When Vladimir Putin first invaded Ukraine in 2014, Europeans had a simple choice: increase or decrease their energy dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Europeans chose to increase. National governments like Spain and France could have freed themselves from Russian gas just by implementing their own national building renovation plans. But they chose not to.
Climate change
The relationship between Africa and Europe is one that cannot be avoided. Joined by geography, history, politics and economy, the only way to ensure a sustainable relationship is by working as partners in identifying areas of engagement for mutual benefit. Agreeing on improved ways of working together will be the real win. The fortunes (and […]
The last 40 years have seen a remarkable – and prolonged – global experiment in inequality. While the post-war years of social reform led a new drive towards greater equality, that trend was then set in reverse. Today most rich nations are significantly more unequal than in the 1980s. This reversal has been driven in […]
The coronavirus pandemic has warped all sense of time as we have lurched from Delta to Omicron, and from closings to grand openings, only to swing back again. In the best of times, Americans have an endearing political amnesia that allows us to move past crisis with both a creative verve for future innovations, but […]
We are entering 2022 with the feeling that we have narrowly escaped a shipwreck and are now clinging to a piece of wood – knowing that new waves of the virus may come with their retinue of implications, and looking for references to know in which direction to swim. To set the direction to take, […]
Imagine playing a football match with half of the team seated on the bench. Or rowing a boat with only one oar. Or playing a game of chess without the full complement of rooks and knights. The results of all three of these scenarios would be sub-optimal. Now imagine trying to recover from one of […]