Results for Opinion

The people of Tonga need to take the PM to task and hold both him and his government accountable for such a blatant disregard of his own laws and policies...The PM’s Popua project already is a disaster and will take on monstrous proportions, if it is allowed to progress...this governing body acts senselessly and carelessly, endangering the lives of the people with their poor decisions. Kat Lobendahn

After 16 years of negotiations, 11 Pacific island nations will sign the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER Plus) in Tonga on 14 June. By Daniel Gay. Inter-Regional Adviser on least developed countries, UN Committee for Development Policy Secretariat, New York.

We live on a parched planet. Subterranean aquifers, which amount to the world’s reserve water tank, are also running dry. If this continues, the consequences could be dire. Depleted aquifers near coastlines are prone to contamination from saltwater, rendering land barren...Subterranean aquifers should be the reservoir of last resort. If we don’t protect them today, future generations will pay a steep – or even an existential – price. By Yasmin Siddiqi, Principal Water Resources Specialist at the Asian Development Bank.

President Donald Trump’s ravings against the 2015 Paris climate agreement are partly a product of his ignorance and narcissism. Yet they represent something more. They are a reflection of the deep corruption of the US political system, which, according to one recent assessment, is no longer a “full democracy.” American politics has become a game of powerful corporate interests: tax cuts for the rich, deregulation for mega-polluters, and war and global warming for the rest of the world. By Jeffrey D. Sachs.

If there are any geologists in millions of years, they will easily be able to pinpoint the start of the so-called Anthropocene – the geological age during which humans became the dominant influence on our planet’s environment. Wherever they look, they will find clear evidence of its onset, in the form of plastic waste. Plastic is a key material in the world economy...But plastic already is creating massive global environmental, economic, and social problems.

Emmanuel Macron’s victory in the French presidential election [May 7] could be mistaken for the plot of a novel that no publisher would accept. And then the one who finally does, finds himself with a runaway bestseller ... a young man, practically unknown a year ago, accedes to the presidency of France. ...Now begins the open combat between those who believe that freedom lives and those who have already buried it. Bernard-Henri Lévy

Artificial Intelligence is the next technological frontier, and it has the potential to make or break the world order. The AI revolution could pull the “bottom billion” out of poverty and transform dysfunctional institutions, or it could entrench injustice and increase inequality. The outcome will depend on how we manage the coming changes.

Women need policies that support their active participation in the emerging green economy, including better education, skills training, and protections against workplace discrimination. Because the clean-energy industry is so new, it could help draw women into non-traditional higher-paid jobs like engineering. Enabling all citizens to meet their economic potential – will require active efforts to promote women’s social and political inclusion. Closing the gender gap is the right thing to do for women and the planet. It is also smart economics. Let’s not miss this opportunity. By Isabella Lövin and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

On April 22, scientists from around the world will mark Earth Day by participating in an unprecedented “March for Science.” The aim of the march will be to “celebrate and defend science at all levels – from local schools to federal agencies.” It is important to understand why the usually sedate community of scientists will take to the streets in a global demonstration of concern.