Energy Archive

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on countries’ risk exposure, contribution and response to climate change. Lake Urmia in northwestern Iran, once a popular tourism destination, has become a symbol of the dangers of climate change, having lost 90 percent of its water since the 1970s. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has pledged $5 million for conservation efforts, but it is unclear if the lake can be saved. In an email interview, Gary Lewis, the United Nations resident coordinator in Iran, discussed Iran’s climate change policy. WPR: What is Iran’s risk exposure to climate change, what […]

A recent call for a vote of no confidence in Chad’s government over its management of the country’s oil wealth shows the level of anger among Chadians as they grapple with one of the most serious economic crises in years. Chad, which depends on oil for more than 70 percent of government revenue, has been brought to its knees by the dramatic fall in the world price of a barrel of oil since 2014. Having registered 6.9 percent annual growth in 2014, Chad’s economy is expected to contract by 1.1 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, with […]

The timing of Donald Trump’s stunning upset to become the president-elect of the United States couldn’t have come at a more inauspicious moment for global efforts to blunt climate change. As the election returns were pouring in last week, across the Atlantic in Marrakech, Morocco, representatives from nearly 200 nations gathered at the beginning of a major conference following up last December’s historic global climate accord signed in Paris. The Paris Agreement for the first time committed the U.S. and 192 countries to an ambitious international regime to curb global emissions, aiming to cap global temperature rises by the end […]

In Istanbul last month, Turkey and Russia signed a strategic agreement for a stalled gas pipeline known as Turkish Stream. Running under the Black Sea to Turkey and then on to Greece, the pipeline would offer Russia a way to sell gas to Europe that bypasses existing pipelines in Eastern Europe, especially Ukraine. The Turkish Stream agreement seems like the culmination of a Turkish-Russian rapprochement that has been underway since the spring, as both countries tried to repair relations after Turkey downed a Russian fighter along the Syrian border nearly a year ago. First proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin […]

Last month’s summit between India and Russia in Goa was held against the backdrop of New Delhi signing a logistics pact with the United States and Moscow conducting its first-ever joint military exercise with Pakistan. Perhaps to dispel the notion that the push-and-pull of geopolitics was straining the otherwise deeply rooted India-Russia relationship—this was the 17th annual summit—both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin chose to reiterate the “special and privileged” nature of ties. They matched their rhetoric by sealing a range of energy and defense deals that reflect their long-term strategic commitments, at a time when Russia’s […]

Has Venezuela reached its boiling point? The country’s economic, political and humanitarian crises have deepened since the opposition took control of the legislature last December. Venezuelans have taken to the streets with increasing fervor, demanding the resignation of President Nicolas Maduro, who has in turn taken unilateral measures to consolidate his power. Hostility has intensified between the president and the opposition, and the embattled government’s actions have only exacerbated tensions and done little to address popular frustration. World Politics Review has compiled 10 articles that chronicle Venezuela’s slide toward the abyss. The following 10 articles are free to nonsubscribers until […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on countries’ risk exposure, contribution and response to climate change. The United Nations recently warned Nigeria that climate change could threaten the government’s agricultural diversification efforts, and that extreme weather events are likely to increase, leading to reduced crop yields and disruptions in food distribution. In an email interview, Matthew Page, a consultant and co-author of the forthcoming “Nigeria: What Everyone Needs to Know,” discusses Nigeria’s climate change policy. WPR: What is Nigeria’s risk exposure to climate change, what effects of climate change are already apparent, and what sorts […]