Content

New Atlanticist

May 21, 2020

How societies can fight pandemics and climate change at the same time

By David A. Wemer

While many officials worry about their potential bandwidths to deal with two major problems at the same time, Dr. Aaron Bernstein explained that both crises “share the same causes and that means they share the same solutions.”

Climate Change & Climate Action Coronavirus

UkraineAlert

May 21, 2020

Russo-Ukrainian War: Zelenskyy unable to find path to peace with Putin

By Peter Dickinson

President Zelenskyy’s talk of a new approach to peace with Russia proved hugely attractive to the war-weary Ukrainian public in 2019. However, one year on, there is very little to show for this initial optimism.

Conflict Russia

New Atlanticist

May 21, 2020

Guatemalan president criticizes US over lack of COVID-19 assistance

By Larry Luxner

“Guatemala is an ally of the United States, but I don’t believe the US is an ally to Guatemala, because they don’t treat us like one,” he said. “We’ve seen how they’ve assisted other countries with ventilators, and we haven’t even gotten a dime from them—not even one single mask from the United States. We don’t feel appreciated.”

Coronavirus Migration

New Atlanticist

May 21, 2020

Will COVID-19 exacerbate or defuse conflicts in the Middle East?

By Masoud Mostajabi

With the virus has come the reshuffling of priorities needed to combat the pandemic, casting new light on these long-running conflicts. On May 20, 2020, the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary A. DiCarlo sat down with the Atlantic Council’s Future of Iran Initiative director Barbara Slavin to discuss potential new openings to advance peace in the region.

Coronavirus Middle East

IranSource

May 21, 2020

Iran and the US ‘meet’ again over Afghanistan

By Barbara Slavin

Iran has shown a willingness to engage with the US when the time and venue are right.

Afghanistan Iran

EnergySource

May 21, 2020

Carbon capture and the Allam Cycle: The future of electricity or a carbon pipe(line) dream?

By David Yellen

The race to net-zero emissions is an uphill one. Despite the effects of climate change mounting and time running out, global energy demand is set to grow 50 percent by 2050. One solution to decarbonizing the global energy system while also meeting rising natural gas demand is carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS). However, CCUS has historically been too expensive to be viable, and deployment remains far off track. Enter the Allam Cycle: a novel natural gas power plant design that can theoretically capture 100 percent of emissions while being cost- and efficiency-competitive with advanced natural gas plants.

Energy & Environment Energy Transitions

UkraineAlert

May 21, 2020

Ukraine’s novice president may yet live up to the hype

By Tetiana Popova

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has struggled to match the sky high expectations that accompanied his historic 2019 election win, but he has done enough during his first year to suggest he may yet live up to the hype, says Tetiana Popova.

Crisis Management Democratic Transitions

The future is here

May 21, 2020

Unemployment continues to increase in US; Spain, UK outline gradual opening of travel

By Atlantic Council

New claims for unemployment continued to rise in the United States, which pledged as much as $1.2 billion to secure vaccine shots from AstraZeneca. The UK and Spain outlined early steps in a resumption of domestic travel, while international vacations remain in the balance.

Coronavirus
gtc overhead view of shipping containers and industry from above

Event Recap

May 21, 2020

Event recap | Mobilizing industry to encourage multi-sector solutions to global concerns

By Corina LJ DuBois

On May 21, 2020, Daryl Haegley, Yusuf Abdul-Qadir, Melissa Flagg, Lee McKnight, Mary Collins, Lin Wells, and Divya Chander shared their perspectives in a live video discussion titled "Mobilizing industry to encourage multi-sector solutions to address emergent global concerns" and moderated by David Bray, Director of the Atlantic Council's GeoTech Center. The discussion focused on new ways of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and application of multi-sector industry solutions to current and potential future pandemics.

Civil Society Coronavirus

UkraineAlert

May 20, 2020

Ukraine’s road agency head: Vast infrastructure upgrade continues despite pandemic

By Oleksandr Kubrakov

The coronavirus crisis is creating huge challenges for the global economy and Ukraine is no exception. Nevertheless, the most ambitious construction undertaking in independent Ukraine’s history remains very much on track.

Coronavirus Economy & Business