⚡️Amid rising energy costs, how can communities gain more control over their energy system? A new ECI blog explores Local Power Networks as a cleaner, more resilient, community-centered solution: bu.edu/eci/2026/09/17/local-… #CleanEnergy #CommunityEnergy #LPNs

Early retirement of the coal-fired power plants in Pakistan 🇵🇰 has benefits beyond climate and environmental goals. A new report with @SDPIPakistan reveals that a strategic coal transition can simultaneously improve fiscal sustainability, strengthen energy security and reduce emissions. The study analyzes seven Chinese-financed coal plants developed under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which account for 90 percent of Pakistan’s installed coal capacity. While these plants played a decisive role in improving energy security by adding around 6,600 MW of generation capacity since 2017, the report proposes a new path forward for both #Pakistan 🇵🇰 and #China 🇨🇳. Read more: bu.edu/gdp/2026/09/09/transi… #EnergyTransition #coalphaseout #sustainability #climateaction

We're excited to share the latest GDP Center Annual Report covering FY26! Highlights from this past year: 💡Our researchers published 125 works, including 32 articles across high-impact journals. 💡The Center has now partnered with 87 organizations across 26 countries and globally, including academic institutions, think tanks, civil society organizations and multilateral institutions. 💡GDP Center work reached a global audience with 942 media mentions and 40 opinion pieces and commentaries. 💡Across Boston University, this year we had 59 Core and Affiliate Faculty members, 24 pre- and post-doctoral research fellows and 26 BU student employees. See the highlights and read the full Annual Report here with our biggest success stories and impact from the last year: bu.edu/gdp/2026/09/02/global…

📊 Data has the power to reveal patterns that can inform decision-making. During #ClimateWeekNYC on Thurs., 9/24 at 9:30 AM EDT, join us and @NZpolicylab for an event launching a database on the cleantech manufacturing FDI landscape and what these patterns mean for the deals being negotiated today. Learn more and register: luma.com/vsgye5e4

In the fifth episode in the China Rules series, we look at China’s efforts to reshape to global financial system. One milestone has been the recent designation of Deutsche Bank as a renminbi clearing house. (1/4)

💸 Last month, the world’s major central bankers converged upon Jackson Hole, Wyoming during a period of unprecedented uncertainty. Amid the uncertainty, recent data reveals central bankers are increasingly considering reserve asset diversification. A new blog by @MarinaZucker and @KevinPGallagher makes the case for a new relatively safe international reserve asset: Sustainable Future Bonds—a perpetual, fixed-income hybrid capital instrument issued by multilateral development banks. Read more: bit.ly/4rkRqx5

With the rise of new multilateral development banks, advocates seeking to shape the environmental + social dimensions of development finance now need a reappraisal of strategy. In a new working paper, GDP Center Pre-doctoral Fellow Andrea Zhu analyzes the case of environmental and social advocacy targeting the @AIIB_Official. She finds that current transnational advocacy hasn't fully grasped the distinctive institutional features and has limitations in making real changes. Read more: bu.edu/gdp/2026/09/04/norm-d…

💭 How does moving upstream in global value chains (GVCs) affect workers? A new working paper from the GDP Center addresses this research gap with a 1995-2020 sample of 67 countries and 45 industries. The findings indicate that reverting to a more preliminary production stage reduces workers’ welfare in real terms: bit.ly/3UzhrMX

The @IMFNews Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) took shape during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak in West Africa - but in the face of the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the mechanism meant to provide debt relief to countries struck by disasters is underfunded. GDP Center Researcher @MarinaZucker lays out a path forward to address both short-term and long-term disaster relief needs: immediate debt relief for the DRC, a CCRT donor replenishment campaign and selling IMF gold to fund a subsidy endowment. Read more in @ProSyn ⬇️

