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On Defense, France Bites the Bullet, But Avoids Strategic Insolvency May 7, 2013
Iceland’s Recovery Saga Presents Opportunities for Brussels, Washington—and Beijing May 6, 2013
Which Way Forward for Europe’s Hybrid Regimes? May 2, 2013
The Arab Revolts and the Liberal Order May 2, 2013
Events
GMF celebrates its 40 year history and Founder and Chairman, Dr. Guido Goldman at Gala Dinner May 09, 2013 / Washington, DCGMF held a celebratory gala dinner at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, Wednesday May 8.
In this podcast, GMF Vice President of Programs Ivan Vejvoda discusses last month's historic agreement to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
Anchor Elaine Reyes speaks with Andrew Small, Transatlantic Fellow of the Asia Program for the German Marshall Fund, about Beijing's potential role in brokering peace between Israel and Palestine
Publications Archive
The New U.S. Domestic Climate and Clean Energy Agenda: The Oulook for 2013May 10, 2013 / Nigel Purvis, Cecilia Springer, Samuel Grausz
This paper seeks to make sense of how a sluggish economy, rising budget deficits, and other factors press against strong U.S. action on climate change at home or abroad.
Energy in Turkey’s International Affairs and the Race for Southern CorridorApril 19, 2013 / Saban Kardas
This policy brief examines the role that energy plays in Turkey's foreign policy.
Brussels Forum ViewsMarch 19, 2013 / Saban Kardas
This collection from the 2013 Brussels Forum examines the theme “The Fragility of the Global System.”
Still Digging: Extractive Industries, Resource Curses, and Transnational Governance in the AnthropoceneJanuary 15, 2013 / Stacy D. VanDeveer
This policy paper examines the economic, environmental, and political role of mining and other resource extraction.
Energy and the Atlantic: The Shifting Energy Landscape of the Atlantic BasinNovember 29, 2012 / Paul Isbell
This policy paper argues that countries in the Southern Atlantic region are poised to become much more important players in the global energy trade.
Gas Discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean: Implications for the European UnionOctober 26, 2012 / Michael Koehler
This policy brief explains why the EU needs to be involved in Eastern Mediterranean natural gas issues.
Ukrainian Energy Security: Between Mortgage and ProfitOctober 18, 2012 / Mykola Kapitonenko
This policy brief examines Ukraine's major energy challenges and how they relate to the country's foreign policy.
Air Supremacy: The Surprisingly Important Dogfight over Climate Pollution from International AviationOctober 11, 2012 / Nigel Purvis, Samuel Grausz
This policy brief dispels the myths surrounding discussions on aircraft emissions between the U.S. and EU.
Cyprus – a Future Energy Hub?October 10, 2012 / Toula Onoufriou
This policy brief describes the choices upcoming for Cyprus following the discovery of natural gas in its waters.
Climate Change, Foreign Assistance, and Development: What Future for Ethiopia?August 16, 2012 / Christopher Paul, Erika Weinthal, Courtney Harrison
This paper examines the impacts of climate change and the changing nature of donor assistance on economic development and food security with the example of Ethiopia.
Safeguarding Investments in Natural Gas Infrastructure: Lessons Learned from Regulatory Regimes in the United States and the European UnionJuly 19, 2012 / Tim Boersma
This policy paper contrasts natural gas infrastructure and regulatory systems in the United States and Europe.
Resource Rivalry in the Eastern Mediterranean: The View from WashingtonJune 11, 2012 / Jeffrey Mankoff
This policy brief examines the U.S. reaction to oil and gas finds in the Mediterranean.
Rivalry in the Eastern Mediterranean: The Turkish DimensionJune 11, 2012 / Mehmet Ögütçü
This policy brief describes Turkey's take on natural gas discoveries in the Mediterranean.
Energy Discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean: Source for Cooperation or Fuel for Tension? The Case of IsraelJune 11, 2012 / Simon Henderson
This policy brief looks at how Israel is reacting to its new-found natural gas deposits.
Maritime Boundaries in the Eastern Mediterranean SeaJune 11, 2012 / Tullio Scovazzi
This policy brief explains the laws and regulations surrounding the determination of maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean.
Energy Resources in the Eastern Mediterranean: Source for Cooperation or Fuel for Tension—Preliminary Reports and RecommendationsJune 11, 2012 / Michael Leigh
Opportunities and risks associated with new gas discoveries in Mediterranean.
Energy Resources and Markets in the Eastern Mediterranean RegionJune 11, 2012 / Brenda Shaffer
This brief analyzes the regulatory frameworks that govern the oil and gas offshore exploration in the Mediterranean and considers the potential future exploration activities.
