By Tom Mitro
May 20, 2020

By Heather Marquette
February 12, 2020

At the third meeting of this Executive Session, from October 3 – 5, we launched a new informational video on the ES and discussed a number of issues related to the impact of politics on the efficacy of various areas of work were explored, including: the need for, and opportunities to undertake, more politically sensitive approaches to… read more

By Cynthia Sanborn and Weijun Xie
February 21 – March 9, 2019

Cynthia Sanborn, of the Universidad del Pacífico in Lima, Peru, recently interviewed Weijun Xie, Vice President of China Minmetals Rare Earth Co., Ltd, and a fellow member of the Executive Session on the Politics of Extractive Industries, about the rising prominence of Chinese companies in the world extractive industry. Their conversation addresses the larger political concerns for Chinese investors as they enter into an investment world historically dominated by European and American companies. It also addresses the on-the-ground political challenges of effective communication, transparency and consultation that affect all extractive industry investments, but particularly new and growing enterprises such as those coming out of China.

By Nathan Lobel
February 26, 2019

What the Green New Deal gets that the carbon tax misses: embedded in political realities, the seemingly first-best option can become at best insufficient to achieve its original policy objectives, and at worst a costly distraction from other more viable alternatives.

By Michael Jarvis
September 19, 2018

With the announcement of yet more oil, Guyana is back in the news. While much ink has been spilled on what Guyana will do with its newfound riches, not much is being written about the role of donors and advisers in this context. To maximize impact of technical recommendations, these development practitioners must navigate the thorny task of integrating political considerations into technical recommendations.