Japan crisis highlights need to re-think energy as part of broader safety measures.
Carnegie Corporation of New York today announced eight nuclear security grants totaling $3.15 million with a special focus on mitigating nuclear threats associated with the expansion of nuclear power and the proliferation of fissile materials—plutonium or highly enriched uranium—needed by a nation or terrorist group to make a nuclear weapon. The grants are awarded to organizations engaged in policy analysis, research and efforts to advance education and public understanding.
“It is our hope to reduce the very real and present dangers posed by the global arsenals of nuclear weapons and the potential misuse of material and know-how involved with the growth of nuclear power,” said Vartan Gregorian, President of Carnegie Corporation of New York. “The magnitude of Japan’s nuclear crisis has only increased our need to better understand the full spectrum of dangers in the nuclear realm and to support efforts to devise the most effective responses.”
“A number of important measures have recently been implemented to help prevent nuclear proliferation and to secure vulnerable nuclear material,” said Stephen Del Rosso, Program Director, International Peace and Security at Carnegie Corporation. “But in light of the recent tragic events in Japan, the issue of nuclear safety must be given greater attention in efforts to strengthen and reform the current nuclear regime. What was already a daunting challenge has become even more complex and urgent, and will require an investment to strengthen and sustain nuclear security expertise in the U.S. and abroad.”
The eight grants were awarded as part of the Corporation’s nuclear security program, which has invested $50 million since 1999 to help control and eventually eliminate weapons of mass destruction. The program’s grantmaking priorities include halting proliferation to new states, addressing key regional proliferation challenges, reducing existing arsenals, preventing terrorists from acquiring nuclear weapons and strengthening the treaties and laws that govern nuclear activity.
Eight nonprofit organizations were awarded new or continuing support under this program:
* Henry L. Stimson Center received a $550,000 grant for a multi-part project to address current and emerging security threats by transforming the relationship between “hard” security obligations related to nonproliferation and “soft” human security issues; support UN and regional organizations promoting peace in post-conflict societies; and support for a forum to educate Congressional staffers on foreign policy issues.
* Harvard University received a $550,000 grant for its “Managing the Atom” project which aims to strengthen nuclear stability by ensuring that civilian nuclear expansion in China—the fastest growing nuclear producer—will not undermine the nonproliferation regime or lead to increased nuclear terrorism.
* The Partnership for Global Security received a $500,000 grant for a project to deepen international cooperation and build a more comprehensive approach to securing weapons-usable materials from terrorists in advance of the second Nuclear Security Summit to be hosted by Korea in 2012.
* The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace received a $400,000 grant to support a series of projects to revitalize efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons capability, increase understanding and transparency of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s operations and examine the implications of China’s nuclear energy plans for the nonproliferation regime.
* The Institute for International Studies received a $400,000 grant for a three-part project by the Nonproliferation Education Center to keep nuclear energy peaceful and nuclear arsenals secure, involving: a major reevaluation of the security risks associated with the spread of nuclear power; an historical analysis of how states sought to protect weapons-related assets against theft or seizure during political crises; and an expansion of the Washington Nuclear Seminar Series, a series of off-the-record policy meetings.
* The Partnership for a Secure America received a $400,000 grant for a project to help strengthen the expertise of U.S. Congressional staffers on international peace and security issues by creating opportunities for these young professionals to develop strong working relationship in order to break down partisan barriers.
* The Center for Media and Security received a $300,000 grant to convene forums for journalists on international security issues. In-depth, far-reaching and on-the-record media briefings improve the public’s understanding of defense and international security issues.
* The National Academy of Sciences received a $200,000 grant for expanding engagement between American scientists and their counterparts in Iran, including between rising young stars in both countries, to encourage the two governments to build on scientific exchanges undertaken by other nongovernment organizations.
Since its founding by Andrew Carnegie 100 years ago, Carnegie Corporation of New York has worked to achieve a more secure, peaceful and prosperous world through the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. In addition to the Corporation’s program to meet global security challenges through nonproliferation, reduction and eventual elimination of nuclear weapons, Carnegie Corporation’s International Program also supports efforts to improve approaches to states at risk of instability or collapse, and enhancing U.S. relations with pivotal powers.
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