It is political season in two of the world’s largest economies. People around the world are closely watching as leadership transition in China will have global implications. China has been a hot topic in the U.S. presidential campaign, mentioned 53 times in the presidential debates. Both candidates took a tough stance and proposed to push China to “play by the rules.”
Collaboration between government and the private sector will be essential to substantially increasing job opportunities. The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8% in September 2012 – its lowest level since January 2009.
Our highly interconnected and interdependent world has given rise to an extraordinary collaborative effort to design a future that is sustainable, prosperous and empowering. The recently concluded Clinton Global Initiative 2012 annual meeting’s theme, “Designing for Impact,” focused on designing our lives, environments and the global systems that can create more opportunity and equality.
A year and a half after the Great East Japan Earthquake triggered one of the worst nuclear catastrophes in recorded history, the country is now in full energy conservation mode.
If public-private partnerships are essential to successfully carrying out the Olympics and using it to catalyze positive change for the host city, then Rio could have an important advantage for hosting the games in 2016.
The Olympics symbolize unity and friendship: The whole world comes together for the Games, playing by the same rules, honoring the same Olympian spirit of excellence and fair play. But today’s Olympics are notable for another type of collaboration—between the public and private sectors.
President Obama’s proposed American Jobs Act was presented to Congress this week. Included in the $447 billion jobs package is about $5 billion toward community college construction. Community colleges are uniquely positioned to provide workforce training and higher education.
Coordinating the resources of academia, government, non-profits and the private sector can promote industrial innovation and create jobs; it also can improve education, limit the spread of diseases and increase access to food.
State of the Planet is a forum for discussion on varying viewpoints. The opinions expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Earth Institute or Columbia University.
