A New Nuclear Age?

Since the dawn of the atomic age, humanity has struggled with the inherent duality of atomic fission, with its awesome power to either benefit or obliterate life on earth. Waves of optimism and despair have been driven by the threat of the proliferation of nuclear weapons and their possible use, and by the hopes of a prodigious carbon-free energy source that has stumbled and lost public confidence in the process.

In this Energy Policy Seminar, Daniel Poneman, Belfer Center Senior Fellow and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy, considered the question: In today's turbulent environment, can the benefits of nuclear energy be secured without unleashing its terrors?

Co-Sponsors: Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, Harvard University Center for the Environment, Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability

Watch the Recording

About the Speaker

Daniel Poneman most recently served as President and CEO of Centrus Energy Corp. (2015-2023), restoring the company to profitability and deploying the first U.S.-technology uranium enrichment facility to begin production since 1954. Currently he co-chairs the Commission on Nuclear Energy and Climate Security and the Nuclear Energy and National Security Coalition. Prior to joining Centrus, Mr. Poneman served as Deputy Secretary of Energy from 2009 through 2014, including a brief stint as Acting Secretary. As Chief Operating Officer of the Department, Mr. Poneman’s responsibilities spanned all energy technology and nuclear security issues. He led 2009 international negotiations to address Iran’s nuclear program, chaired the Credit Review Board approval process for $30 billion in projects that accelerated the widespread deployment of electric vehicles and renewable power, played an instrumental role in the Department’s response to crises ranging from Fukushima to the Libyan civil war to Superstorm Sandy, and led efforts to strengthen emergency response and cybersecurity across the energy sector. He served for six years at the National Security Council under Presidents Bush and Clinton, including three as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Nonproliferation and Export Controls. Between tours in government, Mr. Poneman advised on corporate transactions as a principal of The Scowcroft Group and practiced law at Covington & Burling and later as a partner at Hogan & Hartson. Mr. Poneman received A.B. and J.D. degrees with honors from Harvard and an M.Litt. from Oxford. He is the author of Double Jeopardy: Combating Nuclear Terror and Climate Change, Argentina: Democracy on Trial, and Nuclear Power in the Developing World. His third book, Going Critical: The First North Korean Nuclear Crisis (co-authored with Joel Wit and Robert Gallucci), received the 2005 Douglas Dillon Award for Distinguished Writing on American Diplomacy. In 2020, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese government.