39:2 – Summer 2015
Conversations with Global Climate Leaders: The Road to Paris
On Climate Justice and Human Rights
MARY ROBINSON, the UN’s Special Envoy for Climate Change and former President of Ireland, argues that action on climate change should be shaped by human rights considerations.
On the Business of Climate Change
PAUL POLMAN, the CEO of Unilever, which reaches 2 billion consumers a day, stresses the urgent role businesses can play in addressing climate change.
On Negotiating a Climate Accord
DAN REIFSNYDER, the co-chair of the upcoming Paris conference and an alumnus of The Fletcher School, offers insights into the conversations and challenges that are shaping the climate negotiations.
On Climate Leadership and Low-Carbon Economies
RACHEL KYTE and PATRICK VERKOOIJEN from The World Bank discuss pathways to building cleaner economies that are more resilient to climate change.
On Macroeconomics in the Age of Climate Change
DUNCAN FOLEY and LANCE TAYLOR, the winners of the Leontief Prize, point to data that reveals the impact of carbon emissions on the global economy.
On the Path to a Sustainable Future
AMORY LOVINS, the Chairman Emeritus and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, argues that an energy revolution that will get us to carbon-neutral economies is already well underway.
Developments in Energy and the Environment
William Moomaw
Will the Paris Climate Accord and FutureClimate Treaties Be a Vision or a Roadmap?
In preparation for the Paris Climate Summit in December 2015, Bill Moomaw distinguishes between roadmaps and visions as they relate to the current framework of global climate agreements. While any accord set in Paris will not be legally binding, the gathering of nations provides an opportunity for countries to set meaningful goals, along with robust procedures for meeting them.
Amlan Saha
The War on Climate Change: Hubris To Realism
If the road to a world that warms no more than two degrees Celsius leads through India and China, then these countries must dramatically reduce their reliance on coal. In this article, Amlan Saha outlines the key structural reforms needed to put the Indian and Chinese power sectors—the main consumers of coal—on cleaner trajectories.
David Kenny
Big Data, Big Decisions: The Growing Needfor Acting with Certainty in Uncertain Times
David Kenny, CEO of the Weather Channel, takes a look at the opportunities for Big Data to improve decision-making in public policy. Improving data technology has increased its potential to inform leaders and make them better decision-makers. But Kenny finds that leaders have not kept pace, concluding that the policy community must find better ways to adapt Big Data tools to critical decisions.
Erin L. Taylor
with Michael Tlusty, Jason Clermont, Michael Eppling, Michelle Cho, Joel Southall, Tania Taranovski
With fisheries providing a substantial amount of food and livelihoods for people around the world, global seafood businesses have an important role in protecting the world’s oceans from environmental damage and economic exploitation. Erin Taylor et al. of the New England Aquarium and Sea Education Association examine the challenges and leadership opportunities businesses now face.
Monica Arruda de Almeida & Bruce Zagaris
Political Capture in the Petrobras Corruption Scandal: The Sad Tale of an Oil Giant
In March 2014, scandal erupted surrounding Petrobras, Brazil’s state-owned national oil company. In this article, Monica Arruda and Bruce Zagaris give a detailed account of the massive corruption scheme and discuss its implications for Petrobras and otherstate-owned enterprises in Brazil.
Leonardo Orlando
Fighting Water Wars: Regional EnvironmentalCooperation as a Roadmap for Peace
Using the experiences of communities surrounding Lake Victoria as an informative case study, Leonardo Orlando argues that the management of transboundary water resources leads to greater collaboration anda lower level of conflict. Orlando illustrates the ways by which the process of negotiating water management can provide a framework for international cooperation.
Barbara Kates-Garnick
Inflection Point: Committing to an Energy Transition
Barbara Kates-Garnick takes on the challenge of creating a comprehensive energy policy for the future. By looking at all stakeholders—consumers, energy companies, and governments— she describes a policy inflection point as the specter of climate change looms large.
Reporting on Risk: From Kiev to Baghdad to Monrovia
Amitai Etzioni
Spheres of Influence: A Reconceptualization
Amitai Etzioni examines spheres of influence from a realist’s viewpoint and adds a psychological evaluation of the concept. Addressingthe question of whether these conceptual divisions and the liberal international order can be reconciled, Etzioni argues that spheres of influence contribute to the international order by promoting deterrence and reducing the risk of war overall.
Shahla Al Kli
The On–Again, Off–Again State-Building Cycles in Iraq
Reflecting on the failures of the initial state-building effort in Iraq, ShahlaAl Kli discusses the tension between international action and the need forlocal ownership in establishing government legitimacy. Highlighting the need for long-term planning and local context awareness, Al Kli points to the recent intervention against ISIS as a renewed opportunity for more sustainable, inclusive state-building in Iraq.
Joia Mukherjee & Regan Marsh
Excess Maternal Death in the Time of Ebola
Weak health care systems lie at the foundation of the recent Ebola epidemic in West Africa. In this article, Partners In Health physicians discuss their organization’s work in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea in the midst of the health crisis, and point to the disproportionate impact of the crisis on pregnant women as an indicator of the strength of health systems in the region.
