The Polycrisis
@thepolycrisis.bsky.social
Political economy of climate & other stuff
Monthly essays: https://www.phenomenalworld.org/series/the-polycrisis/
Weekly Dispatch: https://buttondown.com/polycrisisdispatch/archive/
Monthly essays: https://www.phenomenalworld.org/series/the-polycrisis/
Weekly Dispatch: https://buttondown.com/polycrisisdispatch/archive/
Reposted by The Polycrisis
"At present, Europe has no sovereign digital payment system and its entire architecture depends on US service providers"
Roadmap for Euro to become a global reserve currency:
- swap lines
- own payment system
- avoid US stablecoins
- true, common safe asset
- capital markets integration
Roadmap for Euro to become a global reserve currency:
- swap lines
- own payment system
- avoid US stablecoins
- true, common safe asset
- capital markets integration
NEW: In this moment of profound uncertainty over the global monetary order, Europe needs to move swiftly on becoming a truly global currency issuer, writes @shahinvallee.bsky.social www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/a-g...
A Global Euro | Phenomenal World
With the global monetary order on less certain ground, will Europeans seize the opportunity to make the euro a true reserve currency issuer?
www.phenomenalworld.org
January 20, 2026 at 11:49 PM
"At present, Europe has no sovereign digital payment system and its entire architecture depends on US service providers"
Roadmap for Euro to become a global reserve currency:
- swap lines
- own payment system
- avoid US stablecoins
- true, common safe asset
- capital markets integration
Roadmap for Euro to become a global reserve currency:
- swap lines
- own payment system
- avoid US stablecoins
- true, common safe asset
- capital markets integration
Reposted by The Polycrisis
I agree 100% to the @thepolycrisis.bsky.social take on the oil issue. It’s about oil, but not because of the reasons the oil industry and petrostates rulers wants us to believe.
January 11, 2026 at 11:15 AM
I agree 100% to the @thepolycrisis.bsky.social take on the oil issue. It’s about oil, but not because of the reasons the oil industry and petrostates rulers wants us to believe.
When we wrote a year ago about countries organizing "around and without" the US, we didn't realise the extent to which it was western allies that would be doing this most decisively. www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/pol...
Polycrisis 2025 | Kate Mackenzie, Lara Merling, Tim Sahay
Diplomacy, finance, and extraction in the year ahead
www.phenomenalworld.org
January 14, 2026 at 7:00 AM
When we wrote a year ago about countries organizing "around and without" the US, we didn't realise the extent to which it was western allies that would be doing this most decisively. www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/pol...
Reposted by The Polycrisis
“There's a global solar energy revolution happening led by China and it should have been one of the biggest stories of 2025
While the US is committing to a suicide pact with fossil fuels, the rest of the world is leapfrogging into cheap nearly limitless energy”
bsky.app/profile/70sb...
While the US is committing to a suicide pact with fossil fuels, the rest of the world is leapfrogging into cheap nearly limitless energy”
bsky.app/profile/70sb...
"My sense is that China is using this old RMI playbook to destroy global oil demand. With subsidized EV technology, China can help 50+ emerging markets destroy 3-4 million barrels per day of oil demand by 2030." - @jigarshahdc.bsky.social
rmi.org/insight/winn...
bsky.app/profile/did:...
rmi.org/insight/winn...
bsky.app/profile/did:...
January 5, 2026 at 8:02 PM
“There's a global solar energy revolution happening led by China and it should have been one of the biggest stories of 2025
While the US is committing to a suicide pact with fossil fuels, the rest of the world is leapfrogging into cheap nearly limitless energy”
bsky.app/profile/70sb...
While the US is committing to a suicide pact with fossil fuels, the rest of the world is leapfrogging into cheap nearly limitless energy”
bsky.app/profile/70sb...
Mark Blyth, co-author of "Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers" is our holiday book club guest - *today* 3pm EST (9pm CET). You can pre-register here.
us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
December 22, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Mark Blyth, co-author of "Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers" is our holiday book club guest - *today* 3pm EST (9pm CET). You can pre-register here.
us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Latest edition of our Dispatch email is out, telling you all about our new guest essays; what you might have missed at COP30 on industrial policy & trade; LNG updates; AI thoughts... and:
Mark Blyth inflation bookclub coming up!
buttondown.com/polycrisisdi...
Mark Blyth inflation bookclub coming up!
buttondown.com/polycrisisdi...
Good enough?
