A World of Threats

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In The Media

A World of Threats

Climate change is one of the most pressing threats the next president will face. While the current debate focuses on alternatives to oil, the next administration must recognize that the key priority is demand management.

By Jessica Tuchman Mathews

Published on Sep 4, 2008

Source: Minnesota Public Radio

The next president must confront nuclear proliferation and climate change immediately, argued Jessica Mathews during a forum hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations on the foreign policy challenges facing the next president. Energy issues in particular must be a priority, and reducing American demand for energy "is the precondition for doing something serious about climate change."

Tackling climate change will require an immense expenditure of political capital, given that the current debate focuses on alternatives fuels, while the only viable long-term solution is demand management. "Nothing will work to replace fossil fuels as long as our energy needs remain on the demand curve that they currently are on…and I don’t see a readiness to confront that curve," Mathews said.

Other forum participants were Madeline Albright, Richard Haass, Richard Holbrooke, and Vin Weber. Tom Brokaw moderated the discussion.

Click here to listen.

About the Author

Jessica Tuchman Mathews

Distinguished Fellow

Mathews is a distinguished fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She served as Carnegie’s president for 18 years.

Recent Work

In The Media
Washington Already Knows How to Deal with North Korea
- Jessica Tuchman Mathews
Commentary
Trump Wins—and Now?
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Climate Change Foreign Policy North America United States

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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