特朗普“去气候化”政策对全球气候治理的影响

美国特朗普政府宣布退出《巴黎协定》是当前全球气候治理中最受舆论关注的问题,对事态发展趋势的判断和事件影响的评估是最为亟需的。本文系统分析了特朗普政府上任后推行的一系列"去气候化"政策,以及其退出《巴黎协定》的主要动因和可能形式,同时量化评估了这些内政外交的"倒退"对美国实施国家自主贡献目标以及全球气候治理格局的实质影响,并据此提出了中国应对全球气候治理新形势变化的对策和建议。研究表明,特朗普政府"美国优先"的能源政策根植于复兴制造业和加大基础设施投资的经济利益动机,随着特朗普"去气候化"进程持续发酵,诸多气候政策面临存续风险,美国实施国家自主贡献将面临严峻挑战,"倒行政策"将有可能使美国温室气体排放出现反弹。如果不考虑中、高危气候政策,美国2025年温室气体排放也仅能相对2005年下降11.0%—14.9%,距离下降26%—28%的国家自主贡献目标相去甚远。同时,特朗普政府拒绝继续履行向发展中国家提供气候资金支持的义务,将有可能导致绿色气候基金拖欠资金总额上升117%,并进一步挫伤全球低碳投资的信心。没有美国的全球气候治理3.0时代将呈现出新的复杂特征,并不可避免地造成减排、资金和领导力缺口的持续扩大,也不排除后续会出现消极的跟随者,整体进程将可能进入一个低潮周期。虽然国际社会对中国引领全球气候治理充满期待,但中国仍应审慎对待,长远谋划应对气候变化的内政外交战略,而不应将"气候举旗"看作是一蹴而就的短期策略,对各种要求中国发挥"领导作用"的说法保持清醒头脑。在今后气候谈判中,美国仍有较大可能会二次"要价",中国作为排放大国的压力依然不容小觑,中美气候关系需要再定位。     

Bound to lead?Rethinking China's role after Paris in UNFCCC negotiations

As the biggest global emitter of greenhouse gases, China is an extremely important actor in international climate negotiations. During the climate summit in Copenhagen, China was blamed for its uncooperative positions particularly from the US side. However, in the Paris climate process, China's participation in international negotiations is more active, and has become a wellrecognized promoter of the Paris Agreement. To understand China's climate policy, the economic and diplomatic strategy should be taken into consideration, especially the changes in the ideas of China's global governance rooted from domestic politics discourse. Moreover, China's symmetrical changes within domestic and international dimension possibly bring out more balanced climate policies and thus the constructive role of China will be the normalcy in the future United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Changenegotiations. However, the negotiations after the US presidential elections may change dramatically and yields great uncertainty for global action. Thus, the vacuum of power may be a possible scenario. Will China reinforce its role toward leadership or go back to group politics? This article examines China's concerns, motives, and possible path to climate leadership in the current debate.     

协同治理:2030年可持续发展议程与应对气候变化的国际制度分析

对国际议程间的关联性分析已经成为全球治理中的重要问题。特别是,由联合国引领的全球发展与应对气候变化问题,已经占据了当前国际政治议程的首要位置,两者的协同直接影响到全球治理的有效性。《2030年可持续发展议程》与《巴黎气候协定》不仅具有共同的规范性基础,而且两者通过议题衔接和叠加已经形成了密切的治理关系,国际制度关联性日益突出。从目前来看,这种关联性体现了以下特点:第一,嵌入关系。可持续发展议程的目标之一是应对全球气候变化,《巴黎协定》的治理目标已经嵌入联合国可持续发展议程之中,但也与一些目标存在矛盾,因此,协同治理具有必要性。第二,指标对应。《巴黎协定》下的“国家自主贡献”细化项目与可持续发展议程中的大部分指标已经形成对应关系,治理具有同质性。第三,制度间倡议交叉与功能外溢。其协同治理关系具体表现在诸多层面上,特别是在联合国系统内的协调、治理模式的趋同、资金渠道的整合、围绕联合国可持续发展议程所进行的发展机构改革,以及联合进行政策倡议、规则建构及政策制定等方面。从制度关系演变的角度来看,两者协同治理的类型正在发生变化,制度互动在不同层次上不断累积,并逐渐转向伙伴型的协同治理模式。     

