In this episode of the International Risk Podcast, host Dominic Bowen is joined by Tal Kollender, former military cyber specialist, cybersecurity expert, and CEO of Remedio. Tal explores the rapidly evolving cyber risk landscape and explains why businesses must rethink cybersecurity as a strategic and geopolitical risk—not simply an IT problem. Drawing on her experience…
Sportswashing has become one of the most reached-for words in modern sports journalism, shorthand for the practice of using sponsorships and mega-events to distract from a state’s less flattering reputation. It is a word almost always aimed outward, at Gulf monarchies buying up European football clubs, at China’s Olympic ceremonies or at Russia’s staging of…
For more than six decades, USAID sat at the centre of the global humanitarian and development system. A little over a year ago, USAID became one of the first targets of the Trump administration’s DOGE campaign. Today, the hum and development sector is grappling with profound uncertainty at precisely the moment humanitarian needs are growing,…
Marcus D. King is Professor of the Practice in Environment and International Affairs in the Science and Technology in International Affairs Program (STIA) at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. He holds a joint appointment at Earth Commons, Georgetown’s Institute for Environment & Sustainability. Prior to Georgetown, King was the John O. Rankin…
Across Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and now the Gulf, water systems are no longer just collateral damage. They are becoming targets and tools of coercion. Dams, desalination plants, pumping stations, rivers, reservoirs, and electricity grids are being pulled into the battlespace, with civilians paying the highest price. This matters far beyond the battlefield….
John Goedschalk is a climate change economist, sustainability advocate, and entrepreneur whose work focuses on the intersection of economic development, conservation, and sustainable finance. With more than a decade of experience in climate policy, conservation, and bio-economy development, he has worked extensively on nature-based solutions, carbon finance, and sustainable business models designed to support both…
This episode hosts John Goedschalk to examine the relationship between environmental sustainability, economic development, and long-term climate resilience in the Amazon rainforest and the Guiana Shield. The conversation explores why the forests of Suriname are disproportionately important to global climate stability, regional rainfall systems, and food production across South America. Drawing on the science behind…
A carbon-negative state at the centre of a global ecological contradiction Climate discourse remains dominated by emissions targets, carbon markets, and the protracted choreography of international negotiations. Beneath these institutionalised debates lies a far more immediate and destabilising challenge: the gradual degradation of the ecological systems upon which modern economies fundamentally depend. Few countries illustrate…
Doug Weir is Director at the Conflict and Environment Observatory, where his work focuses on the environmental dimensions of armed conflict and military activity. His research examines how war and security policies contribute to environmental degradation, with a particular emphasis on pollution, ecosystem damage, and the long-term risks associated with military emissions. Doug is widely…
Traditional approaches to transitional justice continue to treat environmental harm as a peripheral concern. In global climate diplomacy, the environmental cost of war predominantly exists outside formal accounting. Such an emission is becoming harder to sustain as conflicts intensify and military spending rises across major powers. When delegates gathered for COP30 in November 2025, the…
