New Report Urges Caution in the Race for Space-Based Data Centers
The report warns that space-based data centers are likely to become a reality within the next few years—well before the risks of large-scale deployment can be fully understood.
Summary by David Sandalow • January 29, 2018
The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an enormous infrastructure initiative first announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. It has been compared to the Marshall Plan, under which the U.S. government provided funds to help rebuild Europe after World War II, but the scale and funding involved (in real terms) are larger. The Chinese government has emphasized “green development” as an important feature of the BRI. Plans and policies with respect to BRI energy infrastructure—including coal plants, pipelines and renewable energy projects—are receiving growing attention.
To improve understanding of these topics, the Center on Global Energy and Policy|SIPA at Columbia University and the Center for International Energy and Environment Strategy Studies at Renmin University convened a conference on the Columbia University campus in New York City on November 19-21, 2017. Participants included policymakers, business executives and scholars from China, the United States and other countries.
The case against cheap climate policy
The Nepal flood that has left 1,000 people dead and close to 4,000 people missing, as of September 1, has also damaged hydropower plants that the country relies on.
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Summary by David Sandalow • January 29, 2018