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In 2024, nuclear-armed states spent around $100 billion on their nuclear arsenals compared to $90 billion the year before. Together, the nine nuclear-armed states spent $100 billion on nuclear weapons, from which the private sector earned at least $42.5 billion in 2024.
There are at least $463 billion in ongoing nuclear weapons contracts, some of which don’t expire for decades. In 2024, at least $20 billion in new nuclear weapon contracts were awarded. The companies that received them turned around and invested in lobbying governments, spending $128 million on those efforts in the US and France (the two countries for which data is available).
Those whose incomes depend on the existence of nuclear weapons fiercely defended the right of nine countries to indiscriminately murder civilians with these weapons of mass destruction, but a majority are going in another direction and joining the UN nuclear ban treaty. Half of all eligible states have now either signed, ratified or directly acceded to the TPNW (Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons) that came into force in 2021.
There is no doubt that the use of a nuclear weapon would have a catastrophic impact on people and the environment, what’s less talked about is the incredible damage it would do to the world’s economy. From devastating supply chains to potentially making the world’s food supply inedible (or ungrowable), nuclear weapons threaten everything.
There are two very different approaches to nuclear weapons- one is firmly rooted in the idea that no leader will ever be so crazy as to use these world-ending weapons of mass destruction, and one based on a system of rules, norms and international law. The first requires guessing and luck, the second demands courage.
More than 100 institutional investors are demonstrating courage and creativity by supporting the ICAN - Etica SGR “Nuclear Weapon Free Finance Initiative”. This effort welcomes the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons; encourages the adoption of nuclear weapons-free finance policies across lending, investment and insurance, and; supports engagement with index and other service providers to ensure the availability of products excluding the companies involved in nuclear weapons.
For most of the companies involved in the production and maintenance of nuclear weapons, the income they receive for this work is merely a drop in the bucket compared to other revenue generated. These companies can, and should, make a choice to set themselves free from the burden of association with the production of nuclear weapons. Investors can push them in that direction.