Plus, the federal student loans challenge, and decarbonizing the “stuff” economy.
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Brookings Brief

September 20, 2024

 

Editor’s note: Unions have been in the news frequently this U.S. election cycle. In a new video, Molly Kinder explainswhy the presidential candidates are spending extra time courting unions this year.

Sign promoting the United Nations General Assembly

What to watch for at the 2024 UN General Assembly

 

The 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) opened last week in New York City. This gathering provides a critical opportunity for world leaders to discuss issues like artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure, gender inequality, climate change, education, and other key areas that impact governments and peoples.

 

Ahead of the UNGA’s high-level week, experts from our Global Economy and Development program share what they will be watching.

Read more
 

More research and commentary

 

What went wrong with federal student loans. Between 2000 and 2020, the total number of Americans owing federal student loans more than doubled from 21 million to 45 million. The total amount they owed more than quadrupled from $387 billion to $1.8 trillion. Adam Looney and Constantine Yannelis examine why this happened.

 

Decarbonizing the stuff in our lives. The industrial sector—which makes things like appliances, cars, clothes, and buildings—accounts for 30% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. On a new episode of Climate Sense, Samantha Gross and Rebecca Dell discuss how to make this sector of the economy cleaner.

 

About Brookings

 

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