Peter Orszag writes that making cities more resilient to the challenges of stormwater runoff is a wise investment to minimize climate change-related damage.

Michael Levi discusses different ways to deal with climate change.

According to Michael Levi in this serial of The Power Surge, decreasing demand "is the only real path to confronting the climate consequences of abundant oil."

The global economic crisis and the subsequent attention to economic and budgetary issues have monopolized the political debate. With the aftermath of the crisis still being felt, there is not much political will for policies that may create short-term economic pain for long-term benefits. These include policies to combat or adapt to climate change.

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The global energy map is being redrawn at an accelerated pace. All signs point to the United States becoming part of an increasingly hemispheric energy trade, both for oil as well as for biofuels like ethanol. The Middle East will still loom large in U.S. energy policy given its crucial role in the world oil market, but U.S. energy officials and companies are forging deeper ties with their counterparts elsewhere in the Americas.

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The Arctic region is undergoing unprecedented and disruptive change. Its climate is changing more rapidly than anywhere else on earth. Rising temperatures are causing a retreat of sea ice and changes to seasonal length, weather patterns and ecosystems. These changes have prompted a reassessment of economic and development potential in the Arctic and are giving rise to a set of far-reaching political developments.

Since 1988, Brazilians have cleared more than 153,000 square miles of Amazonian rain forest, devastating the environment and driving global climate change forward ever faster. Recently, however, Brazil has changed its course, reducing the rate of deforestation by 83 percent since 2004. At the same time, it has become a test case for a controversial international climate-change prevention strategy that places a monetary value on the carbon stored in forests.

Michael A. Levi, CFR's David M. Rubenstein senior fellow for energy and the environment, and director of the program on energy security and climate change, leads a conversation on President Obama's climate change policies.

While California may not be getting much attention at this year's UN climate talks in Doha, "California's new cap-and-trade system is perhaps the biggest good news climate story this year, and delegates in Doha should be celebrating it," says Michael A. Levi.

The UN climate meeting could show progress on outstanding issues from previous rounds, but negotiators are focused on modest steps forward rather than major breakthroughs, says CFR's Michael Levi.

With the UN climate meeting in Doha under way, five experts discuss what needs to happen to advance a comprehensive global climate policy.

Michael A. Levi says natural gas is a good and inexpensive alternative to coal and oil, but it's still a fossil fuel. Keeping in mind that gas is far from a permanent climate solution, delegates meeting in Doha for the UN climate change negotiations "should strengthen their efforts, individually and collectively, to promote innovation and development of cost-effective zero-carbon energy options."

Michael Spence writes that Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath have highlighted the need for greater investment in critical infrastructure to minimize economic disruption after a disaster.

As the recovery from hurricane Sandy gets under way, CFR's Michael A. Levi highlights three policy takeaways from the storm.

Based on the premise that economic development and environmental protection can be complementary goals, the Global Green Growth Initiative provides technical and policy advice to developing countries. The program faces many challenges, but if successful, it may revolutionize the field of development.

Benn Steil's Forbes op-ed, co-authored with Dinah Walker and Romil Chouhan, shows why President Obama's touting of renewable energy as a job-creator is misguided.

A broad-sweeping look at international efforts to combat climate change. This is part of the Global Governance Monitor, an interactive feature tracking multilateral approaches to several global challenges.

Peter Orszag discusses ambitious incentives to increase the use of natural gas in the U.S. transportation system.

G8 leaders released this fact sheet on energy and climate change at the G8 summit on May 19, 2012.

Reining in pollution would thus accomplish two goals, while finally getting countries such as China and India into the climate-change business.