CLIMATE CHANGE
July 17, 2008
"Climate Change: Now What?"
Journal Article, Columbia Journalism Review
By Cristine Russell, Senior Fellow, Environment and Natural Resources Program
Media coverage of climate change is at a crossroads, as it moves beyond the science of global warming into the broader arena of what governments, entrepreneurs, and ordinary citizens are doing about it.
July 9, 2008
Report of the Harvard University Task Force on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Report
By William Clark, Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy, and Human Development; Co-director, Sustainability Science Program; Faculty Chair, ENRP; and John P. Holdren, Director and Faculty Chair, Science, Technology and Public Policy Program
Harvard University released the report of its Greenhouse Gas Task Force. The task force, appointed by President Drew Faust in February, proposes elements of a framework for much-intensified efforts to reduce the University's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as part of a broader effort to promote environmental sustainability.
July 2008
"Toward a Post-Kyoto Climate Change Architecture: A Political Analysis"
Discussion Paper
By Robert O. Keohane and Kal Raustiala
"Any international agreement to address climate change must rest on broad public support in developed nations for mitigation actions. We propose an international climate architecture that builds on such public support — which we hope will be forthcoming — and uses multilateral international institutions to extend its effects to countries without such "green" publics."
July 7, 2008
"Future Scenarios for China's Carbon Emissions"
Presentation
By Jim Watson
Jim Watson, Deputy Director of the Sussex Energy Group at the University of Sussex, U.K., presented work on a project funded by the U.K. Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research to study "China's Energy Transition."
AP Photo
June 2008
"Analysis of Policies to Reduce Oil Consumption and Greenhouse-Gas Emissions from the U.S. Transportation Sector"
Discussion Paper
By Kelly Sims Gallagher, Director, Energy Technology Innovation Policy and Gustavo Collantes, Research Fellow, Energy Technology Innovation Policy
This study examines different policy scenarios for reducing GHG emissions and oil consumption in the U.S. transportation sector using a variant of the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS).
June 3, 2008
Post-2012 International Policy Architecture for Global Climate Change International Workshop
Agenda
The International Workshop on "Post-2012 International Policy Architecture for Global Climate Change" was organized by the Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements, the International Centre on Climate Governance (a joint initiative of the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei and the Fondazione Giorgio Cini) and the Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change.
The workshop was held in Venice on May 14–16, 2008, and took place in the magnificent setting of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, a celebrated monastery located on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore facing Saint Mark's Square. Participation in the workshop was by invitation only.
The workshop was structured as follows. On May 15th, a one-day academic workshop presented preliminary results of work in progress from the Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements. This will be useful to obtain feedback from colleagues on research-in-progress and exchange ideas about international climate change policy.
On May 16th, a stakeholders meeting provided leaders from business, environmental advocacy, and government an opportunity to engage in a discussion about international climate change policy with one another and with academic experts. The main results of the academic workshop were presented at the beginning of the stakeholder workshop on May 16th.
June 3, 2008
Summary of European Stakeholders Meeting: International Climate Policy after 2012
Summary
The Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements, together with the Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, and the Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change, hosted a workshop of leading thinkers on international climate policy in Venice, Italy, on May 15–16. On the second day, leaders from business, environmental advocacy, and government, along with the assembled academics, discussed key topics in international climate change policy, including ways to engage developing countries, how to maintain global competitiveness despite diverse national mitigation policies, and proposals for international agreements that could succeed the Kyoto Protocol.
May 2008
Climate Change: Expert Opinion on the Economics of Policy Options to Address Climate Change
Report
By U.S. Government Accountability Office, Joseph Aldy, Co-Director, Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements and Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board
...GAO was asked to elicit the opinions of experts on (1) actions the Congress might consider to address climate change and what is known about the potential benefits, costs, and uncertainties of these actions and (2) the key strengths and limitations of policies or actions to address climate change. GAO worked with the National Academy of Sciences to identify a panel of noted economists with expertise in analyzing the economic impacts of climate change policies and gathered their opinions through iterative, Web-based questionnaires. The findings reported here represent the views of the 18 economists who responded to both questionnaires.
Two of the 18 economists who participated were Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements Co-Directors Joseph Aldy and Robert Stavins. In addition, two other participating economists, James Edmonds of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and William Pizer of Resources for the Future, are members of Harvard Project research teams.
May 7, 2008
"Economic Incentives in a New Climate Agreement"
Paper
By Joseph Aldy, Co-Director, Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements and Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board
The Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements has agreed to help the Office of the Danish Prime Minister, in its role as incoming President of the 2009 Conference of the Parties, to prepare background papers and on-site briefings for a series of very high-level dialogues on climate change policy, hosted by the Prime Minister. These dialogues will each include about 25 participants, including CEOs of European and U.S. corporations, key officials from national governments and intergovernmental organizations, and leaders of major environmental NGOs. This paper on the subject of economic incentives was prepared by the Harvard Project leadership for the first dialogue.
May / June 2008
"Climate Policy Architectures for the Post-Kyoto World"
Journal Article, Environment, issue 3, volume 50
By Joseph Aldy, Co-Director, Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements and Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government; Member of the Board
"The global climate has changed and will continue to change as a result of greenhouse gas emissions from a broad variety of human activities. In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change determined that 'most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations.' If greenhouse gas emissions continue to grow unabated, the global average temperature will likely increase between 1.1°C and 6.4°C. This warming will unleash a myriad of impacts, the vast majority of which will adversely affect water availability, agricultural and forestry productivity, the spread of infectious diseases, extreme weather events, unique ecosystems and rare species, and the built environment in coastal areas. The risks of global climate change clearly necessitate an international effort."
