The Summit of Honor on Atoms for Peace and Environment (SHAPE 2010) will be held in Seoul, South Korea for four days starting on March 10. More than 150 global leaders in the nuclear industry will attend the summit to discuss nuclear energy and security issues. The attendees include Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei (Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency), Paolo Cotta-Ramusino (Secretary General of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs), Kim Young-sam (Former President of South Korea), and political leaders as well as academic professors and industrial experts from 17 different countries around the globe.
The five plenary sessions are scheduled as the following:
1. Nuclear Weapon Free World (NWFW)
Six nuclear experts from the U.S., China, Russia, France, Canada and Egypt will discuss about the "Nuclear Weapon Free World". The current status of nuclear weapons will be analyzed to find the solution to prevent further expansion based on their past experiences and efforts. To contrast North Korea's use of nuclear power for military purpose, South Korea has been developing nuclear related technology as a peaceful model. The goal of this session is to find plans to accomplish the "Nuclear Weapon Free World".
2. Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review
Ambassador Henrik Salander, the Secretary General of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission will discuss with six nuclear military experts on plans to strengthen NPT. The global attention to NPT has grown after President Obama addressed the vision for nuclear weapons free world. However, countries like India and Pakistan did not join NPT yet, while there are no ways to force them to join. Before the 2010 NPT Review Conference held in May, the session will serve as a preliminary NPT review.
3. Multilateral Security Cooperation
Five nuclear disarmament experts from U.S., Germany, Japan, Israel, and Sweden will discuss the effectiveness of nuclear weapons as a peace keeper and plans to accomplish multilateral security cooperation without nuclear weapons. International conflicts and terrorists, the prevention of misuse of nuclear weapons will be discussed during the session. Professor Scheinman from Monterey Institute CNS is expected to suggest effective plans for multilateral security cooperation based on his experience of U.S.-Japan nuclear relation.
4. Multi-national Fuel Cycle Approach
The session will discuss how to effectively manage nuclear waste. After the nuclear fuel is used, it becomes highly radioactive waste. It takes a lot of money to store the waste because it takes millions of years for radioactivity to disappear. In Korea, 700 tons of nuclear waste is produced every year and there will be no more room to store nuclear waste by 2016. Many countries are currently studying to reduce highly radioactive waste to moderate levels. The treatment and national management plans will be discussed during the session.
5. Non-proliferation Education & Campaign
Nuclear non-proliferation has to start from people's awareness. The session will discuss how to gather common awareness on nuclear non-proliferation. Several concrete plans to educate people will be discussed to create a world without nuclear weapons. Furthermore, nuclear non-proliferation education through global network is expected to be implemented to be more effective.
While many leading countries are expanding their nuclear industry, the demand for nuclear power has rapidly increased due to scarcity of oil.
The peaceful use of nuclear energy is critical for mankind and there have been several multilateral agreements to prevent the misuse of nuclear power. The summit is to take a step forward to reach the "Nuclear Weapon Free World". Political, academic, and business leaders will gather to discuss the use of nuclear power for the benefit of all mankind.
