United States and Canada

Low-carbon fuel innovation and the California policy environment

By Randolph Bell

The transportation sector, and particularly aviation and maritime transport, pose unique challenges in the transition to lower-carbon energy sources. However, California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard has ushered in significant investment and innovation and the state is leading the way in advanced fuels. In an interview with Randolph Bell, director of the Atlantic Council Global Energy […]

Testing North Korea’s nuclear offer

By Ashish Kumar Sen

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has agreed to dismantle missile facilities in the presence of international inspectors and take steps toward denuclearization—provided the United States takes “corresponding measures.”

Trump’s trade war unlikely to end soon

By David A. Wemer

“A deal with China before the midterms [in November] is extremely unlikely,” said Marie Kasperek, associate director at the Atlantic Council's Global Business and Economics Program.

Great powers, big questions

By Frederick Kempe

Just as US leaders after World War II conjured up an approach that fit their times, ultimately resulting in a system of global institutions and regional alliances, so must the United States and its friends and allies rise to this new era of global competition.

Tracking hurricane florence

Hurricane Florence, currently a Category 2 as it makes its final approach to the Carolina coastline, still has the potential to inflict severe damage.

Trump’s election meddling sanctions will not deter Russia

By Brian O’Toole and David Mortlock

Strategically, it is hard to see how these sanctions would provide any more of a deterrent to Russia and others than what already exists, given that the determination to impose sanctions still rests at the administration’s discretion.

Can peace be won in Afghanistan?

By Omar Samad

How will key regional stakeholders—Pakistan, Russia, Iran, China, and India—manage shifting interests and threat perceptions at a time when the United States is pushing for a peace deal, and is there a contingency plan if talks fail?

Assad still standing in Syria: What went wrong?

By David Wemer

Now, Washington must face the reality that Assad is here to stay and that Syria will continue to be a source of instability in the region for years to come.

China, Trump and an ‘epochal shift’

By Frederick Kempe

Moral of the story: In an increasing number of places in the world, it isn’t that the US and its democratic allies are losing the battle for influence. They are too frequently no-shows.