The Shale Gas Boom: Why Poland Is Not ReadyJune 04, 2012 / Geoffrey Kemp, Corey Johnson, Tim Boersma
This policy brief examines natural gas production in the United States and Poland.
Resource Curse Redux: Linking Food and Water Stress with Global Resource Supply VulnerabilitiesJune 04, 2012 / Raimund Bleischwitz, Michael G. Dozler, Corey Johnson
This report provides a preliminary map of the global resource supply vulnerabilities from at-
risk countries.
This paper analyzes the effects of an apparent glut of natural gas on European markets.
China’s Long Road to a Low-Carbon Economy: An Institutional AnalysisMay 22, 2012 / Philip Andrews-Speed
This paper looks at the progress that China is making, or not, toward reducing carbon emissions.
Transatlantic Mining Corporations in the Age of Resource NationalismMay 18, 2012 / David Humphreys
This paper examines trends in mining and considers their implications for transatlantic mining companies and for the availability of mineral supplies in Europe and North America.
The Global Resource Nexus: The Struggles for Land, Energy, Food, Water, and MineralsMay 15, 2012 / Philip Andrews-Speed, Raimund Bleischwitz, Tim Boersma, Corey Johnson, Geoffrey Kemp, Stacy D. VanDeveer
This study addresses challenges arising from unprecedented global demand for land, energy, food, water, and minerals.
From Arms Racing to “Dam Racing” in Asia: How to Contain the Geopolitical Risks of the Dam-Building CompetitionMay 03, 2012 / Brahma Chellaney
This paper warns that the struggle for water is now likely to define many inter-country relationships in Asia.
Energy Transition Forum Context PaperMay 01, 2012 / Ian Muir
This policy brief sets the stage for GMF's inaugural Energy Transition Forum.
Climate of Despair? The Future of U.S. Climate Policy and Global NegotiationsApril 02, 2012 / Nigel Purvis
This policy paper seeks to determine whether circumstances warrant a new feeling of despair regarding greenhouse gas emissions targets and climate change.
Energy Resources in the Eastern Mediterranean: Source for Cooperation or Fuel for TensionMarch 19, 2012 / Michael Leigh, Charlotte Brandsma
This Brussels Forum paper examines the implications of natural gas and oil discoveries in the Mediterranean.
The Geostrategic Implications of the Competition for Natural Resources: The Transatlantic DimensionMarch 12, 2012 / François Heisbourg
This paper describes the contemporary competition for natural resources.
Morocco’s New Geopolitics: A Wider Atlantic PerspectiveFebruary 10, 2012 / Ian Lesser, Geoffrey Kemp, Emiliano Alessandri
This study argues that Morocco should encourage policymakers in the United States and Europe to think more imaginatively about its role in the Atlantic and elsewhere.
The Baltic States and Energy Security in Europe — Much Progress Made on a Critical IssueSeptember 20, 2011 / Miguel Rodrigues
This policy brief touches upon some of the most compelling issues that energy security raises as they relate to the Baltic states.
Global Shift: The Challenges of Energy Interdependence and Climate ChangeSeptember 08, 2011 / Hanns W. Maull
This paper proposes a different way to address the intertwined challenges of energy and climate change, namely through negotiation and joint implementation of an energy price trajectory....
Grounding Green Power: Bottom-Up Perspectives on Smart Renewable Energy Policy in Developing CountriesMay 24, 2011 / Lutz Weischer, Davida Wood, Athena Ballesteros, Xing Fu-Bertaux
This paper identifies key components of smart renewable energy policy in developing countries, focusing on the power sector.
Rival Visions of Transatlantic Energy SecurityMarch 31, 2011 / Lutz Weischer, Davida Wood, Athena Ballesteros, Xing Fu-Bertaux
This Brussels Forum Brief looks at the future of global energy management.
Iain Conn, BP, European Energy: Global Choices speech, BrusselsMarch 28, 2011 / Lutz Weischer, Davida Wood, Athena Ballesteros, Xing Fu-Bertaux
This report presents the first systematic survey of the views of leaders in the European Union and the United States on the state, nature, and challenges of transatlantic relations.
Weathering the Transatlantic Climate Policy RecessionMarch 02, 2011 / Nigel Purvis
This policy brief examines possible directions for meaningful action on climate change in a time of waning political will.
Jumpstarting Global Green Growth: International Climate Strategies in the New Transatlantic Political ContextNovember 22, 2010 / Nigel Purvis
This policy paper argues that the growing international consensus for “green growth” provides major opportunities for the transatlantic community to spur global climate action.
