In The News

India Should Combine Tough Climate Stand With Green Policy

Nandan Nilekani July 2, 2009
The upcoming climate summit in Copenhagen in December poses some challenging, but not insurmountable problems for the Indian government. Co-Chairman of Infosys Technologies Ltd, Nandan Nilekani explains that India needs to engage actively in the climate debate, not only because India is likely to be one of the countries most affected by climate change, but also because it will enable India to...

Oil or Trees? Germany Takes Lead in Saving Ecuador's Rainforest

Jess Smee July 1, 2009
Yasuni National Park protects the Ecuador’s rainforest and is one of the most bio-diverse places on earth. Ecuador’s largest known oil reserves, worth an estimated $6 billion, also happen to lie underneath the park. Oil is a key product for Ecuador, producing around a third of the nation’s income. The Ecuadorian government has pledged to leave the oil untapped if the international community...

Minilateralism

Moisés Naím July 1, 2009
A multilateral approach is frequently invoked as the way to solve many of the world’s problems. But Moses Naim, Editor-in-Chief of Foreign Policy, argues that traditional multilateralism has failed to resolve the major global problems of the past decade. The most recent example of a successful international accord on a vital issue was the establishment of the World Trade Organization in 1994....

A New (Under) Class of Travellers

June 30, 2009
Experts believe that an increase in environmental crises like droughts or floods due to climate change will cause an attendant increase in migration. How many people will be affected remains unclear with estimates ranging from 200 million to 700 million by 2050. The issue is complicated not only by where to place responsibility for aiding those uprooted by environmental degradation, but also by...

Climate Sans Borders

Nayan Chanda May 26, 2009
Even before the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen convenes in December, a stalemate has occurred. Developed nations want the developing nations to accept carbon dioxide emission limits. Meanwhile, developing nations argue that they’re not responsible for the majority of the build-up of greenhouse gases, so shouldn’t be forced to pay the price. But such a blame game belies the real...

Can Asia Reverse Global Climate Change?

Chandran Nair May 19, 2009
Calling on Asia to boost its consumption to pull the rest of the world out of the financial crisis is wrongheaded and could lead to an environmental disaster, according to Chandran Nair, CEO of the Global Institute for Tomorrow. If Asia were to approach the consumption levels of the West in just about any commodity – fish, meat, automobiles, or housing, for example – the environmental damage...

Can We Reverse Global Climate Change?

Jim Hansen May 14, 2009
Cap-and-trade of carbon, preferred by governments, will not reverse global warming because it does not effectively reduce carbon emissions, according to NASA scientist Jim Hansen. Rather, it creates a situation ripe with opportunities to exploit loopholes, enrich traders, and lower public accountability all the while actually increasing carbon emissions. The European experience stands as a good...