Countdown to Copenhagen

In December, delegates from 192 countries and regions will be involved in two weeks of talks in Copenhagen, with the aim of establishing a new global treaty on climate change. The Copenhagen talks mark the end of a two-year period of negotiations. Technically known as the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP15| for short, the talks take place within the framework of the UNFCCC|, which was established at the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992, and which is an international environmental treaty aimed at stabilising greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would ‘avoid dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate.’

Updates have subsequently been made to the treaty – these have included setting limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual nations. The principal update so far has been the Kyoto Protocol, which was officially adopted in 1997, and came into force in 2005.
 
The Kyoto Protocol commits 37 industrialised countries (plus the European Union, but not including the United States) to reducing their emissions of greenhouse gases by five per cent on average in relation to 1990 levels. The Kyoto Protocol’s targets are due to expire in 2012, however. Governments around the globe are therefore looking for a successor to the Kyoto agreement.

A draft negotiating text for finalisation at Copenhagen has been publicly circulated, and it has been discussed at a series of meetings before Copenhagen.
 
Members of the Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy have been involved in many different ways in the discussions leading up to the Copenhagen talks.
 
By following the links on this page, you can read the contributions that a number of different researchers who are connected with the CCCEP are making to the pre-Copenhagen process.

Nick Stern, media release, 1 December 2009, Copenhagen agreement could give us a ‘50-50 chance’ of avoiding global warming of more than 2˚C|

Nick Stern, policy brief, 1 December 2009: Deciding our Future in Copenhagen: will the World Rise to the Challenge of Climate Change|

Alex Bowen and Nicola Ranger, policy brief, 1 December 2009: Mitigating Climate Change through Reductions in Greenhouse Gas Emissions: the science and economics of future paths for global annual emissions|

The Countdown to Copenhagen Debate|, Friday 13 November at the University of Leeds.

Bob Ward. Presentation at the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative side event, 'Climate Risk Insurance and Institutional Options|', at the Barcelona Climate Change Talks, 2 November 2009

Lord Stern. The World's Future is Being Decided this Weekend|. The Observer, 18 October 2009.

Bob Ward. Briefing on ‘Brainstorming for Climate Change: Copenhagen (COP 15)’|, 13 October 2009.

Laurence Tubiana and Lord Stern. La conférence de Copenhague sur le climat, le pari de l'optimisme|. Le Monde, 6 October 2009.

Lord Stern. China and India are Leading the Way|. The Guardian, 23 September 2009.

Samuel Fankhauser. Working paper, 22 September 2009: The Costs of Adaptation.

Lord Stern. Managing Climate Change and Overcoming Poverty|: facing the realities and building a global agreement. Paper presented at Columbia University, 21 September 2009.

Bob Ward. People Power is Crucial to Making Copenhagen a Success|. The Guardian, 10 September 2009.

Lord Stern. The Time is Approaching for India to Take a Lead on Climate Change|. The Independent, 20 July 2009.

Lord Stern. Climate Change, Internationalism and India in the 21st Century|. Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Lecture, 15 July 2009.

Sam Fankhauser and Cameron Hepburn. Working paper, 6 July 2009: Carbon Markets in Space and Time.

Charlene Watson and Samuel Fankhauser. Working paper, 26 June 2009: The Clean Development Mechanism: too flexible to produce sustainable development benefits?

Samuel Fankhauser, Nat Martin and Stephen Prichard. Working paper, 26 May 2009: The Economics of the CDM Levy: Revenue Potential, Tax Incidence and Distortionary Effects.

Lord Stern. Pathways to a 'Green' Global Economic Recovery|: evidence to the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, 19 May 2009.

Lord Stern. A Blueprint for a Safer Planet|.

Evan Fraser. Working paper, 30 March 2009: Economic Crises, Land Use Vulnerabilities, Climate Variability, Food Security and Population Declines.

Lord Stern. We Must Create a Level Playing Field for Carbon Emissions Trading|. The Independent, 10 March 2009.

Alex Bowen and Lord Stern. Opportunities that are too Good to Miss|. The Guardian, 24 February 2009.

Alex Bowen and Lord Stern. Opportunities that are too Good to Miss|. The Guardian, 24 February 2009.

An Outline of the Case for a ‘Green’ Stimulus|, policy brief, 12 February 2009.

Lord Stern. Thirty Reasons to Celebrate in 2009 – Climate Change|. New Statesman, 18 December 2008.

Lord Stern (interview). Clarity is Crucial|. Financial Times, 2 December 2009.

Lord Stern. Give the Rainforests our Word and Bond|. The Times, 14 November 2008.

Lord Stern. Green Routes to Growth|: The Guardian, 23 October 2008.