Loss of forests is a major contributor to greenhouse-gas emissions. Plans to devise a policy tool for using trees for carbon dioxide sequestration are now under way.

President Barack Obama says he will seek vigorous climate-change policy. Efforts to curb greenhouse gases pose considerable economic pitfalls, as well as opportunities.

China has grown into a trading giant, but recent concerns over the safety of Chinese food and drugs have increased worries that China’s production may have outpaced the country’s policing capacity.

Non-OPEC oil producers, which turn out most of the world’s oil, are operating near capacity.

Sen. Hillary Clinton’s foreign policy team included veteran Clinton administration officials seeking to revive U.S. leadership through a balance of soft and hard power.