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Independent research & practical ideas for global prosperity
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Independent research & practical ideas for global prosperity
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 David Wheeler is a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, where he works on issues related to climate change, natural resource conservation, African infrastructure development, sustainable development indicators and the allocation of development aid. Full BioGood Tidings from Tropical Forests: Large-Scale Clearing Has Fallen SharplyJanuary 3, 2012By David Wheeler in Environment Tags: FORMA
Finally, some good news from the world’s tropical forests: overall, large-scale clearing appears to have dropped sharply since 2005. This is the bottom line in the first global report and database from FORMA (Forest Monitoring for Action), which I have developed with Dan Hammer and Robin Kraft during the past three years. Comment »Presidential Candidates: Listen to Your Alma Maters on Climate ChangeSeptember 9, 2011By David Wheeler in Climate Change Tags: Climate Change
As we pass new climate disaster milestones in Texas and the Northeast, the current candidates for President (including President Obama (here and here)) have all distanced themselves from action on climate change. Four declared candidates – Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain and Rick Santorum – openly reject the findings of climate science. The other Republican candidates – Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman – are at least willing to acknowledge global warming and its possible link to greenhouse gases. But, with the exception of Ron Paul, they have not been explicit about what might be done to reduce carbon emissions. After highlighting the issue as a Presidential candidate, President Obama has gone almost completely silent on climate change since his inauguration. 1 Comment »The Revelation of Paul: A Perspective on The Great Disruption, by Paul GildingAugust 4, 2011By David Wheeler in Climate Change Tags: Climate Change
As a child of the American South and Midwest, I have more than a passing acquaintance with fundamentalist Christian apocalyptics. So I was immediately struck by the resemblance when I read The Great Disruption, by Paul Gilding. His book has stirred considerable excitement in the environmental community, and has recently been lauded by Tom Friedman in a New York Times column. Its description of an imminent apocalypse is eerily similar to the Biblical Revelation of John, which prophecies that rampant evil will provoke God’s wrath and the deaths of multitudes in natural disasters and war. Once the old world has been cleansed by catastrophe, peace and brotherhood will reign in a New Jerusalem. 1 Comment »Surprise: Poor Countries Are Shouldering the Costs of Combating Climate ChangeJuly 18, 2011By David Wheeler in Climate Change Tags: Climate Change
Progress toward an international agreement to cut CO2 emissions has been stymied by disputes about burden-sharing between rich and poor countries. Many participants assume that poor countries will only begin to reduce emissions after an agreement is signed. This conflict has been shaped by the view that clean energy development is an expensive game that only the rich countries have been playing. Another view is that developing countries should only join the game if rich countries provide compensation, or when technological advances in the rich countries make clean energy competitive in cost terms. 2 Comments »B-Span and a Broader Vision of Public Information from the World BankJuly 5, 2011By David Wheeler in Evaluation, International Financial Institutions, News, The Future of the World Bank, Transparency, World Bank Tags: International Financial Institutions
This is a joint post with Michele de Nevers. The World Bank’s expanding public information mandate is the focus of Stephanie Strom’s excellent article in Saturday’s New York Times. During Robert Zoellick’s tenure as the Bank’s president, he has promoted free public access to databases that formerly required a paid subscription, such as the World Development Indicators, or were simply unavailable (such as detailed information on the location, design, objectives and performance of Bank projects). We have no doubt that this excellent initiative will be a boon to development analysts and scholars worldwide. Comment »Can Christine Lagarde Cut it as IMF Head?June 30, 2011By David Wheeler in International Monetary Fund Tags: Christine Lagard, IMF
As we all know, the answer has nothing to do with experience, intelligence or global scrutiny, and everything to do with the answer to this question: How would she do on the Daily Show? Fortunately we already have the answer, from April, 2009. The verdict’s in: Mais oui, absolument! Comment »Mr. Netanyahu, Please Speak to Congress About Climate ChangeMay 20, 2011By David Wheeler in Climate Change, Global Development Tags: Climate Change
