Think Tanks
Here's a look at documents from think tanks
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Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft: 'Costly Adaptation, Not Capitulation: Iran's Likely Trajectory Under the Post--JCPOA Pressure Campaign'
NEW YORK, Dec. 25 (TNSLrpt) -- The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft issued the following brief (No. 88) on Dec. 10, 2025 by Hadi Kahalzadeh entitled "Costly Adaptation, Not Capitulation: Iran's Likely Trajectory Under the Post--JCPOA Pressure Campaign."
Here is the executive summary:
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Following the 12-day war with Israel, the reinstatement of U.N. Security Council snapback sanctions, and Washington's renewed maximum pressure campaign, the Islamic Republic is now experiencing the most intense external political and economic coercion in its history.
Yet this strategy is unlikely
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, Dec. 25 (TNSLrpt) -- The Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft issued the following brief (No. 88) on Dec. 10, 2025 by Hadi Kahalzadeh entitled "Costly Adaptation, Not Capitulation: Iran's Likely Trajectory Under the Post--JCPOA Pressure Campaign."
Here is the executive summary:
* * *
Following the 12-day war with Israel, the reinstatement of U.N. Security Council snapback sanctions, and Washington's renewed maximum pressure campaign, the Islamic Republic is now experiencing the most intense external political and economic coercion in its history.
Yet this strategy is unlikelyto deliver on the United States' intended goals of regime change or nuclear restraint. Instead, it is pushing Iran toward deeper poverty, more complex security postures, and a trajectory that increases, not reduces, the likelihood of a costly military confrontation.
From Tehran's standpoint, Washington's objectives extend beyond nuclear limits toward regime change. Negotiations are viewed as potential ambushes for another round of conflict, and accepting U.S. demands would be politically humiliating. In this deadlock, Tehran opts for resistance as the only survivable path.
Iran has adapted its economy to withstand the strains caused by far-reaching Western sanctions through a wide range of measures. These include diversification, trade restructuring, de-dollarization, alternative banking pathways including offshore banking to circumvent U.S. control, shifting trade eastward to China (now Iran's top trading partner), and import substitution in manufacturing and agriculture.
When intense external political and economic pressures fail to produce the expected capitulation, a misinterpretation of Iran's vulnerability could invite further pressure. Without a credible diplomatic path, this dynamic creates the possibility for a dangerous escalation cycle. While U.S. strikes on Iran this past June did considerable damage to nuclear facilities, Iran retains enough nuclear fissile material and technical expertise to preserve a position of strategic ambiguity.
Iran's adaptation strategy has preserved core state function and regime cohesion, even as the general public has suffered. Increasingly, Iran has become a patron welfare state, rewarding regime loyalty and shielding public employees and politically connected groups from the effects of sanctions, shifting economic burden onto the broader, politically disconnected public. By 2027, Iran will have approximately 10 million more people in poverty, a figure that could bring Iran's overall poverty rate to 70 percent.
Prolonging hardship for the Iranian public will not succeed in toppling Iran's leaders or advancing U.S. objectives; the Iranian regime itself has proven adept at absorbing the costs of Western pressure, adapting its economy, and retaining nuclear leverage.
America's pressure-only policy only heightens the risk of a major Middle East war and thus should be discarded. The U.S. should instead reengage diplomatically with the Iranian regime toward the goal of stringent limits on Iranian nuclear capabilities in return for economic relief.
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View full version at: https://quincyinst.org/research/costly-adaptation-not-capitulation-irans-likely-trajectory-under-the-post-jcpoa-pressure-campaign/
[Category: ThinkTank]
Manhattan Institute: 'Hidden Tax on Your Power Bill: Construction Work in Progress'
NEW YORK, Dec. 25 (TNSLrpt) -- The Manhattan Institute issued the following issue brief on Dec. 4, 2025 by Eric Olson, Jack Dorminey and Jason M. Walter entitled "The Hidden Tax on Your Power Bill: Construction Work in Progress."
Here is the introduction:
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Construction Work in Progress, or CWIP, is the most influential energy policy term that never appears on a household utility bill. It shows up only on a regulated company's ledgers; yet the way regulators treat this line item can add real dollars to what families pay every month.
