International

Societies are increasingly turning to the courts to confront climate change, and the past decade has seen a sharp rise in climate‑related litigation fueled by escalating impacts, more robust scientific links between emissions and damage, evolving legal arguments, activist tactics, and changes in corporate and financial governance; this article outlines the primary drivers behind these cases, the legal avenues plaintiffs pursue, key illustrative examples, emerging geographic trends, and the practical implications for governments, businesses, and communities.Core drivers behind the rise in climate litigationClearer scientific attribution: Advances in attribution science and climate modeling make it increasingly possible to link specific extreme…

Nuclear power has once again moved to the forefront of global public and policy discussions, driven by a convergence of factors such as climate commitments, energy security needs, technological progress, market developments, and evolving public sentiment, shifting the conversation from ideological arguments to practical considerations about balancing deep decarbonization with dependable electricity generation.Key drivers behind renewed attentionClimate commitments: Governments and corporations pursuing mid-century net-zero goals increasingly require substantial volumes of dependable, low‑carbon power. With its almost negligible operational CO2 emissions, nuclear is positioned to deliver both baseload and adaptable electricity to advance the electrification of transport, industry, and heating.Energy security…

Standards are the rules, specifications, testing methods and conformity procedures that determine what products and services must be like to enter a market. They range from technical specifications for a household appliance to sanitary rules for meat, to data-protection protocols, to private sustainability labels imposed by multinational buyers. By reducing information asymmetries and improving interoperability, well-designed standards can lower transaction costs, build consumer trust, and expand trade. At the same time, standards can be deployed — intentionally or not — as barriers that exclude competitors, fragment markets, and reshape global value chains. The distributional effects are profound: who benefits, who…

Oceans as the planet’s dominant climate regulatorThe global ocean covers roughly 71% of Earth’s surface and acts as the primary regulator of climate. It absorbs and redistributes heat and carbon, moderating atmospheric temperature swings, determining weather patterns, and sustaining life-supporting biogeochemical cycles. Two fundamental roles stand out:Heat storage: The ocean has absorbed most of the surplus heat generated by greenhouse gas emissions—widely assessed as exceeding 90% of the planet’s accumulated excess warmth—thereby tempering atmospheric temperature rises while introducing long-lasting thermal inertia that commits the climate system to future shifts.Carbon sink: The ocean takes in a substantial share of CO2 released…