In The News

UK Is Wasting Far Too Much Food - Brown

Patrick Wintour July 7, 2008
The United Kingdom wastes about 4 tons of food a year, and Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called upon the British to be more conservative on their food purchases and preparation. Even as people in some developing nations go without food and other countries hoard, demand remains high in the wealthiest nations. The high demand, combined with some grains being siphoned off for biofuels, contributes...

World Bank Targets Forest Preservation – Climate Link

Tom Wright June 14, 2007
It takes decades for a tree to mature – and only a few moments to chop that tree down. The World Bank reports that deforestation accounts for about 20 percent of global carbon emissions, mainly from setting fires to clear land. As plants, trees absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen, and thus help clear the air of pollutants. Indonesia, a nation with a relatively small economy, is the third...

Worlds Collide in India Over Global Warming

Jo Johnson June 8, 2007
Leaders of industrial nations meeting at the G8 summit have announced plans to open negotiations for global action to slow climate change and involve emerging economies India and China. China and India, with the world’s largest populations, contribute increasing proportions of carbon emissions, which spur global warming. The world has many inequities, both among nations and within, reminds Jo...

G-8 Vows Greenhouse Gas Curbs; US Escapes Targets

James G. Neuger June 7, 2007
The G-8 summit vows a renewed global push to combat climate change – but declines to set any firm limits for now. The European Union, Japan and Canada promise to halve carbon emissions by 2050, while the US and Russia still balk at setting targets. The Bush administration wants any goals to cover developing nations like China and India. Otherwise “nothing is going to happen in terms of...

China’s Plan for Global Warming: Wait for the US

Michael Richardson June 5, 2007
China is poised to become the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, surpassing the US. Yet, at this point, while rhetoric from both governments shows growing recognition that climate change could wreak havoc with the global economy, both nations decline to set a mandatory cap on carbon emissions. Instead they claim to rely on improving industrial efficiency to reduce greenhouse emissions....

The New New World Order

Daniel W. Drezner March 15, 2007
People accuse the Bush administration of unilateralism, and the US dominates many global institutions, from the International Monetary Fund to the World Trade Organization. But according to Daniel Drezner, a professor of international politics, writing in “Foreign Affairs,” the Bush administration has led the way in encouraging global institutions to prepare for rising powers like India, China,...

How to Deal With NGOs – Part II, Russia

Liliana N. Proskuryakova August 3, 2006
President Vladimir Putin recognizes that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are useful tools for shaping global and national policy – and also for criticizing other world leaders. The second article in this two-part series examines Putin’s two-pronged approach in handling NGOs, a strategy on display during the recent G-8 summit in St. Petersburg: While keeping many Russian-based NGOs and...