No leader for the IAEA, NATO shakeup may impact science programs, DOE gets new energy efficiency chief as EPA loses nominee

More appointments from the Obama administration and some proposed changes to structure of some international science-related organizations highlight this week in politics.IAEA council fails to agree on new chief

After two days of stalemate, the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors failed to agree on two candidates nominated to replace Mohamed ElBaradei as IAEA director general on Friday, causing the posting to be reopened to new candidates.

“The slate is wiped clean,” said the board’s chairwoman, Algerian Ambassador Taous Feroukhi, at a press conference after the meeting. The 35-member board must reach a two-thirds majority vote to appoint a candidate, and neither Yukiya Amano of Japan nor Abdul Minty of South Africa reached the required number.

Amano’s candidacy was backed by the US and European Union member states, who were interested in strengthening the IAEA’s mandate on security and nonproliferation. Minty had support among nonaligned developing countries, who favored more emphasis on promoting civil nuclear technology. The IAEA’s 146 member states now have four weeks in which to submit new nominations for director general.Obama applies pressure to shake up NATOEarlier this week Obama met NATO secretary-general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer to discuss strengthening NATO’s involvement in Afghanistan, to encourage stronger links with Russia, and to talk about future US plans for expanding NATO’s role. On March 20, after a 42 year-gap, France put in a formal request to re-join NATO . Both moves come at a time that NATO’s structure and mission is adapting to changing world conditions.

Although NATO is generally seen as a military-defense-based organization, NATO does fund a number of collaborative science ventures between NATO and non-allied partners such as Russia. More than 20,000 scientists annually attend NATO-funded workshops, conduct research, or take advantage of training opportunities in a given year under the NATO Science for Peace and Security Program . Funding for the program has declined over the last ten years as NATO’s role in conflict resolution expanded; but with an increased interest in strengthening the stability of countries around NATO borders, the program appears to be gaining a new urgency. Energy efficiency czar nominated, EPA deputy nominee withdraws

The Obama administration’s plan to heavily invest in renewable energy took another step forward on Friday when former CEO and Clinton administration environmental official Cathy Zoi was nominated as assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy at the Department of Energy.

Zoi, who has a BS in geology and an MS in engineering, used to run Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection, a nonprofit organization aimed to promote awareness about global warming to the US public. Before joining the alliance in 2007, she was a director of Landis+Gyr Holdings, which focuses on developing smart metering technology to improve energy efficiency.

But not everything is going smoothly for the Obama nomination process. John Cannon, who had been nominated for the number two post at the Environmental Protection Agency, withdrew his candidacy in a statement released to the press .

“Today I am voluntarily removing my name from consideration to be Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. It has come to my attention that America’s Clean Water Foundation, where I once served on the board of directors, has become the subject of scrutiny. While my service on the board of that now-dissolved organization is not the subject of the scrutiny, I believe the energy and environmental challenges facing our nation are too great to delay confirmation for this position, and I do not wish to present any distraction to the agency.”

In an EPA report the agency found that the Clean Water Foundation had funneled more than $21 million of the EPA grant money to contractor Validus Services LLC, which is a subsidiary of the American Pork Producers Council.

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson said, “I’m disappointed that Jon Cannon will be unable to serve as Deputy Administrator, and I thank him for his many years of dedication to the EPA. The administration will move quickly to identify a new candidate who can help us carry out our mission to preserve environmental sustainability and create green jobs as we transition the nation to a clean energy economy.”

A new candidate will have to be appointed quickly as Obama announced the creation of a major economies forum on energy and climate to meet in the third week of April.

Paul Guinnessy

energy, politics, science, EPA, ESA, NATO, climate global warming, IAEA, nuclear security, nuclear power