CIRSD Recommends
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Joe Biden's Ronald Reagan Problem
President-elect Joe Biden is inheriting a national crisis that has built up over 40 years. On January 20, 1981, former President Ronald Reagan took the US on a radical course when he declared in his inaugural address, "In the present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." He set out to weaken the federal government by slashing taxes on the rich, dismantling regulations, cutting back on public programs and turning many of the nation's problems back to the states.
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Biden to sign executive orders rejoining Paris climate accord and rescinding travel ban on first day
President-elect Joe Biden plans to sign roughly a dozen executive orders, including rejoining the Paris climate accord and ending the travel ban on predominantly Muslim countries, on his first day in office, according to a memo from incoming chief of staff Ron Klain.
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Sustainable Development: GOAL OF THE MONTH
Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
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The World China Wants
Does China want to transform the global order to advance its own interests and to reflect its own image? That may be the most important question in geopolitics today, yet the answers it elicits tend to reveal more about modern biases than they do about what a future Chinese superpower would look like.
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Sustainable Development: GOAL OF THE MONTH
Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
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The world's fastest-growing source of food
The green fronds that grow along much of India's shoreline have large potential as a sustainable food source, while helping to fight climate change.
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Jack Ma Makes Ant Offer to Placate Chinese Regulators
Trying to salvage his relationship with regulators in a Nov. 2 meeting, the Chinese billionaire said he was ready to do what the country needed
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Global Markets Are Partying Like It Is 2008 (But a Crash Is Coming)
After the 2008 U.S. housing and credit market crisis, Chuck Prince, the former Citibank CEO, explained his bank’s speculative activity during the bubble by noting that when the music is playing you have to dance. Today, with the world’s major central banks continuing to supply the markets with ample liquidity, there can be little doubt that the music is blaring and the markets are dancing.
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To end the pandemic, WHO says $28 billion ACT project is ‘the best deal in town’
“This is the best deal in town. No question. This will pay itself off within 36 hours, once we get international travel and trade mobility moving again”, said Dr. Bruce Aylward, Senior Advisor to the WHO Director General and lead for the coalition, known as ACT Accelerator.
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Sleepwalking Toward the Nuclear Precipice
COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of the international mechanisms for managing transnational risks and underscored the need for new cooperative approaches to anticipate and deal with threats. One lesson of COVID-19 is that the unthinkable does happen. And with nuclear weapons, the consequences would be even more devastating.
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What Will a Joe Biden Presidency Mean for the Balkans?
One can expect that the Biden team will be far more involved in transatlantic affairs. The Balkan countries should be involved in the resulting conversations.
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A Revolutionary Change in Thailand: Protests Against the Monarchy Signal a Break With the Past
Since February, protesters have taken to the streets of Thailand to demand reform of the country’s political system. Demonstrations swelled in recent months as activists grew more forthright in criticizing the government and the monarchy—an institution traditionally held sacrosanct. Thousands of demonstrators faced off with police this week in front of the garrison of a military regiment under the direct control of King Vajiralongkorn.
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The Countries With the Most to Gain—and Lose—Under a Biden Administration
Donald Trump may not be over the U.S. elections… but plenty of other countries sure are. As the congratulations for president-elect Joe Biden and vice president-elect Kamala Harris from foreign leaders stream in, here’s a quick look at which world leaders have the most to gain and lose with the changing of the guard in Washington.
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Contribution of life in soil ‘remains largely underestimated’, says UN agriculture agency
Even though soil organisms play a crucial role in boosting food production, enhancing nutritious diets, preserving human health, and combating climate change, the real contribution of these tiny life forms remains largely underestimated, the UN agriculture agency (FAO) said on Friday.
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Brexit: Are both sides running out of road to make a deal?
These are unsettling days for those of us watching, waiting and occasionally nail-nibbling, constantly calling sources, perpetually checking social media, for hints that an EU-UK trade security deal is nigh - or off the table completely this year.
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Pubs and venues may turn away people not Covid-vaccinated, says minister
Customers who have refused a Covid-19 vaccine could be turned away by hospitality and sports venues, the government’s vaccine minister has suggested, as he discussed the idea of using technology to reopen the economy.
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The Unprecedented Challenge of Coronavirus Vaccine Distribution
The countries that get the vaccine first will also be the first to end their lockdowns, open up schools and restaurants and restart their economies.
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How to Save Democracy From Technology
Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, and Twitter, already powerful before the COVID-19 pandemic, have become even more so during it, as so much of everyday life moves online. As convenient as their technology is, the emergence of such dominant corporations should ring alarm bells—not just because they hold so much economic power but also because they wield so much control over political communication.
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Market milestone: Dow closes above 30,000 for the first time ever
The Dow Jones Industrial Average roared past a major milestone and closed at a new record high after US President Trump gave the green light to the transition of power to President-elect Biden’s administration.
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Why U.S. Security Depends on Alliances—Now More Than Ever
To achieve defense in depth, simply strengthening the U.S. military is not enough; nor the even more urgent task of strengthening U.S. diplomacy and other civilian elements of national power. Enhancing national security must start with the fundamental truth that the United States cannot protect itself or its interests without the help of others.
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Climate change: Biden should establish a carbon price benchmark
A carbon price benchmark — which could be set initially at $50 per ton and rise over time — would reflect the benefits of reducing the pollution causing climate change. Biden would ensure that decision-makers across government rigorously consider the benefits of mitigating climate change in their every action. Explicitly accounting for the climate impacts of their decision-making would deter them from moving forward with activities that impose significant climate damages.
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A deep dive into Zero Hunger: farming the seas
With the world population expected to rise to 9.7 billion by 2050, food production will need to keep pace, and experts believe the Ocean can provide much of the sustenance we need. The second story in our two-part series on aquaculture focuses on the opportunities for significantly scaling up fish farming.
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Covid-19: Oxford University vaccine shows 70% protection
The coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford stops 70% of people developing Covid symptoms, a large-scale trial shows.
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Climate crisis: ‘Nowhere near the finish line’
“The European Union, Japan and the Republic of Korea have pledged carbon neutrality by 2050, along with more than 110 other countries”, he elaborated. “China says it will do so before 2060”.
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Repairing the World The Imperative—and Limits—of a Post-Trump Foreign Policy
Asuccessful candidate for president of the United States has plenty of choices to make. He can select his vice president, the members of his cabinet, and the text of his inaugural address.
