Briefing | What’s the worst that could happen

Three degrees of global warming is quite plausible and truly disastrous

Rapid emission cuts can reduce the risks but not eliminate them

BY THE STANDARDS of the 21st century as a whole, 2021 will almost certainly go down as a comparatively cool year. By the standards of the rest of human history its weather looks disconcertingly like hell.

This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “Burning down the house”

No safe place: The 3°C future

From the July 24th 2021 edition

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Young people in Kenya take part in extracurricular activities in school

Emigration from Africa will change the world

As other countries age, they will need African youth

An illustration depicting Trump cutting banknotes with oversized scissors in a classroom, while students and teachers look on with concern.

Why can’t stinking rich Ivies cope with losing a few hundred million?

Their huge endowments are not easy to cash in


An illustration depicting Trump poised to smash a university with a hammer, as students and teachers look on in fear.

Donald Trump is battling America’s elite universities—and winning

The Ivy League sees little point in fighting the federal government in court


As Donald Trump’s trade war heats up, China is surprisingly confident

Should it be?

An unrestrained Israel is reshaping the Middle East

Its quest for hegemony will strain domestic cohesion and foreign alliances

Dreams of improving the human race are no longer science fiction

But the “enhancement” industry is still hobbled by out-of-date regulation