Conference on Solar Energy and Applied Photochemistry/3rd International Workshop on Environmental Photochemistry
• INES Web- and Email Service

NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Abolition 2000 homepage: http://www.abolition2000.org  Grassroots News: http://www.napf.org/abolition2000/news/

Putin Arms Control Proposal (Source: Nuclear Policy Project Flash, Volume 2, Number 39, November 21, 2000)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would consider limiting itself to even fewer than the 1,500 nuclear warheads on each side that Russia is currently proposing to the US. Putin also reiterated Russia's opposition to a US national missile defense system. Russian General Vladimir Yakovlev, commander of the Strategic Rocket Forces, suggested that Russia is resigned to a US missile shield, but floated that idea that offensive and defensive missiles be considered together, with cuts of one offset by a buildup of another. For budgetary reasons, Russia has favored deeper cuts in long-range missiles than the US, which has tentatively agreed to a limit of 2,000 to 2,500 warheads. Russia spends only about US$5.1 billion on defense, compared with annual US defense spending of around US$290 billion, and is under pressure from the Russian government to further reduce its budget. Full Text of Russian President Vladimir Putin's Statement: http://www.ransac.org/new-web-site/pub/nuclearnews/11.14.00.html#3

Abolition 2000 Nuclear Weapons Convention Working Group

Abolition 2000 has a number of working groups to focus on specific aspects of the campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons. One of these is the Nuclear Weapons Convention Working Group. It focuses on the Model Nuclear Weapons Convention and on progress towards international support for a Nuclear Weapons Convention. The working group is coordinated by Alyn Ware (LCNP), Merav Datan (IPPNW) and Juergen Scheffran (INESAP). The working group hosts a separate email listserve to report and discuss progress. Recent topics include:

• Report on a Nuclear Weapons Convention Promotion Tour across Canada
• Report on critical issues on the NWC raised at the recently held Nagasaki Assembly

Please contact Alyn Ware on if you would like to join this working group and be added to the listserve.

France: The Abrupt Doubling of the Megajoule Price

The French representatives in the national legislative assembly just voted on a new defense budget. It is worth noting that France will carry on with financing a massive modernization program of its nuclear weapons. There are many aspects of the modernization of the French arsenal; it includes confirmation of the new order for a nuclear submarine with new nuclear warheads, new missiles and research on pure fusion with the Megajoule. In the 235 page annexed budgetary report, there is only one line that refers to the cost of the Megajoule whereas the price of the Megajoule has gone up to twelve billion French francs (1.6 billion dollars) compared to the previous price of 6,5 billions presented to the representatives in 1998... No justification was added for this twofold price increase. The American NIF (National Ignition Facility) laser of which the Megajoule is nearly a reproduction, has doubled in price during the year 2000, rising from two billion dollars to nearly four billion. This was due to increased costs caused by inferior laser optics. Other items were also underestimated. Since the NIF is a few years ahead of the Megajoule one could assume that the Megajoule will also cost more. Unfortunately, we can legitimately wonder if these prices are actual prices, for the Americans now admit that they have not perfected the manufacturing of the micro-balls which will be used as the thermonuclear explosion target. Dominique Lalanne (Stop Essais, France)

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Just released: OECD/IEA working papers and publications