COP, trade, Mark Blyth inflation book club
buttondown.com
December 21, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Latest edition of our Dispatch email is out, telling you all about our new guest essays; what you might have missed at COP30 on industrial policy & trade; LNG updates; AI thoughts... and:
Mark Blyth inflation bookclub coming up!
buttondown.com/polycrisisdi...
Mark Blyth inflation bookclub coming up!
buttondown.com/polycrisisdi...
NEW: In this moment of profound uncertainty over the global monetary order, Europe needs to move swiftly on becoming a truly global currency issuer, writes @shahinvallee.bsky.social www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/a-g...
A Global Euro | Phenomenal World
With the global monetary order on less certain ground, will Europeans seize the opportunity to make the euro a true reserve currency issuer?
www.phenomenalworld.org
December 19, 2025 at 10:47 PM
NEW: In this moment of profound uncertainty over the global monetary order, Europe needs to move swiftly on becoming a truly global currency issuer, writes @shahinvallee.bsky.social www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/a-g...
Reposted by The Polycrisis
Interesting summary over whether COP30 made much progress "on coalitions of the doing" on climate change. Modest, maybe? A new conversation on green industrialization was something I hadn't picked up on.
How bad was it, really? Catherine Osborn, writer of @foreignpolicy.com LatAm newsletter, reflects on COP30 in Brazil. www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/cop...
COP30 Without the USA | Phenomenal World
Ten years after Paris, and with the conspicuous absence of the US, climate cooperation presses onward at COP30 in Belém.
www.phenomenalworld.org
December 9, 2025 at 6:05 AM
Interesting summary over whether COP30 made much progress "on coalitions of the doing" on climate change. Modest, maybe? A new conversation on green industrialization was something I hadn't picked up on.
How bad was it, really? Catherine Osborn, writer of @foreignpolicy.com LatAm newsletter, reflects on COP30 in Brazil. www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/cop...
COP30 Without the USA | Phenomenal World
Ten years after Paris, and with the conspicuous absence of the US, climate cooperation presses onward at COP30 in Belém.
www.phenomenalworld.org
December 8, 2025 at 11:57 PM
How bad was it, really? Catherine Osborn, writer of @foreignpolicy.com LatAm newsletter, reflects on COP30 in Brazil. www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/cop...
Reposted by The Polycrisis
2/ At @thepolycrisis.bsky.social , we’ve taken a special interest in the question of how India has been positioning itself in the new world order that has been emerging since 2022.
This thread is on some of those articles and interviews
phenomenalworld.org/analysis/ind...
This thread is on some of those articles and interviews
phenomenalworld.org/analysis/ind...
October 23, 2025 at 2:03 PM
2/ At @thepolycrisis.bsky.social , we’ve taken a special interest in the question of how India has been positioning itself in the new world order that has been emerging since 2022.
This thread is on some of those articles and interviews
phenomenalworld.org/analysis/ind...
This thread is on some of those articles and interviews
phenomenalworld.org/analysis/ind...
Reposted by The Polycrisis
Thread on India @thepolycrisis.bsky.social:
"What provides India greater freedom of choice & sovereignty? Locking into hydrocarbon coalitions or doubling down on a green electrostate track?How India chooses will shape the destiny of 1.4Bn citizens—& the world"
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/ind...
"What provides India greater freedom of choice & sovereignty? Locking into hydrocarbon coalitions or doubling down on a green electrostate track?How India chooses will shape the destiny of 1.4Bn citizens—& the world"
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/ind...
India in the New Global Order | Shreyas Shende
Between hydrocarbon coalitions and the green electric development
www.phenomenalworld.org
October 23, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Thread on India @thepolycrisis.bsky.social:
"What provides India greater freedom of choice & sovereignty? Locking into hydrocarbon coalitions or doubling down on a green electrostate track?How India chooses will shape the destiny of 1.4Bn citizens—& the world"
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/ind...
"What provides India greater freedom of choice & sovereignty? Locking into hydrocarbon coalitions or doubling down on a green electrostate track?How India chooses will shape the destiny of 1.4Bn citizens—& the world"
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/ind...
Reposted by The Polycrisis
🚨 HAPPENING SOON!
🎟️ 620+ sign-ups!
Join us to launch Transition Security Project with a panel on the war economy, climate crisis & the geopolitics of the climate transition.
🎙️ @stephensemler.bsky.social @iliasalami.bsky.social @triofrancos.bsky.social
🪑 @lalehkhalili.bsky.social
shorturl.at/njU0q
🎟️ 620+ sign-ups!
