In The News

Climate Change Is Forcing People to Migrate and the World Doesn’t Have a Plan

Aura Bogado November 11, 2015
The UN climate talks scheduled for December will review how governments should treat refugees fleeing the effects of climate change. The UN 1951 Refugee Convention covers persecution, but not a changing climate, and in the meantime such refugees “remain in a bizarre legal and political limbo.” Aura Bogado, writing for Grist, argues that “Developed countries, which have emitted more carbon in the...

Goldman Fund Walks Away From BRICS Era

Ben McLannahan November 10, 2015
The economies of China, India, Brazil, Russia and South Africa, with 42 percent of the world’s population, totaled about 22 percent of global gross domestic product in 2015, as projected by the International Monetary Fund. The US economy represents the same share of global GDP with about one-tenth of the BRICS’s population. A former chief economist of the investment bank Goldman Sachs coined the...

China’s New Economic Plan Tackles the Rebalancing Puzzle

Stephen S. Roach November 10, 2015
Early reports on China’s Five-Year Plan outlining the government’s strategic priorities for 2016 to 2020 indicate preparations for slowed yet more sustainable economic growth. The plan involves ongoing transition toward an economy that promotes service industries, private consumption, innovation and entrepreneurship. The plan endorses a diversified economy, emphasizing quality rather than...

What to Do About Debt

Richard Kozul-Wright November 9, 2015
The world must prepare for higher interest rates. The McKinsey Global Institute estimates 2014 global debt at $199 trillion, more than 2.5 times global GDP. “Servicing these debts will most likely become increasingly difficult over the coming years, especially if growth continues to stagnate, interest rates begin to rise, export opportunities remain subdued, and the collapse in commodity prices...

Egypt Can’t Blame Everyone Else

H.A. Hellyer November 9, 2015
Egypt initially resisted theories that a bomb brought down Russian Metrojet Flight 9268 in the Sinai Peninsula, killing 224. Evidence suggests that extremists may have planted a board onboard the plane, and other countries are reacting, including the United Kingdom, which suspended flights to the region, and Russia, which eventually suspended flights to the nation. Egyptian authorities waited a...

Just a Nudge Could Collapse West Antarctic Ice Sheet, Raise Sea Levels 3 Meters

Carolyn Gramling November 5, 2015
Freezing and melting of the Arctic and Antarctic regions along with global weather patterns are volatile. Researchers prepare models to predict when a large West Antarctic Ice Sheet will break away, eventually causing global sea levels to rise by as much as 3 meters. “Just a few decades of melting leads to ‘thousands of years of ice motion,’” writes Carolyn Gramling for Science Magazine. “More...

The US and Russia Face to Face as Ice Curtain Melts

Humphrey Hawksley November 5, 2015
The US defense budget for 2014 is more than double that of Russia and China’s combined. Measuring naval strength is trickier as comparisons of hulls or personnel matter less than surveillance and sophisticated weaponry and vessels like ice-cutters. As climate change melts sea ice, countries eye the Arctic for natural resources and trade routes, reassessing naval positions. Journalist Humphrey...