Environment & Climate Change

155 Items

Men haul sections of whale skin and blubber as a bowhead whale is butchered

AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File

Policy Brief - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

The Arctic Warning: Climate-Related Challenges for Community Health

| Aug. 30, 2023

As the biosphere is altered by anthropogenic climate change, the fundamental sources of human health are at risk. Climate change is a healthcare emergency. While this is true globally, the Arctic is warming four times faster than the global average which
puts Arctic populations who are already at special risk, at further risk. This policy brief provides an overview of the climate-related changes that are impacting Arctic citizens’ health now.

bald eagles and crows at Juneau dump

Wikimedia Commons/Gillfoto

Analysis & Opinions - New Security Beat

Solving Municipal Solid Waste Management Challenges in Arctic Cities

| June 26, 2023

Unlike industrial and other forms of pollution, the long-standing, pervasive problem of municipal solid waste in Arctic cities receives comparatively little attention. As rapid warming in the region compromises existing waste disposal methods such as landfills, Arctic cities will need to develop comprehensive solid waste management strategies for the health of residents and the environment.

 

flooded street Nome Alaska

AP Photo/Peggy Fagerstrom

Report - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Impacts and Policy Challenges from Rapid Climate Change in Alaska

June 23, 2023

This report summarizes a workshop co-hosted by the Arctic Initiative and the Science and Technology Directorate of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), focused on the challenges posed by the impacts of rapid climate change in Alaska.

Strong Climate Actions Together

Flickr/UN

Report - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

African Agency in International Climate Policy and Energy Geopolitics

| May 30, 2023

The Africa in Focus series is a forum for the intellectual and critical analysis of processes and policies from the continent and its engagement with the international community. Through thoughtful and dynamic programming, Africa in Focus brings greater African perspectives into broader policy conversations at HKS.

Photo of test engineer Jacob Wilcox pulling his arm out of a glove box used for processing sodium at TerraPower, a company developing and building small nuclear reactors on Jan.

AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File

Analysis & Opinions - Foreign Policy

By Not Acting on Climate, Congress Endangers U.S. National Security

| July 21, 2022

Last week, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin seemingly dashed Democrats’ hopes for congressional action to slow climate change. Sen. Bernie Sanders accused Manchin of “sabotag[ing] the president’s agenda”; Rep. John Yarmuth, when asked about the consequences of Congress not acting on climate change, said, “We’re all going to die”; and climate activists, as well as some Democrats in Congress, wondered if Manchin should be removed as chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Electricians install solar panels.

AP/Mary Altaffer

Report Chapter - Brookings Institution

Mexico’s Energy Reforms: A Blow to Realizing the Most Competitive and Dynamic Region in the World

| Feb. 28, 2022

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.

teaser image

Analysis & Opinions - Bloomberg Opinion

Russia’s Oil Weapon May Be More Potent Than Gas Blackmail

| Jan. 28, 2022

Russian military action in Ukraine could trigger an energy crisis even more serious than the one already hitting Europe. As has been pointed out, should the West hit Russia with severe new sanctions, President Vladimir Putin could cut off natural gas exports, leaving the continent shivering through midwinter. Yet there is another potential weapon of Russia’s that’s been less discussed and might be very effective: An ability to disrupt global oil markets, which would directly hit U.S. consumers.