President’s Letter3 March 2026 Dear Readers, The Iran war is a regional conflict. It is also a systemic test. What began as a military escalation has quickly become an energy shock, a market shock and a governance shock. When one fifth of globally traded oil moves through a single chokepoint,
As the war involving the United States, Iran and Israel expands across the Middle East and reverberates through global energy and financial markets, European powers have largely stayed out of direct combat. Instead of deploying forces or joining offensive operations, capitals from Paris to London and Berlin have urged restraint,
The White House declared it a first in diplomatic history: Melania Trump became the first spouse of a world leader to preside over the United Nations Security Council, convening a session focused on children, technology and education in conflict zones. Seated at the horseshoe table beneath the council’s iconic mural,
Artificial intelligence is no longer a software story. It is an infrastructure story. OpenAI said it is raising $110 billion in new capital, valuing the company at $840 billion and positioning it ahead of an anticipated mega-IPO later this year. The round includes $30 billion from SoftBank, $30 billion from
COPENHAGEN — Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, has called a snap parliamentary election for March 24, accelerating the country’s political calendar at a moment of rising international unease and renewed attention on Greenland. The move reflects a calculation familiar to leaders across Europe: that domestic politics can no longer be
A carbon market built through negotiation has entered operational territory. The United Nations has approved the first issuance of credits under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement, marking the point at which the new multilateral carbon market shifts from rulemaking to execution. Architecture becomes throughput. From design to execution The
Climate diplomacy rarely begins where climate impacts are most acute. In the lead-up to COP31, it will. Fiji will host the official pre-COP31 meeting in October 2026, while Tuvalu will convene a special leaders’ component under an agreement reached between Australia and Turkey. The Pacific Islands Forum confirmed the arrangement
A sudden reprieve for major U.S. allies highlights the chaotic evolution of American tariff policy, which has shaken markets and diplomatic trust. WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that the European Union and the United Kingdom would be spared the highest tariff burdens under his expanding trade regime,
In Washington, climate capital now waits on a jurisdictional question. More than a year after the Environmental Protection Agency moved to freeze roughly $20 billion in clean energy grants awarded under the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the legal fight has returned to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District
In Brussels, sustainability ambition met economic gravity. After four years of negotiation, European Union member states gave final approval to the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive as amended by the Omnibus I package, narrowing the scope of one of the bloc’s most consequential corporate accountability frameworks. The directive survives, but
