Dec 8, 2009
As climate talks get underway in Copenhagen, the specifics of an
agreement to slow global warming and adapt to its effects are far
from settled. My guest on this week's Wonkcast, Jan von der Goltz,
has spent the last few weeks surveying views in the global
development community about what these specifics should be.
Jan is the author, along with CGD president Nancy Birdsall, of a
new CGD paper It’s
One Climate Policy World Out There--Almost" that presents the
results of a recently completed CGD survey. The
online survey, which Nancy and Jan launched in mid-November,
collected the views of nearly 500 respondents, hailing from 88
countries, who mostly work on international development issues.
Unlike most surveys on climate, which generally test the knowledge
of respondents about climate science, CGD's survey asked
respondents for their views on specific prescribe issues that are
being discussed in Copenhagen. It sought to find which specific
policy options are widely favored among development experts, and
whether opinions diverge along developed vs. developing country
lines.
Jan tells me that, by and large, there is an encouraging degree of
consensus on most key items. A large majority of respondents from
both developing and developed countries held very similar views on
the responsibilities of the two different country groups, including
on issues that have been very controversial in the
negotiations.
Most favored binding commitments now by developed countries, and
commitments by 2020 by ‘advanced developing countries’ (Brazil,
China, India, South Africa and others), limited use of offsets by
developed countries, strict monitoring of compliance with
commitments, and the use of trade measures (e.g. carbon-related
tariffs) only in very narrow circumstances.
Among approaches to governance, the most support went to the
Climate Investment Fund model—of equal representation of developing
and developed countries on the board.
I learned a lot from taking the survey (it’s still online as an
educational tool, you can
take it here) and from talking with Jan. Have something to add
to our discussion? Ideas for future interviews? Post a comment
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