Comment & Opinion - Columnists Archives

07 May 2020
Scott L. Montgomery shows why recent drops in global energy usage suggest that there can be no return to normal after the pandemic if we wish to tackle climate change. There…
06 May 2020
Brian Stoddart explores Australia's pantomime politics and its actors' performances in response to China's increasing regional power. Reading ex-Australian Prime Minister…
17 April 2020
Last weekend’s agreement notwithstanding, international cooperation over oil output stands to be short-lived as the short- and medium-term battles for market share intensify. Over…
16 April 2020
The progress achieved towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) might be maintained or could be thrown out of the window by today’s decisions on how to deal with the debt…
14 April 2020
Noam Chomsky and Robert Pollin tackle the questions of what lessons we can learn from this pandemic and how society may organize moving forward. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19…
09 April 2020
The impacts of COVID-19 in developing countries are starting to be felt. The Economist went as far as to call it the ‘next calamity’, noting how overlooked the impact on poorer…
07 April 2020
Alastair Newton argues that despite its early mishandling of Covid-19, the pandemic will shift the global balance of power further in China’s favour. “The new coronavirus is…
02 April 2020
Shannon O’Connell, from the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, argues that COVD-19 epidemic is an opportunity to push the ‘restart’ button on women’s role in society. I live in…
17 March 2020
Scott Montgomery argues that, all things considered, ultra-cheap oil is not the world’s friend. Oil shocks happen when prices suddenly ascend or crash. In the past, a skyward soar…
10 March 2020
Newcastle University's Global Challenges Academy celebrates 70 years of global water research. Engineering sustainable solutions to the world’s water problems is not a pipe…