Listening: Nuclear weapons spending exceeded $100 billion for first time
Spending by the nine nuclear powers topped the $100 billion mark for the first time last year, according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Armies (ICAN).
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Armes nucléaires: les dépenses ont franchi 100 milliards de dollars
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This represents an increase of more than $9 billion compared to 2023, the Geneva-based NGO said.
Every second, more than $3,160 are injected into these weapons, says ICAN, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017. The United States has seen the biggest increase, by $5.3 billion.
It spends more than all the other nuclear players combined, more than $56 billion. China follows with $12.5 billion, ahead of the British at just over $10 billion, who move up to third place.
The private sector has won at least $43.5 billion in contracts, while those in progress are worth at least $463 billion. New arrangements reached at least $20 billion last year.
Over five years, spending by the nine states officially equipped with this weaponry totalled almost $416 billion, an increase of 47%. ICAN repeats that the $100 billion spent last year could have been used to combat climate change and the loss of biodiversity, or for health.
At a time when the UN is increasingly facing liquidity problems, the amount would have paid for the organisation’s budget almost 30 times over.
Nearly 100 countries have signed or are party to the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty. Despite Parliament’s request, Switzerland is still not one of them.
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