The world currently generates 2 billion tons of solid waste every year, according to the World Bank. By 2050, that figure will rise to 3.4 billion, with most of the increase coming from low- and middle-income countries in Africa and Asia, where greater urbanization and prosperity will generate more consumption, and more trash. That's a huge political challenge for urban governments around the world. Here's a look at who generates the most trash today — and in the future.
Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: At the Munich Security Conference, Europeans are taking concerns from the Trump administration seriously. Ian Bremmer breaks down JD Vance’s “lecture” to European leaders and the state of transatlantic unity in his latest Quick Take.
As promised, US President Donald Trump announced reciprocal tariffs on all American trading partners Thursday afternoon. Each country will be assessed individually, factoring in value-added taxes, foreign tariff rates, industry subsidies, regulations, and currency undervaluation to determine customized duty rates. Trump claimed, “It’s gonna make our country a fortune.”
“We cannot afford to be reactive,” said Alina Polyakova, President and CEO of the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), responding to the news of President Trump’s recent call with Vladimir Putin.
Linda McMahon testifies before the Senate Health, Education, and Labor Committee during a nomination hearing as Secretary of Education in Washington, DC, USA, on Feb. 13, 2025.
Linda McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, on Thursday began her Senate confirmation hearing to run the Department of Education, which Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency have vowed to shrink or shut down.
Have you stayed atop GZERO’s news coverage this week? Here's your chance to prove it.
Join us via free livestream at the Energy Security Hub at BMW Pavilion Herbert Quandt at the Munich Security Conference and watch our panel on “Geopolitics of Energy Transition and Hydrogen Trade” in cooperation with the German Federal Office and H2-Diplo. The global shift to net zero is no longer just an environmental imperative – it’s reshaping international security and geo-economic dynamics. As new clean energy trade routes emerge, major economies are jockeying for clean industry leadership, navigating critical resource dependencies, supply chain resilience, and infrastructure security. Following this panel, starting at 18:30 (CET) / 12:30 (ET), don’t miss the opportunity to watch the closing keynote by William Chueh, director of Precourt Institute for Energy and associate professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, on “Energy Transition: Speed & Scale.” For these and other forward-thinking panels and discussions in the next two days, register here.
A 24-year-old Afghan man plowed a white Mini Cooper into a crowd in Munich on Thursday, injuring at least 28 people in the third attack by a migrant in Germany in three months.