“We really have to have in place across the industrialised world the agreements and the measures that are going to enable us to peak [global emissions] no later than 2015 … and if you want those things to be in place no later than 2012, we really should get it done in Copenhagen. That’s the schedule.”

John Holdren, on leave from the Belfer Center’s board of directors to serve as assistant to the president for science and technology and director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, was quoted in “US is a Dead Weight on Copenhagen Talks, Pulling Down Ambition ever Lower,” which the Guardian published on November 17, 2009.

For the full article, go to: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/cif-green/2009/nov/17/us-copenhagen-barack-obama

“Increasing overall demand in the economy is important for jobs.”

Lawrence Summers, on leave from the Belfer Center’s board of directors to serve as director of the National Economic Council, was quoted in “Taking Sides Over Need for Jobs Bill,” which the Wall Street Journal published on November 19, 2009.

For the full article, go to: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125856663302853977.html

“More than 12 years ago, I spoke at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University to propose a ‘new nuclear paradigm’ and to usher in a resurgence of nuclear energy.”

Former Senator Pete Domenici mentioned the Belfer Center while receiving the W. Bennett Lewis Award from the American Nuclear Society on November 16, 2009.

For the full press release, go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/former-senator-pete-domenici-receives-lewis-award-from-american-nuclear-society-70191602.html

“The decision making process that led to the surge in Iraq began with a review of the assumptions upon which our strategy had previously been based. It found that most of those assumptions were no longer valid and therefore it pointed to the necessity of changing the strategy in some fundamental ways. Today I would say President Obama has to look at these assumptions and determine the relationships between certain realities on the ground.”

Meghan O’Sullivan, Kirkpatrick professor of the practice of international affairs and member of the Belfer Center’s board of directors, was interviewed for Harvard Kennedy School Insight, which is currently featured on the HKS homepage.

For the full interview, go to: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/news-events/publications/insight/international/meghan-osullivan

Monica Toft, director of the Belfer Center’s Initiative on Religion in International Affairs and a member of the Center’s board of directors, and Timothy Samuel Shah co-wrote the lead article, “God is Winning: Religion in Global Politics,” in Blind Spot: When Journalists Don’t Get Religion. The book was recently selected as “Book of the Year” by the Religious Communication Association.

For more on the book, go to: http://www.blindspotreligion.com/

“In this period of economic turmoil and dislocation, with cut-backs in government spending and reductions in foundation endowments and outlays, the need for corporate philanthropy has never been greater.”

Ben Heineman, a Belfer Center senior fellow, wrote “Defining Corporate Citizenship,” which the Washington Post published on its “On Leadership” blog on November 18, 2009.

For the full opinion article, go to: http://views.washingtonpost.com/leadership/panelists/2009/11/defining-corporate-citizenship.html

“The world has slowly tired of the Palestinians in their current political mode, and focused on other issues, because the prospects of a negotiated Arab-Israeli peace seem slim, as diplomatic attempts to reach a full peace have repeatedly confirmed in the last three decades.”

Rami Khouri, a senior fellow with the Belfer Center’s Dubai Initiative and director of the Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs and the American University of Beirut, wrote “Why Support for Palestine Ebbs,” which Agence Global released on November 18, 2009.

For the full oped, go to: http://agenceglobal.com/article.asp?id=2192

“Metrobús also offers a remarkable example of how to put a new transport system into place in a relatively short time, how to foster cooperation over competition in a city known for its rough-and-tumble politics, and how to create a public-private transport system that does not rely on massive public subsidies. In other words, not business as usual.”

Cristine Russell, a senior fellow with the Belfer Center’s Environment and Natural Resources Program, wrote “Take the Metrobús in Mexico City,” which the Atlantic published on November 17, 2009.

For the full oped, go to: http://correspondents.theatlantic.com/cristine_russell/2009/11/take_the_metrobus_in_mexico_city.php

Arena Digest: Copenhagen
Politico.com
November 17
Quoted: Stephen Walt, Belfer Center
Topic: Upcoming climate talks in Copenhagen

POLITICO’s Arena contributors discuss how big a deal it is that there will be no big deal at Copenhagen. …

Stephen M. Walt, professor, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

“The failure to achieve a ‘big deal’ at Copenhagen is not a big deal in itself because this outcome was recognized a while ago, and expectations had been suitably lowered. Addressing climate change remains a compelling priority, however, and Obama’s main goal now should be to maintain momentum for a ‘big deal’ in the not too distant future. Remember: The longer we wait, the harder the adjustments will be.”

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1109/29576.html

How General Electric Engineered Its Presence on Capitol Hill
Wall Street Journal
November 16
Quoted: Ben Heineman, Belfer Center
Topic: General Electric’s government relations

Many companies have offices in Washington D.C. for lobbying purposes, have employee-funded political-action committees to donate and influence politicians and belong to industry trade associations that lobby for their interests. General Electric Co., in recent years, has developed another way of engaging its business units with policy makers in Washington and other global capitols. It helps explain how President Barrack Obama has become GE’s customer in chief.

With a program called “Growth and Government” that started in the late 1990s and was more formalized around 2003, the company moved government policy experts into its largest business units to school GE executives on how to align GE goals with national goals. “It was actually, first and foremost, about getting ‘policy’ talent in headquarters to work on strategy with business people, not more government relations people in capitols to work with public officials,” said Ben Heineman, former general counsel at GE, who crafted the initiative. “The fundamental idea was that government actions impacted GE businesses in a major way and that this needed to be understood when businesses were working on their annual or three-year business strategies.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704431804574539621964755020.html