Jessica Tuchman Mathews
{
"authors": [
"Jessica Tuchman Mathews"
],
"type": "legacyinthemedia",
"centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
"centers": [
"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
],
"collections": [],
"englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
"nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
"programAffiliation": "SCP",
"programs": [
"Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics"
],
"projects": [],
"regions": [
"North America",
"United States"
],
"topics": [
"Climate Change",
"Foreign Policy"
]
}Source: Getty
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.
Source: Minnesota Public Radio

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.
About the Author
Distinguished Fellow
Mathews is a distinguished fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She served as Carnegie’s president for 18 years.
- Washington Already Knows How to Deal with North KoreaIn The Media
- Trump Wins—and Now?Commentary
Jessica Tuchman Mathews
Recent Work
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.
More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Vučić’s Downfall in Serbia Is Fatal to Russia’s Influence in the BalkansCommentary
The new Serbian leadership may have promised to keep on cooperating with Russia, but soon they will have to make a choice between fighting corruption and sealing lucrative deals with Moscow. The two are mutually exclusive, even if the new leaders in Belgrade haven’t yet realized it.
Maksim Samorukov
- The Gulf States Are Looking for an Exit in IranCommentary
The six GCC members’ unity would be a valued—if not essential—asset for negotiating an end to the simmering regional conflict.
Sam Worby, Andrew Leber
- Taking the Pulse: Is Burnham’s EU Policy Bold Enough?Commentary
Resetting relations with the EU is a central plank of the UK’s current foreign policy. Is Andy Burnham being bold enough or is he falling into the same trap as his predecessors, misreading the power dynamic?
Rym Momtaz, ed.
- Israel’s Election Had No Clear Winner. What Comes Next for the Region?Commentary
Carnegie’s Middle East Program scholars reflect on the impasse and its potential impacts on the Middle East.
- +9
Nathan J. Brown, Alper Coşkun, Amr Hamzawy, …
- Can America First Be Exported to Europe?Commentary
The illusion of reproducing the ideology would come at the cost of the continent’s prosperity.
Giovanna De Maio