国外学术界对《巴黎协定》的评价及履约前景分析

2016年《巴黎协定》的正式生效是全球环境治理的重要里程碑,是国际社会在应对气候变化的艰难进程中迈出的重要一步,标志着全球环境治理从此进入履约阶段。本文基于宾夕法尼亚大学智库与公民社会项目(TTCSP)公布的《2015年全球智库指数报告》,选取其中排名前十位的国际环境智库的研究报告和环境领域中代表性学者的相关论文,对国外学术界有关《巴黎协定》履约前景的分析进行了系统梳理,并对此做出简要评述。文章在肯定《巴黎协定》有力推进国际气候治理进程的同时,也指出在新的国际形势之下,尤其是在英国正式启动脱欧进程和特朗普新任美国总统后,其履约过程中更是存在着协定之内和协定之外的众多挑战和不确定性,本文的基本结论如下:首先,协定之内面临着协定缔约方国内批准程序上的挑战;国家自主贡献的实现与发展中国家能力建设;2℃温升目标的实现前景;审评和盘点的效力评估;碳市场机制能否有效运行。其次,协定之外面临着英国脱欧的潜在气候政策变化及影响;美国气候政策的可能变化及其影响。基于对以上智库报告和相关研究论文的分析,笔者对《巴黎协定》的履约前景得出几点看法:(1)正视国际气候合作的机遇与挑战;(2)对具体议题的落实需充满信心;(3)理性冷静看待英美气候政策的可能变化;(4)鼓励环境类国际组织之外的非国家行为体展开通力合作。对此,我们应正视履约中的挑战与不确定性,做好充分的应对之策,确保履约进程的顺利完成。总之,《巴黎协定》的履约前景不容乐观,国际社会任重道远。     

《巴黎协定》时代的气候融资:全球进展、治理挑战与中国对策

本文首先辨析了"气候资金"与"气候融资"两个基本概念,且通过对包括《巴黎协定》在内,最新的气候资金相关法律文件、信息通报、文献资料、智库报告的研究和系统梳理,指出全球气候融资发展趋势表现在全球气候融资缺口正在持续扩大;资金来源更加市场化;发展金融机构募集、管理和分配了大部分的公共资金;新型经济体用款权受到挤压,也呈现出更大的出资潜力;稳定的碳价格被认为是全球实现"零排放"长期减排目标的核心机制。与此同时,气候资金治理体系也处在关键的转型期,目前气候资金治理正在向"自下而上"的模式过渡,《公约》外平台承担了"气候风险主流化"的多重功能,但需要警惕"自下而上"的治理模式有绕过"共同但有区别责任"的风险,且绿色气候基金运作规则的导向性作用值得关注。据此,本文在最后提出了一系列治理建议。建议我国应积极影响国际气候资金机制运营规则和技术规则的制定,避免发达国家以及代表其利益的国际组织制定的标准片面地发展为国际规则;支持在全球设定渐进的、可预测的、可信的碳价格,并且肯定将气候与环境风险因素内生化的核心思想理念;与绿色气候基金开展多方位合作,推动气候公共资金治理规则转型;加强与世界银行在气候融资领域的合作;借G20平台逐步发展为气候融资政策突破和工具创新的引领者。     

The Paris Agreement and climate change negotiations: Small Islands,big players

Climate change poses an existential threat to Small Island Developing States (SIDS). They have played a leading role in raising awareness of climate change on the international stage and advocating for strong climate action, notably through the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). Despite their heterogeneity, they succeeded in building a common diplomatic discourse and influencing strategy, and mobilized political leaders as well as talented negotiators and advisors.Small Island States were a crucial group in the negotiating period up to, during the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21), and for the entry into force of the Paris Agreement. SIDS succeeded to secure their special circumstances as vulnerable countries, demonstrated leadership in raising ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to help secure an ambitious long-term temperature goal of limiting global warming to below 1.5 °C, and advanced the complex debate on loss and damage.Small Island States face major challenges to advance their leadership on climate change moving forward: securing immediate actions for those particularly vulnerable countries and increasing their influence within and outside the climate change negotiations. For Small Island states, the 1.5 °C goal should be considered “the visible part of the iceberg” for their diplomacy in a post-Paris context.     

