• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "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

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.

Link Copied
By Jessica Tuchman Mathews
Published on Sep 4, 2008
Program mobile hero image

Program

Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics

The Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics Program explores how climate change and the responses to it are changing international politics, global governance, and world security. Our work covers topics from the geopolitical implications of decarbonization and environmental breakdown to the challenge of building out clean energy supply chains, alternative protein options, and other challenges of a warming planet.

Learn More

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?

      Jessica Tuchman Mathews

Jessica Tuchman Mathews
Distinguished Fellow
Jessica Tuchman Mathews
Climate ChangeForeign PolicyNorth AmericaUnited 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.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Two men sitting on a stage and speaking
    Commentary
    Emissary
    What Would Need to Happen to Slow AI Development?

    AI capabilities are moving fast. Most institutions—including governments—can’t keep up.

      • Anton Leicht

      Anton Leicht, Scott Singer

  • hands holding semiconductors in production
    Commentary
    BIS in the New Age of Import Controls

    The Bureau of Industry and Security needs to adjust its focus and practices to maintain its position as the U.S. government’s primary champion of international technological competition.

      • Geoffrey Irving

      Geoffrey Irving

  • circles of chairs in a large, formal room
    Commentary
    Emissary
    The UN Security Council Is Deadlocked on Climate. New Members Have a Path Forward.

    They face an uphill climb, but they could draw on a strategy that other diplomats have used in the past.

      • Shana Tabak headshot
      • Alejandro Rodriguez

      Shana Tabak, Alejandro Martin Rodriguez

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    The Speech Ursula von der Leyen Can’t Deliver

    European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is about to give her annual address on the state of the EU. Here’s what she won’t—but should—say.

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz

  • Photo of black smoke rising from an Iranian oil facility after an airstrike.
    Article
    The Iran War’s Climate, Environmental, and Human Security Fallout

    Understanding the climatic pain points is necessary for policymakers hoping to minimize the war’s negative environmental consequences.

      • Alejandro Rodriguez
      • Joy Arkeh
      • Sarah Yerkes

      Alejandro Martin Rodriguez, Joy Arkeh, Sarah Yerkes

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.