Alex Simpkins, alexander.simpkins@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC — Sierra Club embraces the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) “Entering into Force” January 22, 2021.
Sierra Club congratulates the United Nations, our affiliate the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICANW), and the fifty countries who have ratified the historic TPNW. The Sierra Club has long called for the total elimination of nuclear weapons. Sierra Club also calls on the new Administration and Congress to deny further funding for the development of a new generation of nuclear weapons or upgrades of existing warheads.
Endorsed by more than 120 nations, and ratified by more than fifty, The TPNW prohibits signatories from participating in, or assisting in any way, the engineering, manufacture, testing, deployment or transfer of nuclear weapons within their jurisdictions.
The legacy cost and environmental damage caused by the development of nuclear weapons from 1943 to the present is incalculable. The Congressional Government Accounting Office estimates the remediation of sites across the U.S. associated with nuclear weapons production at $505 billion. This cost could easily double to one trillion dollars, as the GAO’s Office of Legacy Management adds more nuclear weapons production sites to its list. Some sites like Rocky Flats, CO or Hanford Site, WA, will never be reclaimed.
In response, Sierra Club Nuclear Policy Director John Coequyt released the following statement:
“The Sierra Club looks forward to this landmark international treaty coming into full effect, and continues to urge all nations to work towards the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons worldwide.”
The Sierra Club joins the following organizations in hailing the TPNW:
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
Physicians for Social Responsibility
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
Nuclear Ban U.S.
Back from the Brink
Union of Concerned Scientists
Savannah River Watch
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.