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Debt for Nonproliferation:  Recent Publications

Featured (full text) PNNL publications

Fuller JL. 2002  "Debt for Nonproliferation:  The Next Step in Threat Reduction," Arms Control Today, January/February 2002.

Recent PNNL publications

Fankhauser JG, P Godoy-Kain, K Leek, and JL Fuller. 2001. "Debt for Nonproliferation." PNNL-SA-35638, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA.   
Presentation prepared for Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Dialogue on Debt for Nonproliferation in Moscow, Russia in November 2001
Establish a Russian debt-for-nonproliferation debt conversion program, in a manner similar to worldwide use of debt-for-nature programs, to provide a new and innovative financing mechanism for global nonproliferation needs to hasten arms reduction.

Fuller JL. 2001. "Debt-for-Nonproliferation." PNNL-SA-34999, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA.
Published in Arms Control Today, Jan/Feb 2002 issue, entitled, “Debt for Nonproliferation, The Next Step in Threat Reduction"
In March 1991, the concept of swapping the debt of certain heavily indebted countries in exchange for the creation of internally funded ecological programs (to help improve conditions that could affect the rest of the world) was extended to other types of environmental programs in the newly independent state and emerging democracy of Poland. Debt-for-nature swaps have been a cornerstone of the environmental movement for two decades, with the Polish example epitomizing their efficacy while having the additional benefit of helping stabilize a new European democracy. Russia is not only faced with the servicing of daunting Soviet-era debts, it is a nuclear weapons state that in part because of these debts can not seem to get its act together to safely, securely, and expeditiously downsize its defense infrastructure, including its vast mass-destruction weapons complex. It is in the best interest of western creditors to restructure at least some portion of Russian Soviet-era debt in exchange for the creation by the Russian federal government of a Nonproliferation Fund to reprioritize defense complex downsizing and help prevent the proliferation of Russia's weapons, weapons materials, and weapons expertise. This process would be established and managed under the guidance of western stakeholders involving public-private partnerships, would keep debt capital in Russia, and channel Russian rubles effectively and directly into internal security programs to prevent proliferation and remove hurdles to downsizing.

Fuller JL. 2001. "Debt-for-Nonproliferation." PNNL-SA-35253, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA.
Invited presentation at International Nuclear Materials Policy Forum, Washington DC, September 28, 2001
Basic proposal to establish debt-for-nonproliferation swap programs, in a manner similar to debt-for-nature swaps of the last two decades, to meet global nonproliferation needs and to hasten bilateral arms reductions.

Fuller JL. 2002. "Debt for Nonproliferation." PNNL-SA-35783, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA.
Invited article submittal to Arms Control Today, January 2001
It is not uncommon for wealthier creditor nations of the world, including the United States, to restructure and reduce the official bilateral debt owed by developing nations to effect positive change of broad benefit. The commercial sector, comprised of the multitude of private financial institutions worldwide, similarly restructure the private debt owed by such nations and related government bodies when it made financial sense to do so. International nongovernmental organizations and others have found it useful to work with both government and private creditors to leverage debt reduction actions for more philanthropic activities: activities that can benefit financial institutions in less tangible ways. If we use the term debt swap to loosely denote the forgiveness of monetary debt by a creditor or group of creditors for actions by the debtor (country), then it is safe to say that debt reduction and restructuring initiatives that have included debt conversion swaps have been an effective tool in improving the global condition from a variety of perspectives.

Fuller JL. 2002. "Progress Report from the U.S.--Debt-for- Nonproliferation." PNNL-SA-35980, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA.
Invited presenter at the February 2002 Second International Working Group for the Nuclear Cities Initiative in Brussels, Belgium
Proposal to establish a Russia debt-for-nonproliferation debt conversion program to provide a new and innovative financing mechanism to help meet global nonproliferation needs and to hasten bilateral and multilateral arms reductions. Inherent to this Debt for Nonproliferation proposal is the establishment of a Russia Nonproliferation Fund controlled jointly by Russian and creditor stakeholders.

Fuller JL. 2001. "Soviet-Era Debt Conversion." PNNL-SA-34767, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA.
Invited presenter at the Institute of Nuclear Materials Management/Russian Nuclear Society—Priorities and Alternatives, Washington DC, May 2001.
The concept of Debt-for-Ecology has recently been expanded to Debt-for-Nonproliferation and Debt-for-Security. Further developments are described, particularly in relation to the use of commercial sector, London Club debt instruments. This presentation will be used in various international forums, as well as form a basis of discussion with Congressional members and staff, Bush administration principals, and NGOs.