Join us to launch Transition Security Project with a panel on the war economy, climate crisis & the geopolitics of the climate transition.
🎙️ @stephensemler.bsky.social @iliasalami.bsky.social @triofrancos.bsky.social
🪑 @lalehkhalili.bsky.social
shorturl.at/njU0q
War, Climate Crisis and the Economy: Transition Security Project Launch
A collaboration between Common Wealth and Climate & Community Institute to investigate the US and UK military industrial complexes.
shorturl.at
October 16, 2025 at 4:44 PM
🚨 HAPPENING SOON!
🎟️ 620+ sign-ups!
Join us to launch Transition Security Project with a panel on the war economy, climate crisis & the geopolitics of the climate transition.
🎙️ @stephensemler.bsky.social @iliasalami.bsky.social @triofrancos.bsky.social
🪑 @lalehkhalili.bsky.social
shorturl.at/njU0q
🎟️ 620+ sign-ups!
Join us to launch Transition Security Project with a panel on the war economy, climate crisis & the geopolitics of the climate transition.
🎙️ @stephensemler.bsky.social @iliasalami.bsky.social @triofrancos.bsky.social
🪑 @lalehkhalili.bsky.social
shorturl.at/njU0q
Reposted by The Polycrisis
This is from an anon contributor to a really cool new little newsletter/journal from @advaitarun.bsky.social, Daevan Mangalmurti, and @aasthauprety.bsky.social caravanseraiforum.substack.com
You can choose to look up—at all that is above.
Is "all-of-the-above" energy policy a smokescreen for fossil fuel lock-in? If not, why not?
caravanseraiforum.substack.com
October 16, 2025 at 1:16 AM
This is from an anon contributor to a really cool new little newsletter/journal from @advaitarun.bsky.social, Daevan Mangalmurti, and @aasthauprety.bsky.social caravanseraiforum.substack.com
Reposted by The Polycrisis
ALL OF THE ABOVE? "There are contexts where building a broad energy portfolio makes sense, such as in research and development of new technologies, where failure is part of the process. But when applied to infrastructure, regulation, and deployment, the lack of prioritization becomes a liability."
You can choose to look up—at all that is above.
Is "all-of-the-above" energy policy a smokescreen for fossil fuel lock-in? If not, why not?
caravanseraiforum.substack.com
October 16, 2025 at 1:14 AM
ALL OF THE ABOVE? "There are contexts where building a broad energy portfolio makes sense, such as in research and development of new technologies, where failure is part of the process. But when applied to infrastructure, regulation, and deployment, the lack of prioritization becomes a liability."
Reposted by The Polycrisis
"Beijing has launched dozens of new satellites and other sensors to locate US forces & 100s of increasingly accurate missiles—ballistic, cruise,& hypersonic—to strike airfields & ships throughout the region. Washington has countered by improving US missile defenses..."
direct.mit.edu/isec/article...
direct.mit.edu/isec/article...
Access Denied? The Sino-American Contest for Military Primacy in Asia
Abstract. How has the balance of power shifted in maritime East Asia, and what does this change mean for the U.S.-China military competition in the region? We examine these questions by focusing on a ...
direct.mit.edu
August 22, 2025 at 1:34 AM
"Beijing has launched dozens of new satellites and other sensors to locate US forces & 100s of increasingly accurate missiles—ballistic, cruise,& hypersonic—to strike airfields & ships throughout the region. Washington has countered by improving US missile defenses..."
direct.mit.edu/isec/article...
direct.mit.edu/isec/article...
Reposted by The Polycrisis
2/ Is the Chinese central govt pushback on involution.
The brutal competitiveness of what @70sbachchan.bsky.social calls the "fitness centre" of Chinese domestic markets has become so intense that companies are cutting prices below costs. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
The brutal competitiveness of what @70sbachchan.bsky.social calls the "fitness centre" of Chinese domestic markets has become so intense that companies are cutting prices below costs. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
China warns EV makers to stop price-cutting to protect the economy
Overcapacity and oversupply are causing ‘involution’ and putting growth at risk, manufacturers told
www.theguardian.com
August 21, 2025 at 6:46 AM
2/ Is the Chinese central govt pushback on involution.