Geopolitics of global climate change and energy security

Currently,the problem of climate change is already far beyond the category of scientific research,and it affects the economic operation mode,interests pattern,and geographical relationships and becomes the focus of global governance.During the transition period of the international economic and social development and the critical transformation period of the world geopolitical pattern reorganization,China’s industrialization is still at the intermediate stage,and tackling with climate change is also China’s internal demand under this development stage.With more influence of climate change on national competitiveness,climate change and geopolitics present complex multiple relations,and climate change in the era of geopolitical landscape gradually affected the national strategy and diplomacy.This article offered some relevant suggestions based on evaluating the new geopolitical characteristics of climate change:(1)weighing of interests and properly handling the complex relations among major powers during international climate negotiations;(2)strengthening risk judgments and actively cooperating with the United States and the European Union on energy and climate change;(3)relying on the"One Belt(Silk Road Economic Belt)and One Road(twenty-first century Maritime Silk Road)"to ensure China’s energy security and actively participating in the global energy governance;(4)strengthening the"south-south cooperation"mechanism innovation and increasing the investment.     

《巴黎协定》后的气候资金测量、报告和核证体系构建研究

气候资金测量、报告和核证产生于《联合国气候变化框架公约》(简称《公约》)之下,2009年以来一直是全球气候谈判的重点之一,也是未来全球共同应对气候变化和不断增进国际信任的重要环节。《巴黎协定》达成的"每两年通报"的决定,将推动气候资金测量、报告和核证得到不断的加强和完善。本文通过梳理最新的气候资金机制以及测量、报告和核证的文献资料和智库报告,分析了气候资金测量、报告和核证的内涵、目标和最新进展,以及公约框架下面临的挑战。分析指出,目前不同的气候资金统计和核算机构的资金分类标准存在差异,数据可比性有待改善;缺乏从资金上游到下游的反馈机制,影响气候资金测量、报告和核证体系的完整性;气候资金计量体系虽然正在发展和完善之中,但仍然难以提供准确的资金"支付"数据。据此,文章提出了构建综合性的国际气候资金测量、报告和核证体系的重点任务:建立具有统一数据基础和核算口径的气候资金测量体系,建立操作指南更为详细、形式更为标准统一的气候资金报告体系,以及"自上而下"和"自下而上"相结合的气候资金核证机制。最后,文章指出国际气候资金测量、报告和核证体系的构建需要发达国家和发展中国家在坚持公约资金机制的基础上共同参与和协作。作为国际上少数几个向GEF捐资的发展中国家之一,中国在参与过程中应力争体现发展中国家对气候资金性质的主张以及对测量、报告和核证机制的关键概念和范围界定的主张,影响国际气候资金机制的运营规则和技术规则。     

后巴黎时代气候变化公约资金机制的构建

气候变化公约资金机制是串联全球开展应对气候变化行动的纽带,也是通过国际合作实现"2℃"乃至"1.5℃"温控目标的关键支撑。多年来,由于发达国家和发展中国家在是否依据历史责任划分履约义务上存在根本分歧,公约资金机制面临多渠道并行、运行规则多样化、资金使用分散、运行效率偏低、绩效评估欠缺等问题。本文对气候变化公约缔结20余年来各资金机制的产生和运行进行了系统梳理;对其存在的不足以及在全球气候融资体系中面临的挑战进行了剖析;并基于《巴黎协定》资金案文描述和履约要求,围绕气候资金从筹集到最终绩效产出全过程,就如何构建未来气候变化公约资金机制进行了统筹规划和设计。在机制建设层面,通过出资分摊机制以及公约下集中式管理平台的构建,确保气候资金的充足性、可预见性以及对公约的责任性;在运行操作层面,通过各渠道重点业务领域及国别资金分配体系的优化,推动气候资金的公平性和有效性;在资金使用层面,通过受援国气候资金统一管理实体和监督评估体系的建立,提高气候资金的国家主导性和环境效益。未来,公约资金机制仍将是全球开展应对气候变化国际合作的主要渠道,在《巴黎协定》达成、绿色气候基金正式运行、国际气候制度重新构建的背景下,利用资金机制推动发达国家履行公约义务,切实向发展中国家提供资金、技术和能力建设支持,对确保公约各要素的全面性和平衡性,推动全球应对气候变化行动开展,强化发展中国家集团统一立场都有着重要的现实意义。     

