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 writes that "climate change needs to be confronted," but that an overemphasis on clean technology could lead to new conflicts.

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.

With this new American energy renaissance, Meghan L. O'Sullivan says, "The United States needs to rethink its grand strategy; strength in the energy domain can be a major driver of U.S. influence in a world in which American power is more diffuse."

Michael A. Levi examines the potential security risks of U.S. dependence on oil in this response to an article published previously in Security Studies.

"If a government can finance itself through the profits on oil, it needn't collect taxes. Let me suggest that this is not a good thing. Taxes create accountability — citizens want to know how the government is spending their money. Substituting oil revenues decouples government from the people. The list of the world's worst-governed countries today features many that are dependent on the production of oil: Nigeria, Angola, Chad, Venezuela, Libya, Equatorial Guinea."

CFR senior fellow Michael A. Levi discusses President Obama's energy agenda and the energy future of America with Anya Schmemann, Director, Editorial Strategy, Studies Program.

Moving away from fossil fuels could be devastating for some of the world's poorest countries, says Michael A. Levi.

Michael A. Levi and Daniel P. Ahn say, "If lawmakers decide to go ahead with further deficit reduction, they would be remiss not to take a hard look at higher oil taxes as part of the deal."

In this Energy Brief, Daniel Ahn and Michael Levi model the potential consequences of substituting taxes on oil consumption for either higher nonoil taxes or reduced government spending as part of a larger deficit reduction package, and argue that oil taxes can improve economic performance while reducing oil consumption if done right.

In a review of Al Gore's The Future, Jagdish N. Bhagwati says the former vice president mispredicts our future by misunderstanding our present.

Could Ohio, New York or Pennsylvania be the next North Dakota and "frack" its way to budget surpluses?

A groundbreaking analysis of what the changes in American energy mean for the economy, national security, and the environment, authored by one of America's most prominent experts on energy's role in the world.

In this paper in Climatic Change, Michael A. Levi constructs and models climate stabilization scenarios that feature natural gas as a bridge fuel.

Elections throughout the world in 2012 brought several countries to a crossroads as they struggled with the eurozone debt crisis, the formation of post-Arab Spring governments, and recovery from economic malaise. This timeline revisits twelve of the year's most pivotal elections.

Michael A. Levi says, "The benefits of the oil and gas boom—jobs, wealth and, in the case of natural gas, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions—offer plenty of reasons to continue to develop these resources judiciously. But we should beware of turning this potential blessing into an unintended curse."

Drawing on lessons from a Council on Foreign Relations workshop in January 2012, Blake Clayton and Michael A. Levi examine the connection between global oil markets and international relations, saying that in many cases the oil trade is politically consequential simply because policymakers believe that it is.

The international trade in natural gas--and the rest of the energy business--has been turned upside down. It's as startling as it would be if rivers decided to run upstream.

Director General Yukiya Amano discusses the role and responsibility of the IAEA, as well as the need for international cooperation to ensure the safety of nuclear power and technology.

This meeting was the annual David A. Morse Lecture.

With the Middle East unrest ongoing and the global economy recovering, gasoline prices are rising considerably. But policies to ease U.S. consumer impact take time and policymakers are divided over the course of action.