Insights

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The pitfalls of vaccine salvation

General Policy

Tom Smith
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As clinical trials for covid-19 vaccines begin to produce sufficient evidence to begin the regulatory approval process and scale-up manufacture, governments, especially in the UK, face a whole range of new challenges. Many will resemble those of the earlier phases of the pandemic and will be shaped by the experience of managing the first peak and the subsequent attempts…

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The case for WHO reform

General Policy

Beatrix Thompson
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The World Health Organisation has not performed well in response to the covid-19 crisis. In a video-conference discussion of EU health ministers on October 30th, it was unanimously agreed that the WHO was not fit for purpose and required an overhaul to boost transparency and accountability. With the WHO’s largest contributor, the USA,…

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Guinea, Tanzania, and Côte d’Ivoire: three observations from October’s elections

General Policy

Isabelle Trick
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While all eyes have been on the US presidential elections, Guinea, Tanzania and Côte d’Ivoire have all also elected presidents in the last three weeks. In all three countries, the incumbent presidents retained their positions and increased their votes: Alpha Condé won 59.49 % in Guinea; John Magufuli won 84.40% of the vote in Tanzania; Alassane Ouattara won 94.27% of the…

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Three views on the US election

General Policy

Joe Armitage
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At this point - with Joe Biden likely to win the presidency - the UK government has probably started to build and strengthen relationships with individuals in Biden’s team who are set to lead the transition process. However, given that President Trump still has a slim chance of successfully contesting the outcome in key states and remaining in office, any such outreach to…

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Climate policy - coming to your plate

Sustainability

Charley Roberts
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On November 3rd, Global Counsel hosted a panel discussion on the role of diet in achieving climate objectives. The discussion focused on how likely we are to see forthcoming UK policy aimed at addressing a dietary shift and whether we can expect to see governments increasingly intervene in this area in the same way they do in energy or transport.

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Democratic déjà vu? Assessing the prospects of US presidential election litigation

General Policy

Ben Bassett
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As Democrats and Republicans anxiously await the final tallies of mail-in and absentee ballots in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia, and North Carolina to decide the closely fought US presidential election, both sides are bracing for what will come next: an onslaught of litigation that could make the controversial Florida recount during the 2000 election look like a garden…

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US Election: A tight race and no landslide for Biden and Dems tempers progressive agenda both domestically and abroad

General Policy

Erin Caddell
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Whatever the outcome of America’s election – which for both the presidency and Senate remained too close to call as of early Wednesday morning in the US – the blowout victory that Democrats were hoping for did not materialise. This has implications for both US domestic and foreign policy regardless of the final outcome. Both are likely to be more moderate and more…

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General Politics

Tech and trade: how hot is the Israel-UAE peace deal?

General Politics

Thomas Gratowski
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Did Israel get a sweet deal with the United Arab Emirates, and the latter little in return? Critics would say yes. Abu Dhabi broke with the traditional Arab position, requiring the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital in return for recognition. All Israel had to do was to suspend its rather dubious annexation plans. But this criticism…

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Transatlantic reprieve? Implications of a Biden presidency for EU-US trade

Trade & Manufacturing

Alessandro Gangarossa
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This week’s decision by the EU to hold off on retaliatory tariffs against US subsidies to the aircraft manufacturer Boeing is a sign of Brussels’ interest in working towards resetting transatlantic relations after the US elections. The possibility of a new president in the White House potentially means reduced trade tensions with the EU. But those thinking that this reset…

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EU farm policy reform: what’s on the table?

Sustainability

Mollie Brennan
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Last week’s extensive negotiations in the European Parliament have set the tone for how far the EU is willing to integrate its stated sustainability objectives with agricultural policy. The two areas of policy have often been at loggerheads, but the Green Deal and the Farm to Fork strategy released earlier this year had created some expectation that things may be shifting…

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China’s engineered economic recovery

General Policy

Jens Presthus
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The dust has now settled on China’s latest GDP figures. As usual, even without going into questions about the reliability of official numbers, the data dump has led to some confusion. Strong headline GDP growth has been widely reported, both inside and outside of China – pointing to a strong recovery. However, while China without a doubt currently is doing better than…

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A brave new world: the limitations of the G20 debt suspension extension

General Policy

Isabelle Trick
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At the beginning of the year, many low- and middle-income countries were already struggling with increasingly large debt burdens. Then, these debt levels collided with a global health emergency and an economic crisis – reducing access to finance just when it was needed most. Given the ongoing impact of the pandemic and what looks like an increasingly bumpy and uneven…

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General Politics

Armenia-Azerbaijan: two global implications of the conflict

General Politics

Frederick Michell
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One of the world’s longest running conflicts has once again erupted, causing devastation and instability across the South Caucasus. For citizens of Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous region situated between Armenia and Azerbaijan, their home has once again become a warzone with no sustained peace in sight. But this conflict also extends beyond the region, creating wider…

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Dombrovskis and trade: strategic enabler?

Trade & Manufacturing

Alessandro Gangarossa
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The European Commission’s executive vice president, Valdis Dombrovskis, has now formally taken on his new responsibilities as trade commissioner. His appointment raises the trade portfolio to the same level as the executive vice presidencies leading on the green and digital transitions. EU trade policy will be seen as strategically instrumental to deliver on the…

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Is an EU-wide ban on petrol and diesel cars imminent?

Sustainability

Ermenegilda Boccabella
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A decision is imminent on whether the UK will bring forward its phase-out date for vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICE) from 2035 to 2030 – in itself already a radically different position than this time last year where the phase-out date was set at 2040. Pressure is mounting from all sides as without this decision, the UK stands no chance of meeting its net…

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Permanent change in the concrete jungle

General Policy

Tom King
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New York City occupies a space like no other in the modern Western mind. Its liminal status, halfway between imagination and reality, has been entrenched through decades of cultural saturation. Coming to the city for the first time, you feel you have already been there; its sights and sounds are already familiar, a composite of scenes from half-remembered TV shows and…

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General Politics

The bigger question behind the right to work from home

General Politics

Stephen Adams
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The German coalition government has confirmed that it plans to push ahead with plans to give workers a legal right to work from home. This idea was floated back in the Spring when lockdowns began, and some unions began to advocate a framework that would prevent employers hurrying people back into offices. There is still a lot we don’t know about the German law, including…

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Does the election actually matter for the US energy transition?

Energy & Commodities

Ermenegilda Boccabella
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There is no doubt that the US will be key to global decarbonisation and for the energy sector, the upcoming American elections in November will be a turning point. While it is clear that a returned President Trump would not actively seek to reduce emissions in a second term, net-zero expectations from other major states have nevertheless moved ahead without his version of…

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