Ordinarily, large utility projects are financed the same
... Show Full Article
NEW YORK, Dec. 25 (TNSLrpt) -- The Manhattan Institute issued the following issue brief on Dec. 4, 2025 by Eric Olson, Jack Dorminey and Jason M. Walter entitled "The Hidden Tax on Your Power Bill: Construction Work in Progress."
Here is the introduction:
* * *
Construction Work in Progress, or CWIP, is the most influential energy policy term that never appears on a household utility bill. It shows up only on a regulated company's ledgers; yet the way regulators treat this line item can add real dollars to what families pay every month.
Ordinarily, large utility projects are financed the sameway as most private investments. A company raises debt and equity, builds the facility, and only after it is operational does it begin earning revenue. Investors shoulder the risk that costs may rise, schedules may slip, or demand may fall short. Customers start paying only once they receive the service.
CWIP turns that typical business sequence on its head. State commissions as well as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) have allowed utilities to move CWIP into the "rate base." The rate base is the pool of assets on which a utility earns a guaranteed rate of return. As such, when CWIP is approved, households are no longer just consumers of energy; they also become financiers, covering the carrying costs of projects still under construction. The policy was pitched as a practical tool to encourage construction. Initially, it kept investor-owned utilities solvent while they tackled expensive long-term projects, such as nuclear plants or extra-high voltage lines. In practice, it has produced inflated budgets through undisciplined spending and pushed risk from investors onto ratepayers.
Policymakers today face a choice. They can: 1) end CWIP entirely, forcing utilities to return to traditional debt/equity financing; 2) allow CWIP only under strict budget caps set at the outset of construction, with no change orders; or 3) make CWIP rates of return performance-based, rewarding projects that finish on time and on budget while penalizing overruns.
Given the anticipated increase in electricity demand from new data centers needed to power AI, federal and state officials need to ensure that ratepayers are not financing the costs of increased energy infrastructure through premature CWIP charges.
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View full issue brief at: https://manhattan.institute/article/the-hidden-tax-on-your-power-bill-construction-work-in-progress
[Category: Think Tank]
Manhattan Institute: 'Correcting the Core: University General Education Requirements Need State Oversight'
NEW YORK, Dec. 25 (TNSLrpt) -- The Manhattan Institute issued the following issue brief on Dec. 18, 2025 by Neetu Arnold entitled "Correcting the Core: University General Education Requirements Need State Oversight."
Here is the introduction:
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Universities across the U.S. are struggling to rebuild public trust, as many Americans are concerned about politicization and the return on investment of a college degree. At their best, universities impart knowledge and skills that students can apply both as informed citizens and in their careers. They are places of innovation, where research-driven
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NEW YORK, Dec. 25 (TNSLrpt) -- The Manhattan Institute issued the following issue brief on Dec. 18, 2025 by Neetu Arnold entitled "Correcting the Core: University General Education Requirements Need State Oversight."
Here is the introduction:
* * *
Universities across the U.S. are struggling to rebuild public trust, as many Americans are concerned about politicization and the return on investment of a college degree. At their best, universities impart knowledge and skills that students can apply both as informed citizens and in their careers. They are places of innovation, where research-drivenstudents gain firsthand access to innovative technologies that shape our economy and drive our country's success.
But universities have abused their role as custodians of students and stewards of taxpayer dollars by blurring the line between education and activism, especially in introductory course work or in required courses necessary to fulfill general education requirements. One way to restore trust is for universities, as well as the public officials responsible for oversight at the state level, to revisit those general education requirements that students must complete at public universities.
This report looks at ways to reduce politicization in general education courses and streamline the options offered to students. Key points:
* Revisions to general education requirements in Florida, which this brief uses as a case study, reduced activist-oriented courses and streamlined options for students.
* Diversity requirements, whether embedded in general education programs or stand-alone graduation mandates, remain present in 12 states with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) bans on the books.
* As public institutions funded by taxpayers, universities must ensure that general education courses are academically rigorous and broadly applicable, as opposed to advancing one political worldview.
The report concludes that state lawmakers must take a more active role in revisiting general education requirements in order to restore trust in higher education.
