Writers for the latest issue of QE’s Econobethan magazine aim to make sense of complex environmental and economic issues as they look back at the COP28 summit.
The pupil-run magazine, produced in time to be read during the Christmas holidays, focuses on the summit in Dubai, while also exploring wider economic and political topics.
While celebrating progress made in combatting climate change, several of the articles identify potential or actual blockages to further progress – such as the lack of legal sanctions for countries failing to meet climate goals – and look at what can be done to move forward.
Economics teacher Celia Wallace said: “The new editors have done a wonderful job publishing this magazine, and the writers have been amazing at thinking outside the box and providing some good solutions for the problems at hand.”
The latest edition, which is issue XVI, was put together by a Year 12 editorial team comprising Zaki Mustafa, Tejas Bansal, Akheel Kale and Uday Dash.
In their introduction, they write: “Our team of writers have created a comprehensive analysis of [COP28] that is a must-read for those seeking clarity amidst the confusion of global geopolitics.”
In his own article, Leapfrogging Industrialisation, Tejas argues that the developed nations must assist the developing world in forgoing the traditional industrialisation route from which they have themselves benefited economically, and instead enable developing countries to reach their net carbon zero targets by helping them implement sustainable technologies. Tejas even provides a summary of the article in German.
Bemoaning “woefully ineffective” global climate action to date, Saim Khan, of Year 12, traces the issue to “the collective action problem, a deep-rooted psychological problem that means destructive self-interest is allowed to prevail over the greater good for all”.
Akaash Gill evaluates COP28 through a legal lens in his article entitled Enforcing Climate Justice, while fellow Year 12 student Shreyaas Sandeep takes a nuanced approach to dealing with the impacts of the OPEC oil cartel’s activities on COP28 and the climate crisis.
Other articles in the main COP28 section of the Econobethan are:
- What will the effect of a green energy revolution be on the Middle East? by Vidyuth Shankar, Year 11
- Is environmental sustainability and economic progress truly compatible? by Hari Kumarappan, Year 12
- The impact of war on COP28: how the Israel-Hamas conflict has affected global climate diplomacy by Ayaad Salahuddin, Year 12.
The separate Economics and Politics sections feature articles on topics ranging from Rohan Varia’s look at whether Kenya has been successful in balancing the requirements of economic development with environmental sustainability to Year 12 student Andreas Angelopolous’s survey of right-wing populism within Europe. Akheel Kale, in his “brief exploration of agent-based modelling” (ABM) in Economics, looked at the opportunities that increased computing power in the 21st century has opened up to simulate intelligent agents in order to overcome the limitations of traditional macroeconomics.