The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will soon issue a regulation governing how carbon dioxide emissions from wood burned for energy (“biomass”) will be regulated under the Clean Air Act.
Depending on who you ask, biomass is either worse than fossil fuels and helps to destroy our forests, or it is a climate friendly substitute for fossil energy. Both views, of course, cannot be true. We need to get off fossil fuels and move to protect and grow our forests. Is it possible to have a forest biomass policy approach that is good for forests and helps combat climate change? We think so.
Forests will play a central role in any effort to address climate change. Globally, deforestation accounts for a substantial share of the 23 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the land sector. In the U.S., forests actually absorb the equivalent of about 15 percent of annual fossil fuel GHG emissions. Everyone agrees that growing trees is good for the climate; there is tremendous disagreement, however, on whether we should use some of our forest products to produce energy. If properly done, forest bioenergy can produce a win-win for forests and the climate.
Horizons Discussion in Belgrade Explores Europe’s Future with Zachary Karabell
Belgrade, September 29, 2025 — The Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) hosted another edition of its renowned Horizons Discussions series, featuring Zachary Karabell, prominent American author, investor, and founder of The Progress Network, in conversation with Vuk Jeremić, CIRSD President and former President of the UN General Assembly.
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Global Preventive Diplomacy Initiative Launched in New York Ahead of UNGA 80
New York, NY — The Global Preventive Diplomacy Initiative (GPDI) was launched at an exclusive event organized by the Center for International Relations and Sustainable Development (CIRSD) on the top floor of New York’s iconic MetLife Building, bringing together diplomats, philanthropists, business leaders, academics, and thought leaders for a conversation on the future of conflict prevention and international cooperation. The launch came just days before the opening of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, which annually brings together heads of state and government for the High-Level General Debate — making New York the world’s diplomatic capital.
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Eighty years after its founding, the UN finds itself at a critical juncture. Its purpose is on trial, and its mission urgently requires recalibration. The world it inherited from the scorches of the Second World War no longer exists, yet many of the organisation’s practices remain rooted in a bygone era – out of sync with today’s realities and detached from those it was created to serve.
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