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View full issue brief at: https://manhattan.institute/article/correcting-the-core-university-general-education-requirements-need-state-oversight
[Category: Think Tank]
Investor Group on Climate Change: 'Systems Stewardship: Managing Interconnected Climate Risks for Lasting Value'
SYDNEY, Australia, Dec. 25 (TNSLrpt) -- The Investor Group on Climate Change issued the following report on Dec. 15, 2025 by Dr Donna Lopata, UTS entitled "Systems Stewardship: Managing Interconnected Climate Risks for Lasting Value."
Here is the executive summary:
* * *
Today's economic, environmental and social challenges are deeply interconnected. Climate change and biodiversity loss are examples of complex, system-level risks with economy-wide impacts. Addressing these risks requires systems thinking.
All sectors have a role in responding to the climate crisis. For investors seeking risk-adjusted
... Show Full Article
SYDNEY, Australia, Dec. 25 (TNSLrpt) -- The Investor Group on Climate Change issued the following report on Dec. 15, 2025 by Dr Donna Lopata, UTS entitled "Systems Stewardship: Managing Interconnected Climate Risks for Lasting Value."
Here is the executive summary:
* * *
Today's economic, environmental and social challenges are deeply interconnected. Climate change and biodiversity loss are examples of complex, system-level risks with economy-wide impacts. Addressing these risks requires systems thinking.
All sectors have a role in responding to the climate crisis. For investors seeking risk-adjustedreturns, the dual responsibility is clear:
* Allocating capital for long-term economic, societal and environmental good
* Safeguarding financial stability and protecting the economy by addressing system-level risk
Systems stewardship is not just compatible with fiduciary duty -- it is essential to fulfilling it and delivering stable, long-term market returns.
This study, commissioned by the Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC) and conducted by the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) at the University of Technology Sydney, examines how Australian investors are applying systems stewardship in practice.
IGCC identifies systems stewardship as one of six priorities for achieving real-world emissions reductions and aligning capital markets with a net zero future.
What is Systems Stewardship?
System stewardship is an evolution of traditional stewardship. It expands the focus beyond individual companies to the interconnected systems that underpin investment outcomes. Grounded in systems thinking, it highlights interrelationships, feedback loops and leverage points that shape long-term value creation.
It helps investors to respond to systemic risks that conventional strategies may be ill-equipped to address. These risks affect entire economies or sectors, including climate change, biodiversity loss, interest-rate shifts, and geopolitical instability.
Such risks are particularly material for universal owners such as superannuation and sovereign wealth funds, given their long-term market exposure and diversified portfolios. This study focuses on investor practices that address systemic risks through systems stewardship.
By focusing on long-term, economy-wide outcomes, systems stewardship helps protect the stability of financial market returns and the societal and environmental systems on which those returns depend.
Research Approach
The study used a mixed-methods approach (detailed in Appendix A):
* Literature review of global frameworks and practices
* Survey of IGCC asset owner and asset manager members (20 responses, around one-third of relevant membership)3
* Eight follow-up interviews for deeper insights
The findings provide a snapshot of current practice among investors actively engaged in systems stewardship.
Key Findings
Systems stewardship is growing, but implementation varies and faces barriers.
Eighty-five per cent of surveyed investors incorporate systems thinking into stewardship. They identified key system-level risks -- climate change, human rights, biodiversity loss, resource depletion and social inequality -- as material threats to long-term performance requiring coordinated, systemic action. Investors recognise that safeguarding beta-level returns helps protect the financial system and market.
Collaboration remains the dominant lever.
Ninety per cent of investors engage in alliances such as Climate Action (CA) 100+. Policy advocacy is common across national and state governments, regulators and standard-setters, with a focus on climate policy, sustainability disclosures and sectoral transition pathways. However, there is a limit to depth and frequency.
Sector and value chain engagement is emerging.
While less common, initiatives such as the Investor Mining and Tailings Safety Initiative (IMTSI) and the Steel Purchaser Framework show the potential for collective action to shift industry systems.
Asset owner and asset manager alignment is strengthening.
Asset owners are increasingly engaging managers on systems stewardship, though formal accountability remains limited.
Company engagement is evolving.
Systems stewardship expands the lens to include lobbying practices, industry standards and collaborative tools to measure impact.
