Basav Sen directs the Climate Policy Program at the Institute for Policy Studies.

The Threats To U.S. Democracy Go Far Beyond Elections and the Courts
We need to do more than protect our elections. Getting money out of politics, repealing anti-dissent laws and ensuring more accountability from elected officials are equally important to democracy.
Basav Sen
Viewpoint
Cop City and the Escalating War on Environmental Defenders
From laws targeting fossil fuel protests to the crackdown on Stop Cop City activists, corporations are calling in militarized law enforcement to crush dissent.
Basav Sen and Gabrielle Colchete
Viewpoint
The Greenwashing Scam Behind COP27’s Flop
This year’s UN climate conference offered some reason to celebrate. But the growing clout of the “carbon capture” industry is hindering urgent efforts to clamp down on fossil fuels.
Basav Sen
Climate
We Need a New Constitution
When every branch of our government is corrupt to the core, where do we go from here?
Basav Sen
Feature
India and Pakistan Are Baking, and Every Powerful Institution Is to Blame
Indians know they can’t rely on elites to save them from catastrophe. That’s exactly what could make a climate movement there so powerful.
Basav Sen
Climate
Why COP26 Flopped
Western observers want to blame India for the failure of the UN climate talks. Not so fast.
Basav Sen
Climate
We’re About to Pass Up a Generational Opportunity to Stem the Climate Crisis
The Build Back Better program isn’t just inadequate on climate—it may be a disaster. Here’s what movements are demanding next.
Basav Sen
Viewpoint
The Fossil Fuel Industry Is Lining Up Behind Far-Right Authoritarians
As climate change intensifies and countries turn to clean energies, Big Oil will take increasingly desperate measures to survive.
Basav Sen
Climate
This Is a Climate Emergency. We Need More Than Half-Measures from Democrats.
How to get the Democrats’ climate policy from “better than the Republicans” to “sufficient to save the planet.”
Basav Sen
Feature
How Trade Agreements Stand in the Way of an International Green New Deal
To reduce emissions abroad, the U.S. must renegotiate its trade agreements.
Basav Sen
Feature
The Trump Administration’s War On Science Is Worse Than the Inquisition
The White House's crude deflections on science aren't simply ignorant — they're calculated to serve the fossil fuel industry at the entire planet's expense.
Basav Sen
Feature
As We Celebrate “Independence,” Remember That the U.S. Left Its Colony Puerto Rico to Die
The disastrous impacts of Hurricane Maria were made by inequalities of race, income and access to U.S. political power.
Basav Sen