跨国气候伙伴关系治理及其对中国的启示

《巴黎协定》为全球应对气候变化确立了"自下而上"的治理路径,有助于增强各类行为体的参与动力,而后续的巴黎进程更适用于建立以跨国气候伙伴关系为代表的治理模式。在这一模式下,主要施动者是地方政府和包括气候NGO、市民社会在内的非国家行为体。他们不仅在议程设定、透明度、监督执行和代表利益攸关方等方面具有不可替代的作用,而且还具有擅长短期本土化项目管理等优势。本文从国际关系的跨国行为体视角出发,对这类伙伴关系的兴起及其合法性、有效性进行分析,所获得的基本结论为:(1)各国达成《巴黎协定》的内在逻辑有助于跨国伙伴关系发挥作用;(2)当前跨国气候伙伴关系参与全球气候治理的路径呈现不断制度化的趋势;(3)跨国伙伴关系治理的合法性和有效性具有一定特殊性;(4)非国家行为体在参与治理的过程中逐渐交叉,更易形成联盟且相关的观念外溢也更为便利。这一新兴治理关系对中国的启示包括:(1)重新审视非国家行为体在全球气候治理中的作用;(2)评估一些具有重大影响力的跨国伙伴关系,并适当鼓励国内相关机构和组织参与全球进程;(3)在国内层面,以渐进的方式,有针对性地参与、建立一些跨国气候伙伴关系,有助于提升中国的城市与地方政府的气候治理能力;(4)在国际合作中,利用非国家行为体的优势推动中国所提出的南南气候合作倡议及相关项目的落实,进一步提升中国气候治理的话语权,并弥补资金、技术及能力建设上的不足。     

The Status Quo and Developing Trend Analysis of Global Carbon Finance

Abstract

This paper gives a systematic view of the new trends of global carbon finance innovation under the challenge of global climate change and in the process of transition to achieve economic growth from “high carbon” to ‘low carbon”, covering the following aspects: the structure, status quo and developing trend of global carbon market. The paper discusses the innovation in financial organization and service systems and governments’ overall guidance and policy support, and draws the conclusion that the world is undergoing massive changes with governments actively responding to carbon finance to embrace the tremendous opportunities for clean energy and climate change in financial industry. To seize the opportunity, a complete and overall carbon finance system of China should be put in the top of the agenda. Given the current tasks of energy conservation and pollution reduction and the growing demand for capital input, China needs to construct an clear of policy guidance, a diversified financia service system, and a multi-approach carbon finance system to intensify and widen the participation of financial industry, to expand financing channels for sustainable economy and spread risks, and finally, work out an inexpensive solution to the realization of China’s low carbon target.     

气候变化研究的中国知识贡献及其影响局限

气候变化知识的不断深化和积累是全球气候治理的基础。政府间气候变化专门委员会(IPCC)邀请全球有代表性的科学家,通过分析评估国际上正式发表的文献,提供关于全球气候变化科学进展的最新认识结论。本文基于文献计量学,通过统计中国在气候变化十大重要领域的科技成果产出量和影响力、中国政府和科学家对IPCC评估报告的参与以及中国大陆引文在IPCC第五次评估报告中的贡献,分析了中国对全球气候变化知识的贡献与局限。结果表明:近十年来,中国在气候变化大多数领域的科技成果产出量已居全球第二或第三位,但在海洋与气候变化、适应气候变化和全球气候治理领域的国际论文量明显落后;与美国和英国相比,中国气候变化科技成果的各类影响力指标明显偏低;中国对IPCC评估报告的参与度和影响力在不断提升,中国积极组织相关机构和专家参与IPCC评估工作,对全球气候治理起到了重要的科学支撑作用;但从IPCC第五次评估报告中国大陆引文的角度看,中国贡献仍整体偏弱,中国大陆引文的贡献呈领域分布不均衡,优势领域少,成果影响面窄的特点。与科学基础领域相比,中国在影响和适应、减缓和国际合作领域的科学贡献更弱,对全球视角关注不够,但中国大陆引文总体的国际科学合作活跃度较高。后巴黎时代,中国需要更加面向国家需求、气候公约和《巴黎协定》目标以及国际气候变化科技前沿,加强全球视野和原始创新,突出中国优势和特色,使气候变化的中国研究成果更多支撑全球气候治理进程的推进。     

A “toad’s eye” view of drought: regional socio-natural vulnerability and responses in 2002 in Northwest Colorado

Drought is a part of the normal climate variability and the life and livelihoods of the Western United States. However, drought can also be a high impact or extreme event in some cases, such as the exceptional 2002 drought that had deleterious impacts across the Western United States. Studies of long-term climate variability along with climate change projections indicate that the Western United States should expect much more severe and extended drought episodes than experienced over the last century when most modern water law and policies were developed, such as the 1922 Colorado River Compact. This paper will discuss research examining regional socio-natural climate vulnerability and adaptive response capacities to the 2002 drought in the Yampa–White Basins region of Colorado across sectors and will demonstrate how a bottom-up or “toad’s eye” approach to understanding drought is paramount to complement top-down, instrumental data-driven analyses of drought. The results of empirical observations through interviews and participant observation in combination with analysis of drought indicators will be presented. Implications for adaptation research and planning for climate variability and change will be discussed.     

