ABSTRACT
For decades, nuclear weapons and climate change have been intimately linked through common histories, scientists and thought leaders, technologies, and shared tools. Past work has examined the health and environmental consequences of nuclear detonations, creating some of the earliest connections between nuclear- and climate-related issues. However, more recent news and analyses have made clear that nuclear and climate risks are not merely linked by the history of these fields of science, but are uniting in social and political ways as well. New attempts to examine nuclear-climate connections extend into international affairs, law, and psychology. In asking whether nuclear disarmament is a climate question, this chapter provides an overview of this range of interrelationships between nuclear and climate risks, including historical and contemporary works on the subject. It provides brief assessments of the implications of such efforts, and recommendations for carrying them forward. This chapter finds mixed evidence on whether expanding knowledge in this field may help or hinder arms control and disarmament efforts, yet shows the value of this work and speaks to the critical importance of its contributions to our full understanding of global nuclear trends.