Climate Security: Impacts and Opportunities for Transatlantic RelationsNovember 17, 2010 / Tobias Feakin, Duncan Depledge
This policy brief argues that given the lack of progress in the international climate negotiations, foreign-policy and defense sectors on both sides of the Atlantic should develop a contingency plan based on closer military and foreign-policy collaboration.
Future Landscapes of Conflict or Cooperation? Climate Security Needs Transatlantic LeadershipNovember 17, 2010 / Dennis Tänzler, Alexander Carius
This policy brief explains that to address the security risks from climate change, EU and U.S. decision makers should build a strategic partnership that involves the foreign and security policy communities as well as the development community.
Facing the Climate Security Threat: Why the Security Community Needs a “Whole-of-Government” Response to Global Climate ChangeNovember 17, 2010 / Nick Mabey
This policy brief explains that a more effective “whole-of-government” approach to the risk management of climate change would require the inclusion of climate change in national security processes, regular assessments of the effectiveness of climate security action, and a risk-management framework that expands responsibilities well beyond environment and energy ministries.
Mapping Climate Change and Security in North Africa–SynopsisNovember 17, 2010 / Joshua Busby, Kaiba White, Todd Smith
This policy brief summarizes a paper that aims to reach a better understanding of how climate change and physical sources of vulnerability to natural hazards might intersect with North Africa’s various demographic, social, and political sources of weakness.
Mapping Climate Change and Security in North Africa–Full textNovember 17, 2010 / Joshua Busby, Kaiba White, Todd Smith
This paper aims to reach a better understanding of how climate change and physical sources of vulnerability to natural hazards might intersect with North Africa’s various demographic, social, and political sources of weakness.
Climate Change and Migration: Report of the Transatlantic Study TeamSeptember 29, 2010 / Joshua Busby, Kaiba White, Todd Smith
Environmental change – from natural disasters to shifts in climate patterns which may bring glacial melt, sea level rise and desertification – is one of a larger set of factors that affect human migration and displacement worldwide.What Next for Energy and Environmental Diplomacy?July 28, 2010 / Marc Grossman
The coincidence of the occurrence of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the publication of President Obama’s first National Security Strategy provide an opportunity to make energy and the environment the basis of an integrated 21st-century transatlantic and international diplomacy
Law and Disorder: Will the Issue of Legal Character Make or Break a Global Deal on Climate?July 22, 2010 / Jacob Werksman
Disagreement over the nature of a legally binding treaty on climate change threatens more than two decades of diplomacy, but there may be ways of breaking the stalemate.
Decoding China’s Climate and Energy Policy Post-CopenhagenJune 28, 2010 / Joanna I Lewis
Although China is often blamed for the muddled outcome of the 2009 Copenhagen talks, its position on how to tackle climate change may not be so far from the West’s. U.S. action is essential for a legally binding climate agreement that includes all major economies, but it may not be sufficient: China will join such an agreement when the time is right for China. In the meantime, the United States and Europe must continue to pursue clean energy and climate cooperation in forums outside the UN and share their best practices on shifting to a low-carbon economy.
GMF releases set of background papers on Climate Change and MigrationJune 21, 2010 / Joanna I LewisGMF has released eight background papers that investigate climate-induced migration. Environmental deterioration, including natural disasters, rising sea level, and drought problems in agricultural production, could cause millions of people to leave their homes in the coming decades. These background papers are a product of GMF's Transatlantic Study Team on Climate-induced Migration (led by Dr. Susan E. Martin, Georgetown University, and Dr. Koko Warner, UN University. The Study Team consists of scholars, policymakers, and practitioners from the migration and environmental communities. Further activities of the Study Team include high-level policy convening, study team working meetings with external experts, site visits to affected areas, and policy briefings.
Energy and Climate Change: A New Driver for Local Policy and Action?April 22, 2010 / Anne Mariani
As comprehensive federal-level climate legislation stalls in the U.S. Congress, cities and regions across the United States are responding to the challenge of climate change through local action and policies. As CDP fellow Anne Mariani posits in this policy brief, Climate Action Plans are a key element of these efforts, as they provide both the goals and methods for achieving carbon emission reductions at the local level.
U.S. Climate Leadership: Outlook for 2010April 15, 2010 / Chelsea Henderson MaxwellThe emerging "tri-partisan" bill on climate and energy faces a tough legislative calendar but it remains the most viable option on the table for the United States to meet its Copenhagen commitments and achieve low-carbon economic growth.