Challenges to Progress
Key barriers include:
* 78% resource constraints
* 67% regulatory uncertainty
* 61% short-term performance pressures
* 50% difficulty measuring and monitoring system-level risk
* 38% lack of incentives
* 28% inconsistent terminology
Respondents also cited misalignment within organisations, among investors and across the broader financial system. Views on regulatory barriers were mixed: some see barriers as overstated and needing clearer guidance on competition law and fiduciary duty.
Systems stewardship is advancing but needs deeper integration, clearer metrics and stronger internal and external alignment to scale impact.
Strengthening systems stewardship: six key recommendations
Investors can integrate core elements of systems stewardship into their strategies through public policy advocacy, stakeholder collaboration, cross-sector and company engagement, transparency improvements, and systemic risk monitoring.
The report identifies six priorities to accelerate progress.
1. Enhance collaborative engagement to amplify impact. Focus on clear goals, strong governance and adequate resourcing. Prioritise focused, evidence-based initiatives and explore value-chain initiatives as an emerging, effective form of collaboration.
2. Clarify regulatory guidance to provide certainty. Regulators should review and modernise guidance on collective action, fiduciary duty, competition law, and long-term investment performance evaluation.
3. Align language, incentives and metrics to assess and reward outcomes. Develop shared terminology and tools for systems stewardship. Link remuneration and incentives to long-term outcomes and use qualitative case studies and activity-based benchmarks where metrics are limited.
4. Foster a culture of systems stewardship to embed practice. Embed systems stewardship across all levels of organisation, from trustees to analysts. Address culture and resource challenges -- treat them as core strategic priorities, not side activities.
5. Build sector-wide capacity to drive change. Strengthen capacity in systems literacy, system-level risks and systems stewardship.
Identify leverage points and systemic interventions to target change.
6. Signal expectations through mandates to support goal alignment. Asset owners should engage with asset managers on stewardship goals and embed systems stewardship in investment mandates to strengthen alignment and accountability.
Strengthening systems stewardship will help investors safeguard long-term returns, accelerate the net zero transition and build a more resilient, sustainable economy.
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View full report at: https://igcc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/IGCC-System-Stewardship_Final-.pdf
[Category: ThinkTank]
IEEFA: 'Expensive, Underutilized Jamshoro Coal Plant Exposes Pakistan's Power Sector Overcapacity'
WASHINGTON, Dec. 25 (TNSLrpt) -- The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis issued the following on Dec. 17, 2025 by Haneea Isaad entitled "Expensive, underutilized Jamshoro coal plant exposes Pakistan's power sector overcapacity."
Here are the key findings:
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Since its commissioning in May 2025, Pakistan's Jamshoro coal-fired power plant (CFPP) has averaged a 6% dispatch rate over the past six months. Utilization is projected to remain far below technical minimums required for reliable and efficient long-term operations, even under high-demand scenarios.
Pakistan's national
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, Dec. 25 (TNSLrpt) -- The Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis issued the following on Dec. 17, 2025 by Haneea Isaad entitled "Expensive, underutilized Jamshoro coal plant exposes Pakistan's power sector overcapacity."
Here are the key findings:
* * *
Since its commissioning in May 2025, Pakistan's Jamshoro coal-fired power plant (CFPP) has averaged a 6% dispatch rate over the past six months. Utilization is projected to remain far below technical minimums required for reliable and efficient long-term operations, even under high-demand scenarios.
Pakistan's nationalgrid has a significant surplus of 10-12 gigawatts (GW). Energy sales contracted by 9.4% in the financial year (FY) 2023 and by 2.83% in FY2024, while capacity payments increased from PKR0.97 trillion in FY2022 to PKR1.90 trillion in FY2024 -- a 96% rise over two years.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) financed Jamshoro CFPP through loans to the Government of Pakistan, at a time when the bank was already transitioning away from coal. Repayment on inflated loan rates depends on revenue from already debt-burdened distribution companies (DISCOS), adding to the chronic circular debt issue.
The Jamshoro project offers an opportunity for ADB to reassess its own investments and consider the plant for early retirement. Restructuring its debt and evaluating feasibility scenarios could provide financial and climate benefits, aligning ADB's energy transition goals and Pakistan's clean energy commitments.
