By Yudong (Nathan) Liu Through the first two decades of this century, countries in the Amazon basin have developed strategies and institutions for sustainable development, in certain instances extending rights to ‘nature’ itself through legislation and changes to national constitutions. Whether countries have followed through on their commitments is less clear, as countries have also […]
In the first decade of the 21st century, China’s rapid urbanization and investment-led growth model brought skyrocketing demand for raw commodities and an ensuing investment wave in Amazon basin countries. In the wake of this “China boom,” national governments in Amazon basin countries enacted a series of social and environmental protections, many of which were […]
By Laura Aquino Imagine you need to print your thesis or dissertation. You go to a print shop near Boston University, leave your manuscript and prepare to collect it in a couple of days. What would happen if, when collecting your thesis, you find that some pages were printed incorrectly? Would you have to pay […]
The 6th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underscored that climate impacts will be significant and differ widely across countries, with developing economies far more exposed to the negative impacts of chronic and acute physical risk. Beyond climate physical risks, countries can also be negatively affected by a disorderly introduction of […]
The level of debt distress among emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) has been a concern even before the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is now a burgeoning consensus that a full-blown debt crisis may loom on the horizon. Even without a widespread crisis, the increasing number of countries who are losing their fiscal space jeopardizes […]
Although Africa has contributed only 3.8 percent of total global emissions, it has borne the brunt of climate change. With a substantial lack of energy access in Sub-Saharan Africa, the continent must balance the need to combat climate change with an urgency to develop the continent’s economies to alleviate hunger and poverty, which are exacerbated […]
In 2021, the Vulnerable Group of Twenty (V20) made a call for debt flexibility, invoking insufficient fiscal resources to finance responses to health and social crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as urgent investments in climate adaptation. The service of public debt crowds out crucial investments that countries require to climate-proof their economies and establish […]
By Laura Gormley Over the next decade, Chinese demand for imported seafood is projected to grow dramatically. China currently hosts the world’s largest aquaculture production, growing more than 60 million tons of aquatic plant and animal food products in 2020. However, the growth of local demand is already outpacing production and the resulting shortfall is […]
By Yunus Kurt Family planning is a series of important decisions on when/if to have children, and it involves a wide range of contraceptive methods. Abundance of contraceptive methods offers a larger set of alternatives to women in their contraceptive decision-making. However, a larger set of alternatives means more information to process and might introduce […]
World leaders are facing a shrinking window to enact ambitious climate policies, as nationally determined contributions (NDCs) alone will not be enough to remain below the 2C global warming threshold. With the goal of enhancing global climate action, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has proposed an international carbon price floor (ICPF) arrangement, developed from the […]