Can Algeria Be a Stable and Sustainable Source of Energy for Europe?March 16, 2010 / Trevor Witton
The analysis discusses Algeria's role in the evolving energy security picture, and identifies looming challenges for facing Algeria as an energy provider. The paper also offers insights into the energy security question as seen from the producer perspective, and looks ahead to the future of Euro-Algerian energy cooperation.
Russian Coal: Europe’s New Energy ChallengeMarch 10, 2010 / Kevin Rosner
This paper looks at the complex relationship between natural gas and coal within Russia's energy and power sector and how this relationship influences energy security and climate change. As Russia has large coal reserves, it is turning more and more to this source of power to satisfy domestic demands.
Rethinking Climate Diplomacy: New ideas for transatlantic cooperation post-CopenhagenMarch 08, 2010 / Nigel Purvis, Andrew Stevenson
In this paper, the authors argue that the most dangerous thing Europe and the United States could do is ignore the strategic implications of Copenhagen and fall back into old strategies with a new sense of patience. They recommend a fundamental shift in thinking.
Transforming Economies through Green Investment: Needs, Progress, and PoliciesFebruary 03, 2010 / Nigel Purvis, Andrew Stevenson
Authors from the Ecologic Institute lay out a roadmap for the United States and European Union to transition to a clean energy economy and protect the climate. The roadmap calls for policymaking that drives investment in clean energy technologies at an annual level of $1 trillion by 2026, much of which will come from the private sector.
International Security and Climate ChangeNovember 01, 2009 / Sherri Goodman, David M Catarious
With looming threats to water sources, food production, health and the general habitability of entire regions, climate change would inevitably have enormous consequences for international security. Military experts can bring an important contribution to the debate by showing how reducing our dependence on carbon emitting fuels can simultaneously decrease our energy security vulnerabilities.
Maritime Security: Growing Problems on the Seven SeasNovember 01, 2009 / Andrew M Dorman
The rise of piracy off the Somali coast has brought the issue of maritime security back into the public mind. But amid all the attention on Afghanistan and Iraq there is a danger that we are not taking these and other threats to maritime security seriously enough. Climate change may also open new passages to shipping in the arctic which policymakers are only just beginning to address.
The Effect of EU Climate Legislation on Business CompetitivenessSeptember 14, 2009 / Mark Kenber, Oliver Haugen, Madeleine Cobb
A prominent issue in the U.S. debate on climate policy is the potential impact that a cap-and-trade system might have on the economic competitiveness of energy-intensive and trade-exposed industries. U.S. policymakers and stakeholders can look to Europe to gauge these potential impacts.
Climate Policy and Industrial Competitiveness: Ten Insights from Europe on the EU Emissions Trading SystemAugust 10, 2009 / Michael Grubb, Thomas L. Brewer, Misato Sato, Robert Heilmayr, Dora Fazekas
This paper analyzes the first years of operation of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) and offers ten recommendations to U.S. policymakers as they debate the design of a potential cap-and-trade program.
Blueprint for a Transatlantic Climate PartnershipAugust 03, 2009 / Nigel Purvis
In this paper, the author attempts to draw a blueprint for a new transatlantic climate change partnership — one that could serve as the basis for a joint approach to China, India, and other emerging economies. A strong transatlantic partnership would simplify international negotiations and sharpen the focus on what is really needed to reach a strong global agreement quickly.
Evaluating Biofuels: The Consequences of Using Land to Make FuelMarch 11, 2009 / Nigel Purvis
In 2008, the developed world relearned the ancient lesson that food is not inherently plentiful and cheap. It also began to learn a new lesson that in an era of global warming the productivity of land is based not merely on its capacity to generate food and fiber but also to store carbon. Using land for one purpose involves serious tradeoffs with the others. Biofuels helped generate the conditions for this education.
European Gas Policy in TroubleFebruary 26, 2009 / Jörg Himmelreich
The Ukranian-Russian gas stand-off caused a two-week interruption of Russian gas supplies to Europe that left countries like Greece, Bulgaria, and Slovakia in the cold during a strong winter and revealed again how vulnerable the European Union is in its gas supplies from Russia. Jörg Himmelreich suggests four hard decisions that must be made by the EU. Europe needs to address the varying dependencies on Russian gas within member states, the lack of interconnectivity within the market, discuss the need for a European common external energy policy, and establish of a European energy agency.
Toward a Brighter Future: A Transatlantic Call for Renewed Leadership and Partnerships in Global DevelopmentFebruary 10, 2009 / Gunilla Carlsson, Jim Kolbe
The Transatlantic Taskforce on Development, a group comprising 24 North American and European leaders in development, released a report urging renewed leadership and partnerships in global development to political leaders on both sides of the Atlantic.
