OPINION

In a groundbreaking move to strengthen the deep-rooted connection between nature and local communities, the Indian state of Sikkim has introduced an innovative initiative called “Mero Rukh Mero Santati” (My Tree My Child). Under this government-monitored program, 100 trees will be planted for every newborn baby in Sikkim, making it …

CAMBRIDGE – As the 2024 US presidential primary campaign season begins, the most likely final contest is a rematch between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Judging by the electoral map in 2020, Biden would be well-placed to win. But American politics is unpredictable, and any number of health, legal, …

MADISON, WISCONSIN – In April, the United Nations estimated that India had overtaken China as the world’s most populous country. While the announcement received a great deal of media attention, India’s 2024 census will likely reveal that the UN’s projections have been vastly overestimated. According to India’s most recent census data, the …

CAMBRIDGE – It is hard not to be disappointed about the outcome of the first round of Turkey’s presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14. In a campaign defined by the aftermath of February’s huge earthquake, mounting economic problems, and deepening corruption, hopes were high that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s …

TOKYO, Japan, May 8 2023 (IPS) – The Ukraine crisis, which in addition to bringing devastation to the people of that country has had severe impacts on a global scale—even giving rise to the specter of nuclear weapons use—has entered its second year. Against this backdrop and amid urgent calls for …

CAMBRIDGE – We live in a world where geopolitical stability relies largely on deterrence. But how can we prove that deterrence works? Consider the ongoing war in Europe. Beginning in December 2021, US President Joe Biden warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia would face severe new sanctions if he …

GENEVA – Over the past three years, the COVID-19 pandemic has dominated headlines and spurred scientific research, with experts around the world focusing resources and any potentially useful technology on the problem. While the spotlight on COVID-19 has dimmed slightly, it remains a high global priority, sometimes to the detriment …

WASHINGTON, DC –To intervene or not to intervene. That has been a central debate about the state’s role in the economy at least since the eighteenth century. Over the past 40 years, the United States and other Western liberal democracies have championed free markets, free trade, and a limited role …

STOCKHOLM – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has issued a final warning to humanity: unless we halve greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, we will have no chance of capping global temperatures at 1.5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Achieving that target will be extremely challenging, but it is both possible and …

WASHINGTON, DC – When Edmundo, a waste picker in Peru, caught COVID-19, he had to take out a bank loan to pay for his visit to the clinic. Many of his colleagues also fell ill and subsequently went into debt, desperately seeking loans, emptying their savings, and selling their land …