KYOTO PROTOCOL AND POST-KYOTO OPTIONS
MCC/David Ausserhofer Photo
June 13, 2013
Harvard Project Co-hosts Workshop on Options for a New International Climate Regime
News
By Bryan Galcik
The Harvard Project on Climate Agreements and the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC) convened thirty leading international researchers and policymakers on May 23 and 24, 2013 at MCC in Berlin. MCC and the Harvard Project are preparing a synthesis report intended to inform the UNFCCC's Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action as it attempts to forge a new agreement by December 2015.
Summer 2013
"Roy Family Honored for Environmental and Student Support"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
"Since 1999, the Roy Family has been supporting environmental research and projects coordinated by the Belfer Center’s Environment and Natural Resources Program (ENRP). In early May, ENRP gave special thanks to the Roy Family at a special reception where they also announced the most recent recipients of Roy Family internship and fellowship awards."
April 2013
"The Role of Forests in a Future Climate Agreement"
Policy Brief
By Donna Lee
Forests can play a significant role in helping to avoid dangerous climate change, and a global agreement under the UNFCCC would be uniquely placed to support efforts in this regard. The rising global demand for agricultural and other land-based products means that pressures on land are increasingly cross-border, and there is an accelerating expansion of the deforestation frontier. Smart domestic policies are critical to solving the deforestation challenge, and recent private sector interest in "sustainable agriculture" is encouraging. However, global agreements that value standing forests and provide incentives that positively impact land use change decisions can be an equally important tool.
Spring 2013
Belfer Center Newsletter Spring 2013
Newsletter
By Sharon Wilke, Associate Director of Communications
The Spring 2013 issue of the Belfer Center newsletter features recent and upcoming activities, research, and analysis by members of the Center community on critical global issues. This edition highlights the Belfer Center’s deepening engagement with China.
(Jaimee Haddad Photo)
Spring 2013
"Climate Conference Moves Forward – Slowly"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Robert C. Stowe, Executive Director, Harvard Environmental Economics Program; Manager, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
In December, the member nations of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change met in Doha, Qatar for the Eighteenth Conference of the Parties (COP-18) to discuss climate change on a global level. The Harvard Project on Climate Agreements co-hosted, with the government of Qatar, an event entitled "After Doha: Balancing Adaptation, Mitigation, and Economic Development."
February 2013
"A Climate Diplomacy Proposal: Carbon Pricing Consultations"
Policy Brief
By Adele Morris, Warwick McKibbin and Peter Wilcoxen
The United States has considerable tax administration and cap-and-trade expertise that could highlight potentially successful carbon pricing approaches. Although this experience is not climate-related, the United States deploys an efficient and highly compliant excise tax system, and it could assist developing country efforts to build their own capacity to tax carbon. The United States also has long experience with cap-and-trade systems for criteria air pollutants, much of which is transferable to greenhouse-gas emissions trading.
February 21, 2013
More than One Way to Skin a Policy
News
By Andrew Facini, Communications Assistant
Washington Post national environment reporter Juliet Eilperin spoke on the political difficulties of pursuing environmental policy in a seminar titled "Covering Environmental Controversies in a Political Environment" at the Harvard Kennedy School.
January 2013
"Treaty Design and Duration: Effects on R&D, Participation, and Compliance"
Policy Brief
By Bard Harstad
Climate policy is complicated. For a treaty to be beneficial, one must think through carefully how it will work, once it is implemented. Crucial questions include the following: How should an international treaty be designed? Should one negotiate commitments for a five-year period, or for much longer? Assuming that the treaty specifies aggregate or country-specific emission caps, what should these caps be and how should they change over time? How should the agreement be updated once policymakers, scholars, and the public learn more about the severity of the climate-change problem, or about the effects of the policy? Can the treaty be designed to encourage investments in "green" abatement technology or renewable energy sources? Finally, how can one motivate countries to participate and comply with such an agreement?
Jaimee Haddad Photos
December 20, 2012
Harvard Project Conducts Special Event at COP-18 with Government of Qatar
News
By Robert C. Stowe, Executive Director, Harvard Environmental Economics Program; Manager, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
The Harvard Project on Climate Agreements co-hosted, with the government of the State of Qatar, a special high-level event at the Eighteenth Conference of the Parties (COP-18) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Doha on December 6, 2012. The event was titled "After Doha: Balancing Adaptation, Mitigation, and Economic Development." Participants addressed, at a high level, the state of international climate regimes and prospects for progress over the next several years.
Robert Stowe Photo
December 13, 2012
Harvard Project Conducts Highly Successful Side-Event at COP-18
News
By Robert C. Stowe, Executive Director, Harvard Environmental Economics Program; Manager, Harvard Project on Climate Agreements
The Harvard Project on Climate Agreements hosted an official side-event at the Eighteenth Conference of the Parties (COP-18) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Doha, Qatar on December 3, 2012. The event was titled "Market Mechanisms in a Post-Durban International Climate Regime." Participants assessed the design and potential role of "new market mechanisms" (NMM) in the Kyoto Protocol second commitment period, Copenhagen/Cancun regime, and a new arrangement arising from the Durban-Platform process.