“The threat of climate change is no less menacing than the security threats that we face.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will speak to a joint session of Congress on Monday, at the invitation of House speaker John Boehner. In his invitation, the speaker said, “America and Israel are the closest of friends and allies, and we look forward to hearing the prime minister’s views on how we can continue working together for peace, freedom and stability.” Read More… Comment »National Academies Climate Study Reveals Red State Suicide PactMay 17, 2011By David Wheeler in Climate Change, Global Development Tags: Climate Change
The U.S. National Academy of Sciences has joined with the National Academy of Engineering, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council to publish America’s Climate Choices, the latest definitive statement on the threat posed by climate change. The report notes that damage from climate change is already serious, which is no secret to residents of the Red States that are currently suffering from the worst spate of climate-related damage in modern U.S. history. Read More… Comment »Welcome to the American Climate CasinoMay 4, 2011By David Wheeler in Climate Change, Global Development Tags: Climate Change
Suppose you have a friend who gambles at the local casino. An acquaintance who’s in the FBI just let slip that the managers will face fraud charges because they tout a fair game while statistical monitoring of the gaming tables shows a huge increase in loss rates for customers. You call your friend to pass the word, and he just laughs dismissively. “Get serious,” he says, “I just won $2K last weekend, and my hand’s feeling hot. Forget your paranoia – join me next Saturday night!” Would you join him? Read More… Comment »Skyrocketing Assaults on Americans: Who’s Behind It? What Can We Do About It?April 18, 2011By David Wheeler in Climate Change, Global Development Tags: CARMA, Climate Change, David Wheeler
Since the FBI’s measure began dropping in the 1990s, however, assaults on Americans have surged from a new and frightening quarter. Unlike FBI-reported violent crimes, which are concentrated in urban areas, these new assaults are occurring everywhere. Farms, villages, cities, lightly guarded homes, gated communities, Red states, Blue States – all are equally vulnerable. Some strikes occur in the dark of night, others in broad daylight. The police are powerless to prevent them, and the toll is frightening. Thousands are being killed and injured each year, and the economic losses are huge. On average, victims who survive these assaults have lost about 90% of a year’s income. 1 Comment »Answering Korea’s Call for a Climate Vulnerability IndexFebruary 24, 2011By David Wheeler in Climate Change, Global Development Tags: Climate Change, Climate Vulnerability Index
As the April climate talks in Bangkok approach, the Republic of Korea has taken a timely and courageous stance on allocating funds for adaptation assistance. On Wednesday, the Korean government urged the donor community to use scarce funds wisely by creating a climate vulnerability index to guide allocation. Kudos to our Korean colleagues – and we don’t have a moment to lose, because adaptation assistance funds are beginning to flow without any such guide. 1 Comment »The U.S. is Suing China to Make Clean Energy More Expensive? Tell Us You’re Kidding!January 5, 2011By David Wheeler in Climate Change, Global Development Tags: Carbon Added Tax, Climate Change, On the Hill, WTO
President Barack Obama Acting “boldly, swiftly and together’ means global collaboration to move renewable power to cost parity with fossil-fired power as quickly as possible, so global investment will shift to clean energy. We can do this by taxing carbon emissions, making dirty power more expensive, or by subsidizing renewables, making clean power cheaper. There is no third option. And Congress has defaulted on the first option by repeatedly failing to tax carbon. The makeup of the new Congress guarantees more of the same, and a global carbon tax remains just a dream. I have joined others in urging US Green states to counter with local carbon-added taxes, but that will take precious time. Read More… 1 Comment »Cancun, Bethlehem, Washington – A Holiday VisionDecember 13, 2010By David Wheeler in Climate Change, Global Development Tags: Climate Change
As NASA reports the hottest year ever, the Cancun climate talks have concluded with modest but important steps toward transparency in carbon emissions reporting and funding for adaptation and mitigation. Mexico played an exemplary role in hosting the talks and fostering the agreements, and Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa got a standing ovation for her plea to the assembled negotiators: Read More… Comment »The 1% Dissolution: The Absurd Impasse on Carbon Emissions and How to Beat ItDecember 6, 2010By David Wheeler in Climate Change, Global Development Tags: Cap And Trade, Carbon Accounting, On the Hill
