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Economics Policy & Politics Security & Conflict

Beyond MIRVs and SCUDs, the Newest Global Weapon Is ESG

Introduction In the weapons world––loaded with the likes of Multiple Independent Reentry Vehicles (MIRVs), Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), and SCUDs––an emerging global weapon is Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG).         The current ESG target is Russia, and the payload is an economic siege designed to isolate and strangle the Russian economy. Driving that siege are global […]

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Energy & Environment Security & Conflict

How Climate Change Could Make Water a Resource Trap Risk

Climate change will likely make it harder for people to find potable water. Over the next 50 years, some parts of the planet may become virtually uninhabitable, which could in turn cause large waves of human migration.[1] Nearly a third of the world’s population lives in water-stressed countries, indicating the risk of significant competition for […]

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Asia Pacific Energy & Environment Governance & Law

China’s Coal-to-Gas Program: A Developing Environmental Governance Regime

Despite the increasing centralization of China under Xi Jinping, SAIS student Yujin Zhang uses the example of China’s Coal-to-Gas program to show that principal-agent problems and competing interests between Beijing and local governments still negatively affect environmental policy implementation. Effective environmental policies require long-term institutional reforms, not short term campaign-style enforcement.

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Energy & Environment Events North America

Resilience after Harvey, Irma and Maria: Adapting to Climate Change

Dr. Gerald E. Galloway, from the University of Maryland, gave a speech at SAIS about why the effects of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria were so damaging to the United States. He then linked the effects of the disasters to the necessity of proper development in order to avert future disasters. He concluded by recommending that Congress re-brand climate change as a national security concern in order to improve climate change’s position in the national discourse.

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Book Reviews Economics Energy & Environment International Development

The Political Economy of Sustainable Development: Policy Instruments and Market Mechanisms

Dr. John Olushola Magbadelo, Director for Research at the Centre for African & Asian Studies (Abuja, Nigeria), reviews “The Political Economy of Sustainable Development: Policy Instruments and Market Mechanisms” by Timothy Cadman, et al.