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372. A Proposal for a Global Upstream Emission Trading System (UGETS)
- Author:
- Akinobu Yasumoto and Mutsuyoshi Nishimura
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- An effective policy approach to climate change would be a global emission trading system. Opinions differ, however, as to what approach should be pursued when fostering a global emissions trading system. Many argue in favor of linking various national and regional emission trading systems as a possible way forward. However, an alternative method, which involves developing a new system from the ground up, could prove more advantageous. Under an Upstream Global Emission Trading System (UGETS), all nations would use an upstream emissions trading system that would result in far fewer monitoring points than a downstream system. A nation would only need to keep track of domestic shipments and imports of fossil fuels.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, and International Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Europe
373. Counting Carbon in the Marketplace – and at the Border
- Author:
- Simon Bolwig and Peter Gibbon
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- Carbon labelling or 'footprinting' of products poses several challenges for developing countries including costs, the availability of relevant data, and the implicit bias of Northern standards against labour-intensive manufacturing. Donors can help alleviate these problems through supporting Southern research institutions in calculating footprints for locally-produced products, by helping to develop comprehensive and user-friendly open access databases, and by insisting that emerging standards in the area are non-discriminatory
- Topic:
- Climate Change and Environment
- Political Geography:
- Europe
374. The Dead Souls: How to deal with the Russian surplus?
- Author:
- Anna Korppoo
- Publication Date:
- 09-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
- Abstract:
- The 10-15% reduction target by 2020 announced by Russia reflects neither the country's efficiency potential, nor modeled emissions trends. With emission reduction measures, Russia could commit to a target of ca. -30% by 2020. Transferring the surplus emission allowances Russia gained under the Kyoto Protocol due to the economic restructuring of the 1990s represents an extreme threat to both the environmental and market integrity of the Copenhagen agreement as it could be used to offset real domestic emission reduction measures in other countries. But it seems politically unlikely that Russia would join without transferring the surplus under the Copenhagen agreement. Countries should recognize the threat posed by the surplus, and offer a cooperative strategy to deal with it. However, pushing through a 'cancel or discount' approach to the surplus problem by three-quarter majority, which could be brought together without the co-operation of the surplus-holding countries, should be kept as a reserve strategy. More ambitious targets - beyond the 25-40% suggested by the IPCC - for the Annex I industrialized country group, especially for the surplus holding countries including Russia, could absorb the transferred surplus. However, given the current low pledges of Annex 1 countries, higher targets are unlikely to absorb the whole surplus, and therefore, a basket of approaches should be applied. To gain credibility on this issue of vis-à-vis Russia and to avoid Russia setting the tone, before Copenhagen the EU must adopt an internal solution to deal with the surplus of its new member states. If expecting to transfer the surpluses, the other surplus holding countries including Russia could announce national surplus use plans prior to the Copenhagen climate talks. In order to minimize a scenario of Russia blocking the Copenhagen process in the final hours, key countries should publically engage Russia on climate and the Copenhagen talks. Important Annex I countries, especially the US, should send very high-level representatives to Moscow like they have sent to China and India.
- Topic:
- Climate Change and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, China, Europe, India, and Asia
375. Russian pledge vs. business-as-usual: Impelementing energy efficiency policies can curb carbon emissions
- Author:
- Anna Korppoo, Aleksandra Novikova, and Maria Sharmina
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
- Abstract:
- In June 2009, President Medvedev announced that the Russian Federation could limit its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions growth to-10 to 15% by 2020, compared to 1990 levels. In August 2009, this commitment was confirmed by the Russian delegation as Russia's midterm target. Russia further committed to limiting emissions by 22-25% in comparison to the 1990 level by 2020 in the EU-Russia Summit in Stockholm in November.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Russia and Europe
376. Tackling climate change, reducing poverty
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Despite being a wealthy country, in the UK poverty is an ongoing problem. According to Oxfam GB today 1 in 5 people in the UK don't have enough to live on. There were 2.9 million children and 2.5 million pensioners living in poverty in the UK in 2006/2007. Children go to school hungry, or to bed without enough food. Poor communities are in poorer health and have shorter life expectancy.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Globalization, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe
377. President Václav Klaus of the Czech Republic
- Author:
- Václav Klaus
- Publication Date:
- 03-2009
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Columbia University World Leaders Forum
- Abstract:
- This World Leaders Forum program features a keynote address by President Václav Klaus of the Czech Republic followed by a question and answer session with the audience.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- Europe
378. Trilateral Cooperation in the 21st Century: First Summary Report of the Trialogue21 Initiatve
- Publication Date:
- 12-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- EastWest Institute
- Abstract:
- From 2006 to 2008, the EastWest Institute (EWI) and the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS) coorganized the first three annual discussions of the Trialogue21 initiative – an off-the-record process involving public and private sector leaders from China, the United States and Europe. The meetings, which were held in Berlin (December 2006), Beijing (November 2007), and Washington, D.C. (December 2008), served as an annual review of relations among the three powers and addressed a wide range of common domestic and foreign policy concerns.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Climate Change, Environment, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, Europe, Washington, and Berlin
379. Financial Impacts of Climate Change: Implications for the EU Budget
- Author:
- Christian Egenhofer, Arno Behrens, and Jorge Núñez Ferrer
- Publication Date:
- 08-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
- Abstract:
- This study focuses on the financial resources needed to fight global climate change and the implications for the EU budget. The authors apply four different methodologies to estimate global financing requirements and attempt to determine the resources that will be needed at the EU level to meet the EU's climate change objectives. The study analyses current climate change spending of the EU budget, identifies shortcomings and indicates possibilities for correcting them. It also assesses the potential of the EU emissions trading scheme to raise additional resources to finance coordinated actions at the EU level aimed at fighting climate change. Finally, it provides three case studies of national public expenditure related to climate change in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Economics, and Environment
- Political Geography:
- United States, United Kingdom, and Europe
380. Preventing the Tragedy of the CO2 Commons: Exploring China's Growth and the International Climate Framework
- Author:
- Peter J. Wilcoxen, Warwick J. McKibbin, and Wing Thye Woo
- Publication Date:
- 07-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Brookings Institution
- Abstract:
- Under reasonable assumptions, China could achieve parity in living standard with Western Europe by 2100, and India by 2150. Climate change, however, may be a key obstacle preventing such a convergence. The business-as-usual (BAU) growth path of the world economy might increase concentrations of atmospheric greenhouse gases to unsafe levels and cause significant negative environmental feedback before China achieves parity in living standards with the OECD countries. We use a dynamic multi-country general equilibrium model (the G-Cubed Model) to project a realistic BAU trajectory of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and we find it to be even above the CO2 emissions from the high-growth scenario estimated by the Energy Information Agency in 2007. This outcome is a reminder that it has been usual so far to underestimate the growth in China energy consumption.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, and Markets
- Political Geography:
- China, Europe, India, and Asia