News
Publish date: May 11, 2009
News
The agreement was signed between Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry during a visit to Tokyo by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, World Nuclear News Reported.
In a joint statement, the two organizations said that they share "the same vision of the essential and important role of nuclear energy for prosperity and sustainable growth in the 21st century as one of the key components in their energy mix, providing a source of safe, stable and non-CO2 emitting energy."
Under the agreement, they will facilitate bilateral cooperation between the nuclear related industries of the two countries in such areas as uranium mining, nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear power plant construction.
Environmentalists protest the move, as it will involve increased imports of uranium into Russia for environmentally dangerous processing.
Throughout the past year, our mission at the Bellona Environmental Transparency Center has focused on two key, but intertwined issues—nuclear and radiation safety as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, and the worldwide influence of Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear corporation, which itself is actively involved in the war and has participated in the occupation of a Ukrainian nuclear power plant.
At the beginning of the year, reports in the German and Russian press suggested an approximate 70% increase in uranium imports from Russia to Germany in 2024. But does this reflect broader European trends? It does not. Overall, imports of uranium and nuclear fuel from Russia to Western countries actually dropped sharply in 2024. Unlike the situation in Germany, this is already an established trend.
A Lingen, Germany plant could begin producing nuclear fuel in cooperation with a subsidiary of Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear corporation, which is directly involved in the war in Ukraine and occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
In this news digest, we monitor events that impact the environment in the Russian Arctic. Our focus lies in identifying the factors that contribute to pollution and climate change.