Call for Applications: Independent Scientific Panel on Effects of Nuclear War

NEW YORK, 4 February 2025 (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs is issuing a public call for candidates to serve on an independent Scientific Panel on the Effects of Nuclear War. 

The Panel, created by General Assembly resolution A/RES/79/238, will examine the physical effects and societal consequences of a nuclear war on a local, regional and planetary scale.  Potential Panel members are expected to have the necessary expertise to assess the climatic, environmental, radiological and other relevant effects of nuclear war, and its impact on public health, global socioeconomic systems, agriculture and ecosystems.  The Panel has been tasked with publishing a comprehensive report by 2027, making key conclusions and identifying areas for future research.

Nuclear weapons are the most devastating weapons ever invented and the only weapons with potentially existential consequences.  Just one nuclear weapon can destroy a whole city, potentially killing millions, and jeopardizing the natural environment and lives of future generations through its long-term catastrophic effects.  Despite decades of nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control efforts, there remain approximately 12,500 such weapons in the world today.

It has been almost four decades since the last United Nations study on the effects of nuclear war.  Since then, climactic and scientific modeling tools have significantly progressed, and with them, the potential to better understand the effects of a nuclear war, and to provide an updated, comprehensive scientific assessment of the effects and consequences of such a war.

The Office for Disarmament Affairs is seeking individuals with expertise in one of the following seven key areas:  nuclear and radiation studies; atmospheric sciences and climate; earth and life sciences; environment and environmental studies; agriculture, biology and life sciences; public health and medicine; and behavioural and social sciences and applied economics.

A link for experts to self-nominate, along with criteria for consideration, can be found at https://disarmament.unoda.org/panel-on-the-effects-of-nuclear-war/.  Applications will be accepted until 1 March.