Human well-being, the global emissions debt, and climate change commitment

Energy consumption is fundamentally necessary for human well-being. However, although increasing energy consumption provides substantial improvements in well-being for low and intermediate levels of development, incremental increases in consumption fail to provide improvements for “super-developed” countries that exhibit the highest levels of development and energy consumption. The aim of this note is, therefore, to quantitatively explore the global emissions debt and climate change commitment associated with the gap in energy consumption between the energy-saturated super-developed countries and the rest of the world. Adopting Kates’ identity, I calculate that elevating the current populations in the non-super-developed countries to the energy and carbon intensities of the United States is akin to adding the fossil-fuel CO₂ emissions of more than 15 United States to the global annual total, implying cumulative emissions of almost 4000 GT CO₂ from 2010 through 2050. The inevitability of continued emissions beyond 2050 suggests that the transition of non-super-developed countries to a US-like profile between now and 2050 could, by itself, plausibly result in global warming of 3.2 °C above the late-twentieth century baseline, including an extremely high likelihood that global warming would exceed 1.2 °C. Global warming of this magnitude is likely to cause regional climate change that falls well outside of the baseline variations to which much of the world is presently accustomed, meaning that a US-like energy-development pathway carries substantial climate change commitment for both non-super-developed and super-developed countries, independent of future emissions from the super-developed world. However, the assumption that all countries converge on the minimum energy intensity of the super-developed world and a carbon-free energy system between now and 2050 implies cumulative CO₂ emissions of less than 1000 GT CO₂ between 2010 and 2050, along with a less than 40 % probability of exceeding 1.2 °C of additional global warming. It is, therefore, possible that intensive efforts to develop and deploy global-scale capacity for low-carbon energy consumption could simultaneously ensure human well-being and substantially limit the associated climate change commitment.     

Competition gives way to cooperation: rethinking Sino-Indian relations in climate change negotiations

In global climate change politics, China and India have worked closely with each other, representing two big emitters from the developing world. This article reviews Sino-Indian cooperation during four UN climate change negotiations from 2009 to 2012. Their collaboration echoed the perception of neorealism in international relations (IR) studies that states will seek “external balancing” for maximizing national “relative gains”. China and India are expected to continue their cooperation on climate change issues when sharing the same structural position as big economies and big emitters, the same pressure in carbon emission reductions, and the same goal of improving living standards for their citizens. Encountering the devastating impacts of climate change and the deadlock in responsibility division in current global climate change governance, this work seeks to shed light on the evolving multilateral governance environment and its complex implications for Sino-Indian relations from an IR perspective.     

Pathway and policy analysis to China’s deep decarbonization

The Paris Agreement marks the beginning of a new era in the global response to climate change, which further clarifies the long-term goal and underlines the urgency addressing climate change. For China, promoting the decoupling between economic growth and carbon emissions as soon as possible is not only the core task of achieving the medium- and long-term goals and strategies to address climate change, but also the inevitable requirement for ensuring the sustainable development of economy and society. Based on the analysis of the historical trends of the economy and social development, as well as society, energy consumption, and key end-use sectors in China, this paper studies the deep carbon emission reduction potential of carbon emission of in energy, industry, building, and transportation and other sectors with “bottom-up” modeling analysis and proposes a medium- and long-term deep decarbonization pathway based on key technologies’ mitigation potentials for China. It is found that under deep decarbonization pathway, China will successfully realize the goals set in China’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions of achieving carbon emissions peak around 2030 and lowering carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 60–65% from the 2005 level. From 2030 onward, the development of nonfossil energy will further accelerates, and the share of nonfossil energies in primary energy will amounts to about 44% by 2050. Combined with the acceleration of low-carbon transformation in end-use sectors including industry, building, and transportation, the carbon dioxide emissions in 2050 will fall to the level before 2005, and the carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP will decreases by more than 90% from the 2005 level. To ensure the realization of the deep decarbonization pathway, this paper puts forward policy recommendations from four perspectives, including intensifying the total carbon dioxide emissions cap and strengthening the related institutional systems and regulations, improving the incentive policies for industrial low-carbon development, enhancing the role of the market mechanism, and advocating low-carbon life and consumption patterns.     

