In an era of great power competition, climate goals are increasingly at odds with geopolitical interests. As the United States aims for a nuclear power renaissance, it threatens to ban nuclear fuel imports from Russia, the world’s foremost supplier. The belated realization that the United States is funding Putin’s war effort to the tune of $1 billion a year in enriched uranium sales could hinder U.S. efforts to triple its nuclear energy capacity by 2050, a goal set at the U.N.’s Conference of the Parties in December (COP28). As restrictions on imports of Russian nuclear fuel were passed by both houses of the U.S. Congress, Washington risks a self-inflicted wound. U.S. policymakers have yet to secure access to sufficient alternative sources of enriched uranium. While initiatives to expand domestic enrichment capacity are underway, they will take years to come online.
