Environment & Climate Change

Joseph S. Nye argues that history shows that globalization is largely driven by technological changes that reduce the importance of distance, and that will not change.

The economist and HKS professor is passionate about solving what may be humanity's most important and perplexing problem: How to untangle fossil fuels from the global economy.

In late 2017, Mexico made headlines as Italian company Enel bid what was then a world-record low price for renewable energy in the country’s third such energy auction. This development was possible due to the historical and sweeping energy reforms passed with broad support in Mexico in 2013. Then-President Enrique Peña Nieto had succeeded where previous Mexican presidents had failed, reversing decades of resource nationalism and overhauling the energy sector through constitutional reforms that gave the private sector a larger role and advantaged renewable energy in Mexico’s economy. The 2017 auction seemed to indicate Mexico’s bright future not only as a conventional oil producer, but also as a clean energy power.

Joseph Nye  discusses the following: Why the United States must work with China on global issues such as climate change, pandemics, and other transnational concerns, despite rivalry between the two countries; the "three-dimensional chess game" between the U.S. and China, with military, economic, and ecological boards; the importance of soft power; and differences from the U.S. relationship with the Soviet Union.

Joseph Nye analyzes why the Cold War metaphor in relation to  the U.S. and China, although convenient, is lazy and potentially dangerous. It obscures and misleads us by underestimating the real challenge we face — and offering ineffective strategies.

Stephen Walt explains why the Biden administration should not expect its closest European allies by its side as it gears up for a long-term struggle in China.

Guest Balsa Lubarda joins Right Rising to walk us through the basics of what scholars mean by "ideology" and how it relates to far-right ecologism. Along with host Augusta Dell'Omo, Balsa takes us on a deep dive into the world of what he calls "far-right ecologism." He explains how various ideological threads of the radical right, far right, and Christian ecology intersect in far-right ecologism. In today's discussion, Balsa and Augusta consider some of the implications of the growth of far-right ecologism for the environmental justice movement and national green parties.

Stephen Walt looks back at the Trump administration as four years of big ambitions, a handful of successes—and many more failures. He concludes that it was more than a missed opportunity because Trump's blunders have left the United States in much worse shape than when he took office. 

Stephen Walt describes how the United States' rise was fueled by fortunate circumstances that seem unlikely to last much longer. He lists four reasons why the country's luck just might be running out.

Via Agenda Pública – El País: After enduring months of a global health pandemic that has unleashed a profound economic crisis, Europe should not lose the opportunity to leverage its recovery plans to kick-start a clean hydrogen society.