NTI Highlights Nuclear Effects Research at the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

On the opening day of the second Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, NTI Program Officer Patricia Jaworek joined a panel of fellow experts and a survivor of the Nagasaki atomic bombing to discuss the devastating humanitarian and societal impacts of nuclear weapons and the growing body of research on the subject.

During the event, which was held at the United Nations’ headquarters in New York, she presented findings from a recent NTI Paper she co-authored with Ananya Agustin Malhotra, “Global Effects of Nuclear Conflict: Implications for Nuclear Policymaking, Then and Now.” The paper explores the history of “nuclear winter” research in the United States and the persisting disconnect between the science and nuclear policy, outlining key questions for policymakers to address given today’s increasingly interconnected world. Jaworek stressed, “The inconvenient truth is that leaders are taking huge risks they don’t understand because they do not fully comprehend—or do not want to comprehend—the broader societal consequences of nuclear use.”