Past presidents have tried to use "soft power" strategies to bolster the United States' cultural appeal abroad and lend moral weight to the country's standing as the free world's leading alternative to communist or authoritarian systems. Such tactics are not a substitute for military and economic "hard power," foreign affairs analysts said, but can help shape global perceptions of the United States and its motives.

New solar technology is poised to provide cheap power to many of the 600 million people in Africa who lack access to reliable electricity. Innovation in “off-grid” solar power is becoming accessible to even the most remote communities for less than a half dollar a day. [...] The company received $50 million in financing from the U.S. government’s Overseas Private Investment Corporation, as part of President Obama’s Power Africa initiative.

A year after COP21 and the adoption of the Paris Agreement, international policymakers are still struggling to convert targets into action. This is clearly indicated by the title of the recent followup COP in Marrakech: Turn the Promise of Paris into Action. But as the international community putters along, cities and local communities are already staking out the front lines of the fight against climate change.

A diverse group of global stakeholders -- businesses, national governments, non-profits and universities, and so many others -- are embracing the transition away from carbon intensive energy and toward an economy built on clean energy technologies.

A gathering of about 200 nations working to combat climate change wrapped up on Friday in Morocco with a call to U.S. president-elect Donald Trump to join the fight against global warming. Trump’s election shocked delegates and activists assembled in Marrakech for two weeks of talks. [...] With the role of the federal government in doubt, some see American cities and states serving as a place-holder for U.S. participation.

Women are incredible agents of change and solution-holders when it comes to combatting climate change. Women are farmers growing our food; they are the seed custodians protecting our planet’s biological diversity, they make up to 80 percent of the world’s consumption decisions [...] Incorporating women in solving climate challenges is necessary  -- we make up half of the population and represent 3.5 billion ways to change the world.