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View full briefing note at: https://ieefa.org/resources/expensive-underutilized-jamshoro-coal-plant-exposes-pakistans-power-sector-overcapacity
[Category: ThinkTank]
Economic & Social Research Institute: 'Introduction to the ESR Special Issue on Energy, Environment and Climate Change Economics'
DUBLIN, Ireland, Dec. 25 (TNSLrpt) -- The Economic and Social Research Institute issued the following journal article on Dec. 16, 2025 by Niall Farrell, Kelly C de Bruin and Jason Harold entitled "Introduction to the ESR Special Issue on Energy, Environment and Climate Change Economics."
Here is the abstract:
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This special issue contains four papers that highlight key economic issues in Irish climate and energy policy. The first paper tackles the decision to install a home energy retrofit, identifying factors that influence the financial viability of investment. The second paper quantifies
... Show Full Article
DUBLIN, Ireland, Dec. 25 (TNSLrpt) -- The Economic and Social Research Institute issued the following journal article on Dec. 16, 2025 by Niall Farrell, Kelly C de Bruin and Jason Harold entitled "Introduction to the ESR Special Issue on Energy, Environment and Climate Change Economics."
Here is the abstract:
* * *
This special issue contains four papers that highlight key economic issues in Irish climate and energy policy. The first paper tackles the decision to install a home energy retrofit, identifying factors that influence the financial viability of investment. The second paper quantifiesthe air pollution impacts of domestic and EU-level carbon pricing.
The third paper shifts the focus to climate adaptation, showing that firms in flood-prone areas face higher credit costs, indicating that climate-related physical risks are at least partially priced into the cost of credit for Irish firms. However, the authors find that some firms in flood-prone areas face greater difficulty in accessing credit.
The final paper of this special issue provides a comparison of Irish emissions from production and consumption-based measurement techniques, revealing that Ireland's carbon footprint is larger under consumption-based measurement, offering insights for domestic policy design.
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View the full doc at: https://www.esri.ie/publications/introduction-to-the-esr-special-issue-on-energy-environment-and-climate-change
[Category: ThinkTank]
Economic & Social Research Institute: 'How Do EMN Member Countries Approach Civic Training as a Tool for Integration?'
DUBLIN, Ireland, Dec. 25 (TNSLrpt) -- The Economic and Social Research Institute issued the following memo on Dec. 16, 2025 by Ciara Dalton and Aislin Lavin entitled "How do EMN Member Countries approach civic training as a tool for integration?."
Here are excerpts:
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Effective integration of migrants is an important part of successful migration management for EU countries. The main goal of civic orientation across all countries is to enable and promote the integration of eligible third-country nationals by equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to take part in the social, economic,
... Show Full Article
DUBLIN, Ireland, Dec. 25 (TNSLrpt) -- The Economic and Social Research Institute issued the following memo on Dec. 16, 2025 by Ciara Dalton and Aislin Lavin entitled "How do EMN Member Countries approach civic training as a tool for integration?."
Here are excerpts:
* * *
Effective integration of migrants is an important part of successful migration management for EU countries. The main goal of civic orientation across all countries is to enable and promote the integration of eligible third-country nationals by equipping them with the knowledge and skills needed to take part in the social, economic,cultural and political life of the host society.
This EMN Ireland Migration Memo provides a comparative overview of the approaches to civic training measures implemented by 25 EMN Countries and outlines key findings of an EMN-OECD joint Inform (2024).
Key takeaways
* Most EMN Member Countries offer some form of civic orientation to migrants, with many providing options designed to support participants' attendance, such as online courses, evening or lunch break timings, childcare during class time, and trainings available in multiple languages.
* Civic integration usually covers information on the functioning of the host society (e.g. norms, values, institutions) and/or practical information on accessing services. Gender equality is the most common topic.
* Civic orientation courses or trainings are free for attendees in the majority of EMN Member Countries, and around half of countries make it compulsory in some circumstances.
* * *
View the full doc at: https://www.esri.ie/publications/how-do-emn-member-countries-approach-civic-training-as-a-tool-for-integration
[Category: ThinkTank]