The brutal competitiveness of what @70sbachchan.bsky.social calls the "fitness centre" of Chinese domestic markets has become so intense that companies are cutting prices below costs. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
The brutal competitiveness of what @70sbachchan.bsky.social calls the "fitness centre" of Chinese domestic markets has become so intense that companies are cutting prices below costs. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Reposted by The Polycrisis
So here are the actual things that I was looking for:
1/ Total reversal of the old "China steals western IP" story. Now it is China with the tech and know-how. Late last year the EU inserted tech transfer provision into its Innovation Fund call for EV battery grants www.ft.com/content/f4fd...
1/ Total reversal of the old "China steals western IP" story. Now it is China with the tech and know-how. Late last year the EU inserted tech transfer provision into its Innovation Fund call for EV battery grants www.ft.com/content/f4fd...
EU to demand technology transfers from Chinese companies
New requirements will apply to batteries but could be expanded to other green sectors
www.ft.com
August 21, 2025 at 6:41 AM
So here are the actual things that I was looking for:
1/ Total reversal of the old "China steals western IP" story. Now it is China with the tech and know-how. Late last year the EU inserted tech transfer provision into its Innovation Fund call for EV battery grants www.ft.com/content/f4fd...
1/ Total reversal of the old "China steals western IP" story. Now it is China with the tech and know-how. Late last year the EU inserted tech transfer provision into its Innovation Fund call for EV battery grants www.ft.com/content/f4fd...
Reposted by The Polycrisis
And the OBBBA's biggest legacy will be ceding 'energy dominance' to China:
www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
Tim Sahay of @thepolycrisis.bsky.social has been all over this too:
bsky.app/profile/70sb...
www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
Tim Sahay of @thepolycrisis.bsky.social has been all over this too:
bsky.app/profile/70sb...
August 21, 2025 at 4:27 PM
And the OBBBA's biggest legacy will be ceding 'energy dominance' to China:
www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
Tim Sahay of @thepolycrisis.bsky.social has been all over this too:
bsky.app/profile/70sb...
www.nybooks.com/online/2025/...
Tim Sahay of @thepolycrisis.bsky.social has been all over this too:
bsky.app/profile/70sb...
Reposted by The Polycrisis
"I write about the 3 Americas: one built on AI speculation, one held together by healthcare, and one running on memes"
Brilliant &brooding piece by @kyla.bsky.social that runs a thread through the american shatterbelt
@katemac.bsky.social & I honored to be quoted!
kyla.substack.com/p/how-ai-hea...
Brilliant &brooding piece by @kyla.bsky.social that runs a thread through the american shatterbelt
@katemac.bsky.social & I honored to be quoted!
kyla.substack.com/p/how-ai-hea...
August 7, 2025 at 7:53 PM
"I write about the 3 Americas: one built on AI speculation, one held together by healthcare, and one running on memes"
Brilliant &brooding piece by @kyla.bsky.social that runs a thread through the american shatterbelt
@katemac.bsky.social & I honored to be quoted!
kyla.substack.com/p/how-ai-hea...
Brilliant &brooding piece by @kyla.bsky.social that runs a thread through the american shatterbelt
@katemac.bsky.social & I honored to be quoted!
kyla.substack.com/p/how-ai-hea...
TACO is dead, long live EMPANADA?
*Everyone Makes Promises And Never Actually Does Anything*
Will EU, Japan, and South Korea actually buy lots of additional American weapons, more American LNG, and make hundreds of billions of dollars of investments in America...?
buttondown.com/polycrisisdi...
*Everyone Makes Promises And Never Actually Does Anything*
Will EU, Japan, and South Korea actually buy lots of additional American weapons, more American LNG, and make hundreds of billions of dollars of investments in America...?
buttondown.com/polycrisisdi...
Taco is Dead. Long Live Empanada
EMPANDA — Everyone Makes Promises And Never Actually Does Anything? The last two weeks have seen a flurry of Trump tariff deals before the August 1st...
buttondown.com
August 6, 2025 at 5:25 AM
TACO is dead, long live EMPANADA?
*Everyone Makes Promises And Never Actually Does Anything*
Will EU, Japan, and South Korea actually buy lots of additional American weapons, more American LNG, and make hundreds of billions of dollars of investments in America...?
buttondown.com/polycrisisdi...
*Everyone Makes Promises And Never Actually Does Anything*
Will EU, Japan, and South Korea actually buy lots of additional American weapons, more American LNG, and make hundreds of billions of dollars of investments in America...?
buttondown.com/polycrisisdi...