🔔 The GDP Center is excited to launch a new newsletter series featuring our newest research, expert analysis, upcoming events and opportunities to engage with the ideas shaping global development policy. ✅ Subscribe to receive updates: gdpcenter.org/3RWs9Mq 🗞️ Read last month's issue highlighting China’s economic engagement with African countries, reforming IMF conditionalities and the energy transition across Latin America and Africa: gdpcenter.org/4fmX1yE

Trade relations between the 🇺🇸US, 🇲🇽Mexico and 🇨🇦Canada are entering a new phase as the countries engage in a review following the US decision not to renew the #USMCA in its current form. @Thrasher_Rachel explains why this period is especially important for Mexico, as the country simultaneously pursues its domestic development goals in #PlanMéxico while navigating trade negotiations with its major partners. ▶️Watch the full video: piped.video/watch?v=6HgnJbqa…

The US’s decision on July 1 to not renew the current #USMCA trade agreement means negotiations will continue until a new deal is reached. A new working paper from @Thrasher_Rachel analyzes what this means for #Mexico, and explores the extent to which Mexico’s trade commitments can encourage or constrain the economic and development goals outlined in Plan México. Read the full paper ➡️ gdpcenter.org/PlanMexico

Among the major development projects of the last century, one of the largest and most successful was in Europe. In the latest installment of our blog series, "International Investment Pushes Past and Present", @TimH_B explores how the EU helped accelerate growth among its less-developed members through its Cohesion Policy. As the world grapples with ways to mobilize investments in sustainable development, this historical case study outlines how large-scale international investment has succeeded, and how it can be translated into development approaches in other settings. Read the full blog➡️ gdpcenter.org/IIPPP4

“The concise format and accessible writing make the book perfect for undergraduate and graduate courses that address China and the global financial system.” Global Policy Journal just published Irene Grabel’s (@UofDenver) book review 📚 of “China and the Global Economic Order” by Senior Fellow Gregory T. Chin and GDP Center Director @KevinPGallagher. Grabel synthesizes the authors’ arguments regarding China’s ascension within and outside of the Bretton Woods Institutions with her own views on China’s potential to reshape global economic governance. Explore the book review: globalpolicyjournal.com/blog…

"From Resource Curse to Renewable Futures?" by Julie Radomski, Rebecca Ray, Cynthia Sanborn and Sergio Serrano is part of a paper series co-produced by CECHAP and the @GDP_Center

In the years leading up to the Strait of Hormuz crisis, how did China increase energy production capacity in Asia? In a new blog, GDP Center Data Analyst William Olichney highlights that even though China has shifted much of its financing in Asia towards renewable energy since 2020, these projects are mostly driven by commercial incentives rather than policy objectives. Asia requires a more proactive approach in policy response to strengthen its energy resilience. Read more: bu.edu/gdp/2026/07/06/data-s…

“Despite using the same tech in Mexico, US, and Canada, Mexican wages are a fraction of their northern counterparts’, and employers capture a disproportionate share of the value-added.” Sandra Polaski and @Thrasher_Rachel of @GDP_Center. phenomenalworld.org/analysis…

.@rishirbhandary, Research Director for the Task Force on Climate, Development and the International Financial Architecture and Senior Academic Researcher, reacts to the @WorldBankGroup's announcement that its Climate Change Action Plan will be extended and undergo an evaluation by the Bank's Independent Evaluation Group ⬇️ Read the Task Force's recommendations for a stronger CCAP: gdpcenter.org/44vCjGn

Tomorrow, July 1, marks the official start of the #USMCA joint review process, and the stakes are high for Mexico🇲🇽. New commentary by @Thrasher_Rachel and Sandra Polaski 🔗 their recent research on the intersection between the USMCA review and Mexico's domestic policy priorities. They argue that "the review provides a key opportunity for the Sheinbaum administration, which is committed to a more inclusive development path that involves reducing the current high levels of poverty and inequality." Read more in @phenomenalworld: bit.ly/4fg6DKr