Fuller JL, and K Leek. 2001. "Debt-for-Ecology: A Concept to Help Stabilize Russian Nuclear Cities." In Russian-American Nuclear Security Advisory Council Energy & Environmental Opportunities in the Russian State Research Centers & Nuclear Cities. PNNL-SA-34546, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA.
Invited Conference paper, Russian-American Nuclear Security Advisory Council Energy & Environmental Opportunities in the Russian State Research Centers & Nuclear Cities, April 2001
During the fifty years of the Cold War the Soviet Union and the United States developed the largest nuclear weapons complexes in the world. One of the greatest post-Cold War challenges for both countries has been the drawing dawn of their nuclear weapons complexes. This has entailed the irreversible dismantling of thousands of nuclear warheads and cessation of production of nuclear materials. It has also required remediating extreme environmental problems and converting scientists and a specialized workforce to non-weapons-related employment. In the United States, the Government has played a leading role in financing economic diversification and environmental remediation efforts around its own nuclear cities. Environmental remediation in places like the Hanford nuclear reservation has been the foundation of economic stabilization of the U.S. nuclear city of Richland, Washington. The so-called "Richland Model" for nuclear city economic stabilization involves many factors, but primarily focuses on ecological remediation of cold war nuclear wastes and facilities. Environmental clean-up activities at Hanford have not only provided new jobs and skills for nuclear workers, they are also making the city and the region much more desirable for commercial development

Godoy-Kain P. 2001. "Debt Conversion/Debt-for-Ecology, A Concept to Help Stabilize Russian Nuclear Cities." PNNL-SA-34545, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA.
Invited presenter at Energy & Environmental Opportunities in the Russian State Research Centers & Nuclear Cities in Como, Italy, April 2001
Achieve London Club, Paris Club, Russian Federal Government support to establish debt-swap Russian EcoFunds (Debt-for-Ecology programs) on a regional basis, focused on Russian cold war legacy ecological problems. The EcoFunds would fund ecological projects to meet Russian, European and U.S. goals: (1) Supports defense conversion projects with significant scientific and engineering content--provides high quality gainful re-employment of Russian nuclear weapons complex workers; (2) Improves the environment around the nuclear cities, making it more attractive for international commercial investment; (3) Improves health and safety of the local Russian people; (4) Reduces the likelihood of pollution transport beyond Russian borders; and, (5) From the U.S. perspective, at least, reduces the proliferation threat.

"Helping Keep the World at Peace," a PNNL Breakthroughs Special Report, Spring-Summer 2002.

Other publications

"205 Days of Putin," - Security and Foreign Policy High on Putin Agenda, Conference Sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment of International Peace - November 28, 2000

"Debt for Nature Swaps in Latin America," Visser, D.R. and G.A. Mendoza, Journal of Forestry, 92(6):13-16, 1994.

Global Trends 2015: A Dialogue About the Future With Nongovernment Experts. National Intelligence Council - December, 2000 (note: this is a PDF document)

"The IPG Handbook on Environmental Funds," Pact Publications, Norris, Ruth, Editor, ISBN 1-888753-14-5, New York, 1999 (note: this is a PDF document)

Nuclear Nonproliferation: Implications of the U.S. Purchase of Russian Highly Enriched Uranium, U.S. General Accounting Office, GAO-01-148 - December 15 (note: this is a PDF document)

Nuclear Nonproliferation: Security of Russia's Nuclear Material Improving; Further Enhancements Needed, April 2001 (note: this is a PDF document)

"Proliferation: Threat and Response," Office of the Secretary of Defense - January, 2001 (note: this is a PDF document)

RANSAC Announces Congressional "Strategic Stability and Security Seminar Series" - April 24, 2001

"Russia: London Club to mull Soviet Debt," Brady Forum, August 2, 1999

"Russian Federation - Recent Economic Development," International Monetary Fund, Staff Country Report No. 99/100, Washington, DC.

Seminar 1: U.S.-Russian Relations in the post-September 11 World

Seminar 2: A Decade of Nunn-Lugar: U.S.-Former Soviet Union Threat Reduction and Nonproliferation Cooperation (mentions debt swaps)

Summary and Accomplishments of the Bush-Putin Presidential Summit, May 2002 (mentions debt restructuring)

Summary of the International Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services Subcommittee of the Governmental Affairs Committee Hearing on Russia and China: Nonproliferation Concerns and Export Controls (mentions debt relief)

Summary of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing: Increasing our Nonproliferation Efforts in the Former Soviet Union (specifically mentions debt-for-nonproliferation)

"U.S .Debt Reduction Activities. FY1990 through FY1999," Public Report to Congress, U.S. Department of Treasury, February 2000 (PDF file)

Update on Congressional Activity Affecting U.S.-Russian Cooperative Nonproliferation Programs (specifically mentions debt-for-nonproliferation and DRNA)