Our lowkey Dispatch email is back!
This week: Chip wars, tariff wars, BRICS, green cold war, and international solidarity -- or lack thereof.
Subject line inspired by @flavorflav.bsky.social & Nigeria's foreign minister Tuggar, who's rejecting US threats & demands. buttondown.com/polycrisisdi...
This week: Chip wars, tariff wars, BRICS, green cold war, and international solidarity -- or lack thereof.
Subject line inspired by @flavorflav.bsky.social & Nigeria's foreign minister Tuggar, who's rejecting US threats & demands. buttondown.com/polycrisisdi...
Got problems of our own
But we're still doing Summer Book Club
buttondown.com
July 23, 2025 at 7:25 AM
Our lowkey Dispatch email is back!
This week: Chip wars, tariff wars, BRICS, green cold war, and international solidarity -- or lack thereof.
Subject line inspired by @flavorflav.bsky.social & Nigeria's foreign minister Tuggar, who's rejecting US threats & demands. buttondown.com/polycrisisdi...
This week: Chip wars, tariff wars, BRICS, green cold war, and international solidarity -- or lack thereof.
Subject line inspired by @flavorflav.bsky.social & Nigeria's foreign minister Tuggar, who's rejecting US threats & demands. buttondown.com/polycrisisdi...
Reposted by The Polycrisis
"The postwar geopolitical order rested on three pillars: American hegemony, the fossil-fuel energy system, and an open, multilateral trading order. America has now attacked each pillar at the foundation of its hydrocarbon global order."
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/bri...
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/bri...
BRICS in 2025 | The Polycrisis
Nations meet in Brasilia for the 2025 BRICS Summit. China's rise and US chaos shape the opportunities and challenges for the group.
www.phenomenalworld.org
July 14, 2025 at 3:46 PM
"The postwar geopolitical order rested on three pillars: American hegemony, the fossil-fuel energy system, and an open, multilateral trading order. America has now attacked each pillar at the foundation of its hydrocarbon global order."
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/bri...
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/bri...
As well as our big essay-newsletters with @phenomenalworld.bsky.social, we run a (mostly) weekly newsletter. You can subscribe here. It is free of course.
buttondown.com/polycrisisdi...
buttondown.com/polycrisisdi...
Polycrisis Dispatch
A weekly newsletter about economics, geopolitics, energy, trade, climate change, and development. By Tim Sahay and Kate Mackenzie, the authors of The Polycrisis monthly essay at Phenomenal World.
buttondown.com
July 17, 2025 at 4:13 AM
As well as our big essay-newsletters with @phenomenalworld.bsky.social, we run a (mostly) weekly newsletter. You can subscribe here. It is free of course.
buttondown.com/polycrisisdi...
buttondown.com/polycrisisdi...
Reposted by The Polycrisis
Did @theguardian.com ed.s just plagiarize @70sbachchan.bsky.social & @katemac.bsky.social's @thepolycrisis.bsky.social?
"The postwar order stood on three pillars: US dominance, hydrocarbons and open trade. Today, all three are cracking..."
Don't settle for cheap knock-offs from sunsetting empires.
"The postwar order stood on three pillars: US dominance, hydrocarbons and open trade. Today, all three are cracking..."
Don't settle for cheap knock-offs from sunsetting empires.
July 16, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Did @theguardian.com ed.s just plagiarize @70sbachchan.bsky.social & @katemac.bsky.social's @thepolycrisis.bsky.social?
"The postwar order stood on three pillars: US dominance, hydrocarbons and open trade. Today, all three are cracking..."
Don't settle for cheap knock-offs from sunsetting empires.
"The postwar order stood on three pillars: US dominance, hydrocarbons and open trade. Today, all three are cracking..."
Don't settle for cheap knock-offs from sunsetting empires.
Reposted by The Polycrisis
I should mention that @thepolycrisis.bsky.social has been all over this narrative, esp @70sbachchan.bsky.social. And it's everywhere you look... even the past jacobin.com/2025/06/heav...
Heavy Metals Music
Zamrock emerged from the optimism of postindependence Zambia, fusing psychedelic rock with nationalist ambition. Its rise and fall mirror the promise — and the exhaustion — of a country built on coppe...
jacobin.com
July 16, 2025 at 10:37 PM
I should mention that @thepolycrisis.bsky.social has been all over this narrative, esp @70sbachchan.bsky.social. And it's everywhere you look... even the past jacobin.com/2025/06/heav...