Carlo Carraro and I have recently edited a special issue of INEA. We collect a set of articles that take stock of the current status
of the negotiations and suggest an unconventional, pragmatic way forward.
All
the articles recognize that China and India will not enter a textbook-style
international climate agreement soon. They are also aware that the future
international climate architecture will be fragmented and incomplete at least
until 2020. Therefore, the
inability to build a large binding agreement with absolute targets is not seen
as a tragedy, but rather as a fact that should be considered as a starting
point for future steps towards global emission reductions. For this reason all articles
take a long-term perspective. As Zhang notes in his article, the real question
when dealing with China and India is post‑2020
and not pre‑2020.
In the free-access editorial we trace a well-defined pathway to include China and India in the
international effort to control global warming. With a more active
participation of the two large developing economies, developed countries would
find it hard to avoid a more active engagement and the Gordian knot of climate
policy could be cut.
We summarize this pathway through six key messages.
First, at least in the next decade, negotiators
should focus more on sustainable development goals than on targets and
timetables.
Second, China and India will have a remarkably
different impact on global climate change for several decades to come. At the
same time, they follow different development paths and therefore should proceed
along different negotiating trajectories.
Third, China may take on absolute emissions
caps around 2030.
Fourth, there are many opportunities in China
and India to reduce emissions by a large amount, and at low cost, between 2020
and 2050.
Fifth, in order to achieve consensus on very
ambitious climate agreements it is necessary to agree on a new shared
definition of the “common but differentiated responsibilities” (CBRD) principle.
Sixth, clear rules that deal with the
non-compliance of OECD countries with Kyoto and other climate commitments must
be established.
Table of contents:
Reconciling Domestic Energy Needs and Global Climate Policy: Challenges and Opportunities for China and India
Guest Editors: Carlo Carraro and Emanuele Massetti
Editorial, Carlo Carraro and Emanuele Massetti
Guest Editors: Carlo Carraro and Emanuele Massetti
Editorial, Carlo Carraro and Emanuele Massetti
Carbon tax scenarios for China and India: exploring politically feasible mitigation goals, by Emanuele Massetti
Climate agreements and India: aligning options and opportunities on a new track, by P. R. Shukla and Subash Dhar
In what format and under what timeframe would China take on climate commitments? A roadmap to 2050, by Zhongxiang Zhang
China and India’s participation in global climate negotiations, by Sean Walsh, Huifang Tian, John Whalley and Manmohan Agarwal
China and India’s participation in global climate negotiations, by Sean Walsh, Huifang Tian, John Whalley and Manmohan Agarwal