An extraordinary series of events has caused Japan’s nuclear crisis but it appears backup safety systems were flawed, says nuclear expert Charles Ferguson. He expects the disaster to slow some nuclear projects elsewhere but not cause a wholesale stoppage.
See more in Japan, Energy/Environment
Please join Sheila Smith and Michael Levi for a discussion on Japan's earthquake and its political, economic and energy implications.
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U.S. nuclear power faces renewed scrutiny amid Japan's crisis, but it is far too early to gauge the damage suffered by Japan's industry and the effect on U.S. atomic energy's future, says CFR's Michael Levi.
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Oil price shocks spurred by Mideast events are unlikely to derail the U.S. economic recovery, says CFR Distinguished Visiting Fellow Michael Spence. But bigger shifts in the global economy will hit U.S. unemployment, income inequality, and capital costs, he says.
See more in Geoeconomics, Energy, Natural Resources Management
Michael A. Levi says potential disruption of oil production in Saudi Arabia highlights the need to develop short term crisis management in the event of a geopolitical oil price shock.
See more in Saudi Arabia, Energy, Natural Resources Management
With food prices at historic levels, unrest is mounting around the world, particularly in import-dependent regions such as the Middle East. CFR's Laurie Garrett says to meet demand going forward, countries will need to enhance food production and efficiencies.
See more in Natural Resources Management, Food Security
High and volatile energy prices have driven the regulation of commodity financial markets to the forefront of the U.S. and G20 policy agendas. Integrated commodity markets require international policy coordination, but not all domestic and international policy initiatives are equally desirable.
See more in Emerging Markets, Energy
CFR's Michael Levi and Shannon O'Neil discuss their recent CFR report, Energy Innovation: Driving Technology Competition and Cooperation Among the U.S., China, India, and Brazil, coauthored with CFR Senior Fellows Adam Segal and Elizabeth C. Economy with students as part of CFR's Academic Conference Call series.
Learn more about CFR's Academic Initiative.
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Michael A. Levi says fears over China's "Green Leap Forward" are overblown.
See more in United States, China, Energy/Environment
The UN climate meeting in Cancun took modest but important steps on a wide range of challenges. But the road ahead is still rocky, writes CFR's Michael Levi.
See more in Energy/Environment
Fatih Birol, chief economist of the International Energy Agency, speaks about the four major components shaping the current World Energy Outlook: oil, natural gas, China, and climate change.
See more in Energy/Environment
Michael A. Levi warns not to buy into the apathy surrounding this year's climate negotiations.
See more in Climate Change, UN
Michael A. Levi says that for the United States to get what it wants in climate talks, it must stop focusing on China.
See more in United States, China, Climate Change
Key technical, political, and legal issues remain unresolved ahead of the UN climate talks in Cancun. CFR's Michael Levi says the best outcome would be to firm up the Copenhagen Accord commitments on emissions cuts, verification, and financing for developing states.
See more in Climate Change, UN
Michael A. Levi argues that advocates of energy innovation need to put new policies on the table.
See more in Energy/Environment, U.S. Strategy and Politics
Morgan Bazilian, Patrick Nussbaumer, Erik Haites, Michael A. Levi, Mark Howells, and Kandeh K. Yumkella analyze the costs of providing near universal access to energy.
See more in Infrastructure, Energy
This study examines low-carbon technology innovation and absorption in China, India, and Brazil. It recommends a course for U.S. policy that promotes accelerated innovation and adoption of new technologies while protecting U.S. commercial interests.
See more in United States, Brazil, China, India, Emerging Markets, Intellectual Property, Technology Transfer, Energy
Clean-energy technology is expensive and the United States is spending far too little on developing it.
See more in United States, Infrastructure, Energy/Environment
United Kingdom's foreign secretary,William Hague, discusses the urgency of an international climate deal in which all countries accept responsibility for climate change, enforce a more robust framework for high growth and low carbon economic models, and ensure a new sustainable pathway to prosperity and security.
See more in U.K., Energy Security, Environmental Pollution
Isobel Coleman discusses an initiative to provide affordable, efficient stoves to one hundred million homes around the world by 2020.
See more in Economic Development, Energy/Environment, Women
More Money than God
In More Money than God, Sebastian Mallaby has written the first authoritative history of hedge funds—from their rebel beginnings to their role in defining the future of finance. More
Money, Markets, and Sovereignty
In Money, Markets, and Sovereignty, the authors present a fascinating intellectual history of monetary nationalism from the ancient world to the present and explore why, in its modern incarnation, it represents the single greatest threat to globalization. More
The Closing of the American Border
In The Closing of the American Border, Edward Alden goes behind the scenes to tell the story of the Bush administration’s struggle to balance security and openness in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. More
Termites in the Trading System
In Termites in the Trading System, Jagdish Bhagwati reveals how the rapid spread of preferential trade agreements endangers the world trading system. More
Lessons of the Financial Crisis
In this report, Benn Steil shows that the financial crisis is the inevitable bust of a classic credit boom, and explains how monetary, taxation, and home ownership promotion policy combined with other features of the financial system to fuel an unsustainable buildup in debt. He recommends significant reforms to reverse the debt financing bias and make the system more resilient to falls in asset prices. More
Global Imbalances and the Financial Crisis
In order for policymakers to tackle today’s global economic crisis, this report argues, they must go beyond bailouts and stimulus packages and focus on one of the crisis's root causes: imbalances between savings and investment in major countries. More