Comparing and evaluating the nationally determined contributions of the top six emitters under the Paris Agreement goals

ABSTRACT

Comparing and evaluating the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) is an important element in global stocktake in the post-Paris climate negotiations, aimed at closing the emissions gap with the Paris Agreement goals. To date, however, there has still been no explicit guideline or method. By applying emissions allowance allocated by 16 schemes as benchmarks, this paper tries to compare and evaluate the NDCs of the top six emitters, which jointly account for about 70% of the world’s CO₂ emissions. Results show that the four developed countries’ NDCs lack ambition with respect to most allocations under 2°C and all under 1.5°C, indicating they need to substantially ratchet up their NDCs and lead elevating mitigation. Evaluating cumulative emissions is more likely to clarify the ambition and fairness of China’s NDC. If considering cumulative emissions, China’s NDC is aligned with the median of cumulative allowances under 2°C and within the 1.5°C range. The Paris Agreement invited the Parties to communicate the mid-century low emissions strategies. This paper also tries to explore the mid-century mitigation in the perspective of allocations, which might provide decision-makers with some useful information when envisaging the post-NDC mitigation.     

Paris agreement on climate change and Botswana’s Vision 2036: an examination of linkages

Sustainable use of natural resources and sustainable development are concepts that are gaining momentum globally in the advent of global warming and climate change. The threshold for the entry in force of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change was achieved exactly 5 days after the unveiling of Botswana’s Vision 2036 document. This development framework envisages sustainable economic development and climate change adaptation. This article uses exploratory research methodology of systematic document analysis to analyze these principles in the context of Botswana. It investigates government's intentions in achieving the third pillar of the national vision. Botswana has declared its intensions to reduce carbon emissions by 15% by 2030 through the intended nationally determined contributions. While the country’s ambitions are largely forward-looking and aligned with those of the Paris Agreement, the economic diversification plans of Botswana threaten to potentially contribute significantly to the emission of greenhouse gases. The article applies sustainability and/or sustainable development theory in examining the relationship between the Paris Agreement and Botswana’s vision. It concludes that there is link between the two documents, both of which are anchored of the development which is environmentally sustainable. It further concludes that developing nations should make international commitments which are aligned to their developmental plans.     

Overview of regulatory/policy/economic issues related to carbon dioxide

This is an overview of Session 2c dealing with the regulatory, policy and economic issues related to carbon dioxide and its impact on global climate change. The information is taken from the two papers presented in this session (the U.S. Perspective by Dennis Leaf and the European Perspective by Hans J.H. Verolme) and from the panel discussion that took place at the end of the session. The overview focuses primarily on the policy responses of both the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK) to changes in global atmospheric pollution. To a lesser extent, the progress of policy responses to these changes is discussed. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been signed and ratified by over 180 countries. The UNFCCC contained no binding targets or timetables for emissions reductions. The Kyoto Protocol [United Nations. Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. UNEP.IUC/99/10. Chatlelaine, Switzerland: United Nations Environment Programme's Information Unit for Conventions, for the Climate Change Secretariat, 1997] to the UNFCCC did contain targets and timetables for reductions of greenhouse gases on the part of developed countries. The US has signed but not ratified the Kyoto Protocol. The US has experienced some movement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the part of various levels of government, as well as the private sector. The UK's commitment to reducing green house gases is laid down in the UK Climate Change Programme 2000. The UK is a member of the European Union (EU). In this context, an example of EU-wide progress, the voluntary agreement with car manufacturers to reduce CO(2) emissions in new vehicles, will be discussed. In addition, there will be some discussion on the UK CO(2) trading scheme that created the first market in the world in April 2001. Overall, the policy process is constantly informed by scientific research. In the case of climate change, much of this work is carried out under the auspices of international scientific panels.     

Reviewing the strategies for climate change and sustainability after the US defiance of the Paris Agreement: an AHP–GMCR-based conflict resolution approach

Environment, Development and Sustainability - In the landmark Paris Agreement, the global economies agreed to put forward their best efforts in mitigation and adaptation of climate change. The...