• On-line documents Kyoto Mechanisms, Monitoring and Compliance: from Kyoto to The Hague This document is a summary of OECD and IEA analyses undertaken between 1998 and 2000 in support of the Annex I Expert Group. The work covers related sets of issues: the Kyoto mechanisms, monitoring, reporting and compliance under the Kyoto Protocol and the UNFCCC: http://www.oecd.org/env/docs/cc/km-monitoring-compliance.pdf
• Transition Country Perspectives on the Kyoto Protocol, 2000 This paper includes a report from the "transition country perspectives on the Kyoto Protocol" workshop held in May 2000 in Bratislava, which focused on transition country activities and capacity building needs relating to Articles 5, 6, 7 and 17 of the Kyoto Protocol. This document also presents detailed country-by-country information from 11 transition countries on institutional and technical capacity building needs relating to the monitoring and reporting of national and project emissions: http://www.oecd.org/env/docs/cc/bratislava00-report.pdf
• Publications Emission Baselines - Estimating the Unknown. There is currently no internationally agreed methodology on how to calculate emission baselines for different JI or CDM projects. However, developing standardised baseline or baseline components could help ensure consistency in the treatment of similar projects, increase transparency in baseline determination, and limit the negative environmental effects of free riders and gaming. Standardising emission baselines can also help to reduce project developers' transaction costs, and can therefore help to increase the attractiveness of investing in environmentally friendly projects. This book examines the potential for standardising emission baselines for JI and CDM projects in electricity generation, appliance efficiency, cement manufacture, and iron and steel production. It provides insights on how to develop credible, workable and transparent emission baselines in these sectors. It also provides an overview of the key aspects to consider when assessing if and how to standardise emission baselines for different project types. Ancillary Benefits and Costs of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Policies to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases also have impacts on other policy goals, especially health. In some cases, these ancillary effects may be more significant than the direct greenhouse gas reduction impacts. While these relationships are generally recognised, analysis of climate policies does not systematically include them in policy design and selection. In March 2000, a workshop gathered leading edge analysts on this topic from around the world. These proceedings include analytic frameworks for ancillary effects, empirical results on the type and nature of ancillary effects, and discussion on the role of ancillary effects analysis in improved policy processes. These proceedings are a valuable reference for anyone seeking to develop integrated policies to meet a range of policy objectives simultaneously. To view and order, visit: http://www.oecd.org/bookshop .

BRIEFINGS

RAND-Corporation Report on US Foreign Policy and National Security

RAND-Corporation released on Nov 13, 2000 a report: "Taking Charge, A Bi-Partisan Report to the President Elect on Foreign Policy and National Security."  A short version can be found at: http://www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1306/   (6 pdf files, 61 pages).  The project was co-chaired by a bipartisan trio of Frank Carlucci, Robert Hunter and Zalmay Khalilzad. As WNII reader Georg Schoefbaenker from the Austrian Information Center for Security Policy and Arms Control notes, the report "reads like one's fundamentals of US foreign and military policy."   Dr Schoefbaenker has produced a shorter version of about 9 pages focussing on the Report's main issues. You can obtain this version from or from the WNII editor.

Biological warfare articles

The "European Disarmament Forum" 4/2000 carries the following articles on aspects of biological warfare:

• The Proliferation of Biological Weapons: A Threat Assessment: http://www.unog.ch/unidir/4-00-ezanders.pdf
• Fighting the Proliferation of Biological Weapons: Beyond the BWC Protocol: http://www.unog.ch/unidir/4-00-emoodie.pdf
• New Technology and Future Developments in Biological Warfare: http://www.unog.ch/unidir/4-00-edando.pdf
• Biological Weapons Resource List" http://www.unog.ch/unidir/4-00-ebiblio.pdf

CONFERENCES, MEETINGS, SEMINARS

6th International Conference on Solar Energy and Applied Photochemistry/3rd International Workshop on Environmental Photochemistry http://www.photoenergy.org/solar2001.html

• Date: 3-8 April 2001
• Venue: Cairo, Egypt
• Organized by Photoenergy Center, Ain Shams University, Cairo

The purpose of the Conference and the workshop is to provide a means of communication between scientists in different academic disciplines who share a common interest in the fundamental and technological aspects of the electronic excited state of different systems. It aims at research amongst the chemistry, physics, engineering, optics, electronics, materials science, biological, pharmaceutical and medical communities. It is thought to serve as a window into the emerging technology whose power mankind will acquire very early in the 21st Century. The conference and its satellite training workshop will treat the following topics on fundamental and applied aspects of::

• Photochemistry and photophysics relevant to - nanoscale science and technology - supramolecular science and technology
• Analytical Applications of Fluorescence, Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence
• Photobiology, Photostability of drugs and Photodynamic therapy
• Photocatalysis and Photodegradation of pollutants (in air, in water and in soil)
• Photoconductivity, Photovoltaics and Molecular Photovoltaics of organic materials and new materials.
• Application of photochemistry on molecules and various chemical systems, as: xerography, coatings, semiconductor microdevices, solar cells, fuel cells, electrochromism, photochromism, lasers, imaging, etc.
• Abstract Deadline: December 21, 2000

For more details, mailto:

INES WEB AND E-MAIL SERVICE

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