A window into what we’re reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program

Fukushima Nuclear Clean-up Begins (The Diplomat) 

It has been over 13 years since a massive 9.0 earthquake near the coastline of Japan in 2011 triggered a tsunami that irreversibly damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Failing cooling systems within the plant led to the melting of its radioactive core reactor, which dripped toxic fallout across the plant and in the larger ecosystem. Since that catastrophe, Japan has been devising ways to responsibly clean the waste in Fukushima—and it might be getting closer to a final answer. 

The Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, or TEPCO estimated that there were 880 tons of molten fuel debris present in the plant’s three reactors, an amount that underscored both the magnitude of the efforts and the time required to clean it up. While this melted fuel has been put into a frozen state, Fukushima’s deteriorating reactors pose a bigger safety risk. Thus, the removal, relocation, and storage of waste has become an urgent priority to safeguard public health and security. 

After a rigorous prototyping process, Japan created an advanced robot as a first step in cleaning Fukushima’s nuclear waste. Eight six-member teams will maneuver the robot, and limit their time on the premises to 15 min as a safeguard against radiation poisoning. The robot will retrieve tiny increments of 0.1 mg of toxic fuel samples for further analysis. Yet despite the urgency, this arduous process and uncertainty about the actual amount of waste, water levels, and contamination in the plant has led government officials to emphasize that the cleanup could take decades.   

READ | “Radioactive Fish” and Geopolitics: Economic Coercion and China-Japan Relations 

An Unprecedented Rise in Methane Emissions (Al Jazeera)  

New research from the Global Carbon Project has revealed a dramatic rise in methane concentrations, with a 20% increase in emissions over the last two decades. These methane emissions are driven largely by activities related to agriculture, waste management, and energy—methane’s status as a short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP), means that the new findings underscore the importance of mitigation strategies. 

The new report points to China and Southeast Asia as the largest methane-emitting countries, owing to these nations’ coal extraction, use of landfills, and fossil fuel production. Experts identify specific amounts at stake, observing that 40% of emissions escape during resource extraction, and a further 42% come from agricultural and livestock activities. Researchers also note that the European Union (EU) and Australia actually may have reduced their CH4 emissions from human activities in the last two decades.  

At the COP26 in 2021, 150 countries signed the Global Methane Pledge to accelerate ongoing efforts to curb methane emissions. But major polluters including India, Russia, and China have not yet joined the pledge, demonstrating a lack of unanimity in the vital international collaborations required to address such a complex issue. The upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) offers hope for greater progress, as China and the US are set to conduct a joint summit on the topic of mitigating GHGs beyond carbon dioxide. 

READ | Methane Emissions: Can the United States and China Find Common Ground? 

Uncovering Wildlife-smuggling in Australia (ABC AU News) 

Australian species, particularly reptiles and amphibians, are highly valued in the exotic international pet trade markets both for their rarity and uniqueness. Despite Australia’s recurrent efforts, illicit wildlife trade, smuggling, and unregulated trade persist persists. A recent paper published in Conservation Biology offers details about which Australian animals are involved in international animal trade circles—and to what extent it is flourishing. 

The researchers focused on animals listed by Australia under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), conducting web-scraping investigations to monitor online pet trade, and concretizing their findings using papers, trade databases, and seizure records. Around 170 Australian species were up for sale across worldwide platforms, including 33 species that had never before been recorded on the international market.  

Records of seizures reveal that traders often pack live animals into small packages, posts, planes, and even on people to smuggle them out of the country.  The appearance of rare species from Australia in global animal expos and markets (including the United States) indicates their recent and illegal removal. The new research findings demonstrate why stringent regulations and monitoring of wildlife and other animal trade is urgently necessary to meet this challenge. 

READ | Can the Growing Trans-Pacific Wildlife Trade Be Stopped?