international politics

It’s getting out there

Newsweek: But there are also powerful voices being raised amid the din of despair, saying that now is precisely the time to seize the initiative and launch the “global revolution” the IEA is calling for. And not just because it will stave off disasters two or three decades away, but also because it can provide […]

Should Hagel and Lugar be considered for Secretary of State given their climate views?

It’s frequently suggested that Obama appoint a Republican to his cabinet to demonstrate his bipartisan (or is it post-partisan?) bona fides. When it comes to Secretary of State, he reportedly has Sens. Chuck Hagel and Richard Lugar on his short list. Of course nothing’s wrong with post-bipartisanship, but it’s worth noting that one important task […]

World leaders express hope that Obama will actively address climate change

World leaders congratulated Barack Obama on his presidential win, and indicated that his environmental policies look to be a welcome change from the past eight years. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: “Obama has not only been very clear in emphasizing the need for the U.S. to engage in global solutions to meet […]

The European wind industry continues its march to dominance

The European energy market has been driven for years by restrictions on CO2 and taxpayer support for renewable energy. As a result, Europe boasts many of the biggest, strongest wind companies in the world. In the U.S., we largely leave the energy market up to the vagaries of rising and falling oil prices. As a […]

David Rieff on the Gates Foundation’s ‘Green Revolution in Africa’

No development project in the sustainable-ag world generates more controversy than the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations’ efforts around agriculture in Africa. On the one hand, Gates officials say they have learned the hard lessons of the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s — the one that, funded by U.S. foundation cash, brought the […]

Duke Energy announces investment in wood biomass on first day of the Clinton Global Initiative

The fourth annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative kicked off today, bringing together heads of state, business leaders, and representatives from non-governmental organizations in New York City to discuss major initiatives to address the world’s challenges. “Energy & Climate Change” are among the four commitment areas the conference is focused on this year, and […]

Some Palin energy expertise

ABC has released some excerpts of its interview with Sarah Palin, which will air tonight and tomorrow night. Asked if it would be worth it to go to war with Russia over the invasion of Georgia: [Putin’s] mission, if it is to control energy supplies, also, coming from and through Russia, that’s a dangerous position […]

It’s time to break the American addiction to oil

This post is by ClimateProgress guest blogger Bill Becker, executive director of the Presidential Climate Action Project. —– When George Bush declared that the United States is addicted to oil, it may have been the most insightful moment of his presidency. It is a cruel but apt analogy, and that’s why the big push for […]

Conservative heavy-hitters discuss what makes for a safer world

Kate and I mostly spent our time at the RNC seeking out energy/environment-related events, but I wanted to go to at least a few on other subjects, just to see if our issues popped up anywhere outside their normal silo. In that spirit, on Wed. afternoon I attended a panel discussion called "Building a Better, […]