By J W Jackie RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) — The latest International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA analysis reveals that by 2050, variable renewables like wind and solar PV will dominate the global total power supply. The insights from IRENA’s World Energy Transitions Outlook were released on March 16-17, 2021, at the Berlin Energy Transitions Dialogue. […]
Europe and the US Need to Talk About Sanctions Against Russia
Viewpoint by Agathe Demarais The writer is Global Forecasting Director at The Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU). This commentary* was published on the European Leadership Network (ELN) website on May 7. LONDON (IDN) — Convening in London this week (May 3-5), the G7 foreign ministers expressed their interest in standing together in the face of […]
Busybodies Outside the Gates
Viewpoint by Azu Ishiekwene The writer is the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of LEADERSHIP newspaper based in Abuja, Nigeria. ABUJA (IDN) — Bill and Melinda Gates had barely finished saying the “D” word when all kinds of marriage counsellors and grief-mongers besieged social media with suggestions of why they think the couple is breaking up. The sentiments, […]
COVID-19 Accelerates Digitilization of Economies and Societies
Viewpoint by Kaveh Zahedi * A defining feature of the post-COVID world will be the digital transformation of the world, though it might also widen gaps in economic and social development within and between countries. The digital transformation has gone hand in hand with the rise of digital technologies, writes Kaveh Zahedi, the Deputy Executive […]
Avert the Worst Impacts of Climate Disruption
Viewpoint by António Guterres Chancellor Angela Merkel and the German government convened this year’s Petersberg Climate Dialogue virtually on May 6 with Alok Sharma, the UK Chair-designate of 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), in Glasgow, from November 1 to November 12, 2021. UN Secretary-General António Guterres also spoke. Following are major excerpts from […]
Modi Govt. Abdicates Responsibility in the Face of Skyrocketing Death Toll
Viewpoint by Prabir Purkayastha* NEW DELHI (IDN) — The COVID-19 pandemic continues its brutal march across India. Figures of new infections reached 355,828 on May 3—which accounted for more than 62 percent of the world’s new infections on that day. As hospitals run out of beds, ICU capacity, and even oxygen, these factors have been […]
Conquering Poverty in America Is Possible
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power* LUND, Sweden (IDN) — Adam Smith who in 1776 wrote “The Wealth of Nations”, the Bible of capitalism, which has become the standard economics text for over two centuries, was quick to single out monopolistic tendencies as the most important tool in undermining the virtues of capitalism. It kept the poor […]
Australians Blast Government For “Racist” Indian Flight Ban
By Kalinga Seneviratne SYDNEY (IDN) — A controversial ban on flights from Covid-hit India landing in Australia, has blocked around 9,000 Australians from returning home. Most of them are Australians of Indian origin, while there are also a handful of Australian elite cricketers, coaches, and other officials currently taking part in the Indian Premier League […]
The US and EU Boost Access to Covid-19 Vaccines and Waive the Patents
Viewpoint by Lori Wallach Lori Wallach is the director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch. This is a slightly abridged version of a blog post by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) New York. WASHINGTON DC (IDN | IPS-Journal.EU) — As we see infection rates in India and other parts of the world skyrocketing, European Union (EU) and US […]
Cyprus: Toward a Non-territorial Confederation?
Viewpoint by Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens GENEVA (IDN) — Three days (April 27-29, 2021) of “informal” talks on the future of Cyprus were held in Geneva under the leadership of UN Secretary-General António Guterres. There have been no formal negotiations on the issue since 2017. The UN-sponsored meeting with representatives of Greek […]