There might have been a time in the past when the working of government was less visible and decisions announced as a fait accompli. That is not so much the case today - the arc of history reflects global movement toward broadening information flow and participation, says Stephen Burns.

One year on from implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the US president said the agreement with Iran "must be measured against the alternatives". Meanwhile, Behrouz Kamalvandi, deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran for International, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, is on a two-day visit to Moscow to discuss progress with the JCPOA.

The global risk landscape is now dominated by environmental concerns, with environmental risks dominating the list of those most likely, according to the World Economic Forum's newly published Global Risks Report 2017. Climate change is one of the most impactful risks the world is currently facing, ranking alongside income inequality and societal polarisation as top trends for 2017.

The International Atomic Energy Agency today outlined its highlights for 2016, ahead of its 60th anniversary year. These included a report on verification and monitoring in Iran, the entry into force of the Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, response to the outbreak of the Zika crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the promotion of safe nuclear solutions towards sustainable development worldwide.

Professionals from academic, environmental, nuclear and other organizations have written an open letter to US President-elect Donald Trump and Rick Perry - recently named by Trump as his choice for US Energy Secretary - urging them to take action to "save and grow" the country's nuclear sector.

The Czech Republic needs to decide on the mechanisms for financing the construction and operation of new nuclear power plants "as soon as possible", the executive director of the International Energy Agency said this week.

Wind and solar power are transforming the electricity industry, but not fast enough to put the world on track for the UNFCCC's Paris Agreement target to hold the global temperature increase well below 2°C, according to László Varró, chief economist of the International Energy Agency. This "climate stabilisation" target needs nuclear power to play a significant role in the low-carbon power mix, Varró told delegates at the Budapest Energy Summit yesterday.

Germany's Federal Constitutional Court today ruled that, although the country's 2011 phase-out legislation is essentially in compliance with the constitution, power utilities are entitled to "reasonable" compensation for the early shut down of their nuclear power reactors.

UPDATED The proposal to force older nuclear power plants to close in Switzerland has been rejected in a referendum. The five reactors that provide over one-third of electricity can continue to operate according to their economic lives.

The South Australian government supports continued investigation as to whether a used nuclear fuel disposal facility should be established. The only path forward they say is the restoration of bipartisanship and broad social consent, secured through a state-wide referendum. Edward de la Billiere looks at the latest developments in the debate.

Agneta Rising, director-general of the World Nuclear Association, has called on Conference of the Parties to make it clear that nuclear energy will be part of their response to succeed in action on climate change. "France, Sweden, Switzerland, and Canada's province of Ontario, have all achieved more than 80% low-carbon electricity generation by using nuclear energy in harmony with renewables," Rising said yesterday at a press conference hosted by the Russian delegation to the UNFCCC COP 22 climate change conference in Marrakesh.

There will be "major transformations in the global energy system over the next decades" as government policies to combat climate change and energy efficiency measures take effect, according to the International Energy Agency. Nuclear generating capacity, it says, could more than double by 2040.