Here’s a classic reductio ad absurdum: The current global population is about 6.8 billion, all threatened by climate change. The U.S. population is about 310 million, 4.6% of the global total. In my just-posted working paper, Confronting the American Divide on Carbon Emissions Regulation, I identify 15 states that have consistently undermined carbon emissions regulation by the US Congress. These states have 26.5% of the US population, or 1.2% of the global population. So, for want of this 1% nail, the Congressional shoe has been lost, the U.S. horse has been lost, and the battle for a global climate accord has been lost. Meanwhile, millions are already suffering from the impact of climate change in poor countries and the situation will only get worse. Numerous assessments of the Congressional impasse on climate change have cited the power of big coal, worries about emissions mitigation costs, scientific illiteracy, public distraction during the recession, and conservative fears of encroaching world government. In Confronting the American Divide and a previous CGD working paper, I have focused on concerns about emissions mitigation costs, particularly in poor U.S. states. While these concerns are certainly credible within the narrow confines of U.S. politics, they strain credulity from a global perspective because even “poor” U.S. states are enormously richer than countries such as China, India and South Africa that have begun aggressively promoting clean energy. Read More… Comment »Food, Climate—Safety Is Safety, Right?December 1, 2010By David Wheeler in Climate Change Tags: Climate, Climate Safety, Food
Today’s Washington Post reports Senate passage of the food safety bill. It passed 73 to 25, despite the putative rise of anti-regulatory sentiment, because a raft of stories about food poisoning made American families anxious about food safety. On climate safety, however, Congress remains paralyzed despite clear evidence that extreme weather is hitting American families harder every year . And the impact is even more devastating for poor families in developing countries (see here, here and here). As a thought exercise, here’s a fictionalized adaptation of a portion of the Post article that simply substitutes climate for food. Painful but plausible, eh? Comment »2011 – The Year of the CAT for Carbon Regulation?November 29, 2010By David Wheeler in Climate Change, Global Development Tags: Carbon Added Tax
The Chinese Year of the Tiger will soon cede to the Year of the Rabbit and, from a climate perspective, some might view the transition as apt. Since last December, after all, the heroic agenda of Copenhagen has morphed into the timid menu of Cancun. But appearances can be deceiving in the climate game, and a tiger remains crouched in the wings. Nick Stern recently invoked it: 1 Comment »What’s the Real “Conservative Position” on Climate Change?November 24, 2010By David Wheeler in Climate Change, Global Development Tags: Carbon Tariff
In this blog, I’ll let others do most of the talking. For a clear conservative position on climate change, let’s turn to last week’s address on climate and development by Andrew Mitchell, the Conservative Secretary of State for International Development in the new British government. This government, you will recall, is headed by David Cameron, another real-live conservative. Secretary Mitchell gave a gem of a speech, and it’s worth digesting in full. For the moment, however, let’s focus on his introduction: 1 Comment »Deforestation Is Already Declining in Indonesia – Someone Tell President Obama!November 9, 2010By David Wheeler in Climate Change, Global Development Tags: Deforestation, Indonesia
This is a joint post with Robin Kraft and Dan Hammer. President Obama is in Indonesia today, and according to Reuters he will make forest conservation a focus of his first official visit to the country. The president is expected to pledge more than $100 million for programs aiming at a 50% reduction of deforestation and forest degradation (e.g. selective logging) by 2014. But we wonder what the benchmark will be for a 50% reduction. Read More… Comment »23 Wasn’t a Prime NumberNovember 3, 2010By David Wheeler in Climate Change Tags: Clean Energy, Prop 23
Score one for climate sanity: Yesterday California’s voters overwhelmingly rejected Prop 23, a measure designed to undermine the state’s ambitious clean energy program. They also elected a governor who has pledged to accelerate the state’s green transition. This news resonates far beyond California, as the US green mantle shifts from a gridlocked federal government to the states that have supported clean energy all along. Look for a surge toward national and international climate action by a coalition of green states that represent half the country’s population and well over half of its income. And look for new international dynamics, as the American green states join their regional counterparts in Europe, China, India and elsewhere in developing new models of international cooperation to reduce carbon emissions. We’ve tried national and international negotiations around traditionally-set tables, and they’ve failed. Meanwhile, the signs are everywhere that dangerous climate change is already upon us. So let’s expand the table to accommodate the new players, revision the settings and try again – quickly. Comment »The Climate Catastrophe Trail Leads to Our Doorstep – Believe ItAugust 23, 2010By David Wheeler in Climate Change, Global Development Tags: Climate Change, Natural Disasters
The cellar-door flew open with a booming sound, and then he heard the noise much louder, on the floors below; then coming up the stairs; then coming straight towards his door. Comment » |
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