Message to Europe: Do not expect too much of Obama on climate policy!November 27, 2008 / Thomas Kleine-BrockhoffFor the first time, a U.S. president will commit America to fight Climate change. Barack Obama favors a mandatory and economy wide cap and trade system. The current UN Conference in Poznan will be the last global climate policy meeting that the U.S., still represented by the Bush Administration, attends in order to slow down or obstruct the negotiating process.The EU is in urgent need of a foreign energy policyNovember 11, 2008 / Jörg HimmelreichThe EU is in urgent need of a Foreign Energy Policy. Without closer coordination within the EU, Moscow has more pull. Most of the European nations are dependent on energy from Russia. Nonetheless, they do not coordinate their foreign energy policy, from which Russia profits. In the EU the individual member states had to transfer national energy competences to the EU, in order to pursuit a common approach toward Moscow.Promoting Innovation to Solve Global Challenges: Opportunities for R&D in Agriculture, Climate Change, and HealthOctober 02, 2008 / Michael Kremer, Heidi Williams
Technological innovations arguably have an important role to play in addressing global challenges such as poverty, climate change, and the current food crisis. A variety of public policies exist which aim to increase incentives for innovation. Such policies can be broadly classified into two categories: "push" programs and "pull" programs. Push programs subsidize research inputs through means such as government subsidies to universitybased research, or tax credits for research and development (R&D) investments. Pull programs, on the other hand, increase the rewards for developing specific products by committing to reward successful innovations conditional on their development.
The U.S. Climate Policy Debate: How Climate Politics are Moving Forward on Capitol Hill and in the White HouseSeptember 23, 2008 / Cathleen Kelly, Tim Profeta
The Bush administration's waning days in office herald a likely new approach in U.S. climate policy. Both major candidates in the upcoming presidential election — Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain — have publically embraced approaches to the issue which dramatically differ from the resistance to greenhouse gas regulation that has been espoused by President Bush over the last eight years. Accordingly, while no major climate legislation will likely emerge from Congress before next year at the earliest, the climate debate in the United States is changing.
Narrowing the Transatlantic Climate Divide: A Roadmap to ProgressJune 01, 2008 / Nigel Purvis
Most climate change opinion leaders on both sides of the Atlantic have modest expectations for the July Summit in Hokkaido, Japan—the location of both the G8 leaders’ meeting and the Major Economies Meeting (MEM), an initiative launched by President Bush last year that involves the world’s 16 major economic powers and emitters, plus the EU. Transatlantic allies seem to be an ocean apart over how quickly Europe, the United States, and other major economies should reduce emissions over the next decade, but downplaying Hokkaido could be a serious mistake.
The Impacts of Biofuels on Greenhouse Gases: How Land Use Change Alters the EquationFebruary 07, 2008 / Nigel Purvis
Most prior studies have found that substituting biofuels for gasoline will reduce greenhouse gases because biofuels sequester carbon through the growth of feedstock. These analyses have failed to count the carbon emissions that occur as farmers worldwide respond to higher prices and convert forest and grassland to new cropland to replace the grain (or cropland) diverted to biofuels.
The Impact of Renewable Energy on the U.S. Farm Policy DebateMay 01, 2007 / Keith Good
Since September 2006, the market price of corn and soybeans has climbed significantly, and many agricultural observers point to the increased demand for renewable energy as a leading cause of the upward trend in prices. This report focuses on the factors that will impact the sustainability of the demand-driven surge in the market price of corn and soybeans, as well as the policy implications that higher market prices will have on the development of the 2007 Farm Bill.
EU and U.S. Policies on Biofuels: Potential Impacts on Developing CountriesApril 01, 2007 / Marcos J Jank, Géraldine Kutas, Luiz Fernando do Amaral, Andre M Nassar
GMF analyzes the impact of EU and U.S. trade policies on biofuels production and the export potential of different groups of developing countries that have engaged in the biofuels industry. The study considers the production of first-generation biofuels based on agricultural feedstock
German Marshall Fund 2003 Annual ReportDecember 01, 2003 / Marcos J Jank, Géraldine Kutas, Luiz Fernando do Amaral, Andre M Nassar2003 has turned out to be an even more challenging year for U.S.–European relations. Serious policy differences between the United States and Europe over the war in Iraq, the use of American power, the future of the Middle East, and a host of other issues dominated an acrimonious agenda. Substantive concerns were exacerbated by overheated rhetoric and accusations of betrayal and arrogance in the media and elsewhere. The situation became so rancorous that some prominent analysts began considering a world in which the United States and Europe might be estranged politically and strategically for many years to come.